Inside the Forbidden City

       I have read about the Forbidden City since the summer of 2009. I had studied and read and learnt and imagined myself in the Forbidden City for years. And then there I was: inside the Forbidden City. To describe it? It was like seeing words from a page come to life and engulf thousands of people in a vast culture that could not be contained in mere words. It was like experiencing a recurring dream for years and then one day witnessing the dream coming to life.
       The first thing I noticed while in the Forbidden City was that the place was as colorful as I had read it to be.  Red walls were everywhere, adorned with gold and beautiful crafted designs with hues of blues, greens, purples, yellows, and more.  Now the City is old, and while the designs were once vibrant hues, they are now a dulled-down version of their former glory; however, one can clearly tell that they are still beautiful pieces of art.

Fu Dogs  (pronounced foo as in the band Foo-Fighters) are found all across China, but the two most famous are in the Forbidden City.  Fu dogs are lion statues that can be found at important buildings, residences, and even at temples.  There are two types of fu dogs: male and female.  Male fu dogs will have a paw that rests upon a pearl.  The pearl represents the universe and how males have power and knowledge over the universe.  Meanwhile, female fu dogs will hold their paw over a lion cub, representing the maternal and nurturing side.

This is a male fu dog; under his paw resides a pearl.

This is a female fu dog; under her paw resides a lion cub.

 

       Inside the City were huge basins in which rain water would be collected.  Whenever the City would catch on fire, the servants would use the water collected in the basins to put out the fire.  I saw two children playing by the water basins and had to take a photo.  It was a wonderful scene of innocence.  You can still see the vibrant colors of the architecture:

 

 

 

 

 

       Once we were farther in the Forbidden City, our delegation was allowed to split up into small groups of four to explore for a few minutes. The small group I was part of went to the emperor's bedroom.  It was difficult to take good photos of the emperor's bedroom because 1. the room was blocked off 2. many people would swarm by the entrance; one had to push their way through to the entrance in order to take a good photo.   The color yellow was originally reserved only for the emperor's usage.  Remember that this bedroom dates back to when the Forbidden City was in function as a living palace (1368-1912) so the living commodities weren't exactly up-to-date.

 

 

       

 

       After exploring as small groups, we regrouped in order to visit the gardens of the Forbidden City.  On our way to the gardens, we passed a brick wall that was composed of bricks with a gold coating.  It was a beautiful wall; however, we were pressed for time and could not stop to take many photos. I was fortunate to catch it in passing: