BootsnAll Travel Network



The Forbidden City, Beijing

It took fourteen years to build the Forbidden City, ten years of prep and four years of actual construction. The emperor Zhu Di was the third of the Ming Dynasty and his vision for China and his legacy was grand. First he moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, started work on the Grand Canal, and set to improve the Great Wall fortifications north of the capital. He also sent out huge treasure fleets with hundreds of ships commanded by the towering eunuch Zheng He. When they set out their goal was to sail the world trading the huge quantities of silk, porcelain, and other fine treasure they brought, bringing the world into the Chinese tribute system. While it’s disputed how far the treasure fleets actually traveled, historians agree that they definitely reached the east coast of Africa. For an interesting theory about further Chinese travels and discoveries check out Gavin Menzies’ book 1421: The year China discovered the world. He’s a retired British Royal Navy submarine captain who retraces the supposed treasure fleet’s voyages. Admittedly, he is more detective than historian but the book is wonderfully entertaining non-fiction.

Regardless of where and how far the treasure fleets traveled, when they returned they were expecting to receive glory and riches. They did not. A year after the Forbidden City was completed in 1420 a lightning storm sparked a fire and it burnt to the ground. To this day 308 water vessels dot the city grounds, a memory of the past fire phobia.

From this time the reign of Zhu Di came to a sputtering end. He became convinced that the gods were punishing him for taking on too much. The event forever altered China’s and probably the world’s history, beginning a long period of international isolationism. The treasure fleets returned to a closed China and slowly rotted into the harbors with many records of their journey being destroyed in the aftermath of Zhu Di’s downfall.The city was rebuilt and is structurally largely the same as the original, occupying an area of one million square meters and containing 8,765 rooms. Running down the exact center is a raised stone walkway reserved for royalty. Only the emperor could walk above the others.
We hired a university student guide working for tips. The immensity of the place can make it all start to look like a maze of red and yellow. Our guide “Jerry” put it all in perspective with his vivid stories of the daily tribulations of royal life.The ceremonial aspects of the emperor’s schedule seem exhausting. We went from room to room, hall to hall, while Jerry explained: “This is where the emperor rested, here he changed clothes, here he celebrated his birthday, and here he rested again. Being the emperor sounds boring to me.

The Forbidden City tour ends in the garden where once again rocks are the centerpieces. The most impressive is the “Hill of Accumulated Elegance, a huge stack of rocks originally held together with a mortar recipe containing glutinous rice, honey and egg whites.
Staying consistent with the poetic Chinese translations, even the do not climb signs manage to stir the imagination:



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