Almost like in the days of the emperors: The Forbidden City

By Frank Rumpf Jan 10, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Beijing - On the spot where once upon a time the 'Sons of Heaven' had ruled and communist revolutionary leader Mao Tsetung declared the People's Republic of China in 1949, a festive atmosphere reigned on a recent Saturday morning.

Chinese families posed for pictures, dwarfed by the mighty red walls, while kids clowned around. Only the guards showed no emotion.

Beijing's erstwhile emperor's palace, the 600-year-old 'Forbidden City,' is a miracle - in more ways than one. On a tour, the sheer size and architectural accomplishment impresses even the most well travelled among the tourists.

Why should one be modest when you can also build in the XXL size? This is what the builders back then must have been thinking: the facility covers 72 hectares in the middle of Beijing. From the North to the South gate one walks almost a kilometre.

The number of rooms is given at 9,999, making Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace in London, with its 600 rooms, look like a cottage in comparison.

What is also a miracle is that the Forbidden City even still exists. It is amazing that the Maoists spared the old imperial seat of power after the war and during the Cultural Revolution, and that today's rulers are so tolerant.

For the current power-holders also are generally inclined to want to mercilessly tear down anything standing in the way of plans for modernizing this city of 11 million.

In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, no second thoughts were given when entire sections of the city were razed to make way for highways or luxury shopping centres. In this regard, Beijing is no different than other Asian metropolises like Hong Kong, Bangkok or Tokyo.

Of the 'Hutongs' - the flat, gray buildings with their maze of internal courtyards which surround the Forbidden City - almost half have disappeared in just a few years.

But the Forbidden City has so far managed to resist the modernisation mania. In fact, after years of neglect, it is now undergoing a renovation costing millions, financed by the Palace Museum and the private non-profit organisation World Monuments Fund in New York.

It is the first time that the Palace Museum is working together with a foreign entity. The project is due for completion by 2020. The first results of the work can already been seen in the north-eastern quadrant of the Forbidden City.

The imperial seat can be seen by subdividing it into two sections. If you enter from the south side, beneath the Mao poster, going through the 'Gate of Heavenly Peace' you find yourself in the external courtyard.

This was the location of the seat of government of 24 emperors who, from the 15th century onwards, lived with their 2,000 courtiers, concubines and eunuchs in the palace. The halls and courts are gigantic.

Being ruler in such splendour was less fun than was the case in other royal palaces. In contrast to the court officials who often could live it up in their own residences, the Chinese emperor scarcely had any place to withdraw to.

His daily routine was strictly regulated. When one sees the formal furniture of the throne room and the imperial bedrooms, one can get back pains simply from looking.

It was no wonder that the emperors fled as often as the could from the Forbidden City. From the 18th century onwards their favourite destination was the summer palace at the foot of the 'mountain of benevolence and longevity' on the outskirts of Beijing. Here, a more relaxed lifestyle was possible.

The summer palace resembles, architecturally, the main imperial seat. Due to its romantic location on Kunming Lake it is well worth a visit, even if today only a fraction of what was once a huge facility still remains.

The second section of the Forbidden City is formed by the northern interior courtyard. Instead of representational sites, the buildings are punctuated by small interior courtyards. It was here that the emperor lived with his family and the royal household.

The highlight, and now renovated for the first time in nearly a century, is the Qianlong Garden with its 'Palace of Peaceful Old Age.' It dates to 1776, the same year the American colonies declared their independence from Britain.

China's rulers actually usually served up to their deaths. But the Qianlong Emperor abdicated the throne after 60 years to his son and built his small paradise for his final years.

In Qianlong Garden one has what for Beijing is the rare opportunity to walk around in peace and quiet. Only very few visitors make it here. The interior courts are designed according to the principles of Feng Shui, adorned with lava stones, water and pruned evergreen trees.

For the interior decorations, Chinese and European artifacts were collected, including inlaid bamboo, carved jade objects and oil paintings.

Read more about Travel