The Forbidden City was like nothing I've ever seen before. To say that the place is big would definitely be an understatement. Titanic temples gather around the walled kingdom to serve just one - the emperor. This is opulence, power and pride to the max.
The imperial palace is the symbol of all things great in ancient china. The architecture, the detail, the assymetry, the beauty is nothing short of immaculate.
This mammoth-like structure was divided into two parts, the northern half, or the Outer Court where emperors executed their supreme power over the nation and the southern half, or the Inner Court where they lived with their royal family. It housed 23 emperors in the course of 500 years and was forbidden to everyone to enter.
I woke early again because I was told that the Imperial Palace turned Museum is enormous and a day going around it will not be enough. I got some bread again for a quick bite and went to catch the 66 bus to Qianmen. I was really saving so I can't afford the taxi. For 1 yuan or roughly 6-7 pesos, the bus is definitely a great option. But it also means that you have to take some time figuring out how the system work. How to pay, where to get off, what to say to the bus driver, how to cross the street, etc... etc.
It's almost like being back to kindergarden, but this time, there was nobody to guide you, the guard or the police didn't even speak a single english word. You just really have to find your way and try to end up on the right side of the road, and not to get lost in the proccess.
My patience paid off and I got into Tiananmen with ease, but going inside the Forbidden City was actually a more difficult task. Where do I get the tickets? What entrance do I go through? Are they strict with the cameras? All these simple questions and nobody can answer me quite easily.
I trusted my instinct, went through the Tiananmen Gate, saw a long queue ( then I knew for sure that I was on the right track). 60 Yuan to enter ( that means goodbye dinner for me). Additional 40 Yuan for a recorded English guide cassette that you rent out to help you around the palace. I opted not to rent it out since I was really on a tight budget. That also means that I'm on my own, 9,999 buildings to check out before 4pm when the walled city closes.
Going inside without a guide wasn't as bad as I expected. I just literaly walked around the enormous perimeter and followed the other tourists with rented guide cassettes, that was I think a smart move for me because I knew that I'll not get lost. Each of the buildings have an English written explanation just before you enter so it pretty much described what the building was for.
Buildings such as Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Preserved Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, Palace of Celestial Purity, Hall of Terrestial Union, Hall of Ancestral Worship, Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Hall of Joyful Longevity, and a hundred more... all of which I really didn't understand what type of purpose do they serve, and all of these were built for the use of just one person, the great emperor. I felt that I just walked in a Bernardo Bertolucci film set. I had to pinch myself and remind myself that this sign of profusion was indeed for real.
I left the palace just around 4pm. Time went by so fast, 5 hours passed by just like that. Sometimes I was just sitting for hours just staring in one of the buildings, imagining what it would have been like to live in this walled city during its haytime.
Nevertheless, the visit left me in awe. The beauty exceded my expectations. I felt that I was so priviledged to be living in time where to step on this forbidden crib is forbidden no more.
History never fails to amaze me.
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