This is a continuation of my RTW diary from November 2003.I walked the length of Tian’anmen Square from the Mausoleum to the gates of the Forbidden City. There were still lots of Secret Service guys around but fewer students – I suppose they are all at classes on a weekday.
The square is actually named after the Tian’an-men or Gate of Heavenly Peace, which is the entrance to the Forbidden City. The palace complex was forbidden to outsiders and it is interesting to think that as recently as 1911, crossing the threshold of Tian’an-men as a commoner would have resulted in pretty much instant decapitation.
No-one is allowed to enter the city by the middle bridge to this day… it is still reserved for Emperors (and Politburo) only!
The ‘Forbidden’ City was also home to some 70,000 court officials, mostly eunuchs, who earned their way into the palace via a special chair with a hole in the seat... As pure a definition of dedicated careerism as ever I heard. Apparently half of those who underwent the castration operation died shortly after, either through shock or infection. Yet the rewards of working for the Emperor were worth this risk and many took it.
Having seen the movie ‘The Last Emperor’, I had a sense of what to expect from the Palace. Namely vast buildings on an impressive scale; oriental roofing; a contrast of red and white paint and marble. The palace lived up to those expectations.
By the end of the second hour of exploring the complex, I have to say that if I never come across another temple used for the bespoke purpose of the Empress blessing the cotton crop or of the Emperor invoking spirits for a bumper rice harvest I don’t think I will mind. With 9,999 rooms, vast, impressive, ornate and colourful it certainly is. Repetitive and unimaginatively presented as a museum it is too. Though definitely worth a visit, I certainly don’t have the patience to spend two days here as recommended by the Lonely Planet, even with Roger Moore featuring on the audio guide.
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