Revisiting the Forbidden City in Beijing (20210318)

Revisiting the Forbidden City in Beijing (20210318)

March 18, 2021, overcast. Our group of four from Huilongguan took the subway to visit the Forbidden City.

This was my third visit to the Forbidden City. The first was in March 1985, when I was on a business trip to Beijing and visited the Forbidden City on the side. Back then, the entrance ticket was 1 jiao (10 cents) per person.

The second visit was in April 2014. Peak season ticket price: 60 yuan per person (April 1 – October 31); off-peak season: 40 yuan per person (November 1 – March 31).

Today was my third visit. Because it was overcast and now the off-peak season, there were very few visitors. During my previous two visits, it was so crowded that taking a photo anywhere was difficult.

This year, due to the pandemic, you need to book tickets online one day in advance to visit the Forbidden City; no tickets are sold on site. The Tiananmen Gate Tower is still not open for climbing. When it will reopen is subject to separate notice.

We arrived at Tiananmen at 11:30, took a few photos, and entered the Forbidden City at 12:00.

Before entering, you need to go to the ticket office to pre-check and activate your online booking, show your Beijing Health Code and ID. Then you can go to the entrance gate and present your ID to enter.

The Forbidden City in Beijing was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, formerly known as the Purple Forbidden City. It sits at the center of Beijing's central axis. Centered on the Three Great Halls, it covers an area of 720,000 square meters, with a floor area of about 150,000 square meters. It contains over 70 palace buildings and some 9,000 rooms.

Construction began in the fourth year of the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty (1406), modeled on the Nanjing imperial palace, and was completed in the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420). It is a rectangular walled city, 961 meters long north-south and 753 meters wide east-west, surrounded by a 10-meter-high wall and a 52-meter-wide moat. The palace is divided into the Outer Court and Inner Court. The Outer Court centers on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony—collectively the Three Great Halls—where grand state ceremonies were held. The Inner Court centers on the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, and Palace of Earthly Tranquility—the Three Rear Palaces—the living quarters of the emperor and empress.

The first gate you encounter is the Meridian Gate, the main entrance to the Forbidden City. It was where the emperor issued imperial edicts and commanded military expeditions.

Next is the Gate of Supreme Harmony, the largest gate in the palace and the main entrance to the Outer Court. During the Ming dynasty, it was where the emperor held morning audiences. Early Qing emperors also held audiences and gave banquets here.

Then comes the Hall of Supreme Harmony, commonly known as the Jinluan Hall (Hall of the Golden Throne). Built in 1420 (Yongle 18), it was originally called the Hall of Worship; renamed the Hall of Imperial Supremacy in 1562; and given its current name in 1645 (Shunzhi 2). This was where the emperor presided over grand ceremonies. Burned down and rebuilt many times, the present structure dates from the 34th year of the Kangxi reign (1695).

When I first saw the Hall of Supreme Harmony in March 1985, visitors could enter the hall. Only the emperor's dragon throne was roped off with red cord to prevent people from sitting on it.

On my second visit in April 2014, the hall was cordoned off, but you could climb the steps to the windows and still catch a glimpse of the dragon throne inside.

This time, even the steps were blocked by red ropes. You couldn't get close at all. To see the dragon throne, you had to stand far below the steps and peer upward—nothing inside was visible.

The fourth spot is the Hall of Central Harmony. This was where the emperor rested and rehearsed the ceremony before proceeding to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. He would pause here to receive the obeisance of his cabinet ministers and ritual officials, then enter the main hall to commence the ceremony.

And finally, the Hall of Preserving Harmony (formerly the Hall of Prudence and Hall of Established Supremacy), also one of the Three Great Halls, located behind the Hall of Central Harmony. The Hall of Preserving Harmony was where the emperor gave banquets for foreign princes and vassals on New Year's Eve. It was also the venue for the final stage of the imperial civil service examinations (the palace examination).

From here, one can go down to the Clock Gallery.

We had purchased tickets for the Treasure Gallery, so we turned right from the Hall of Preserving Harmony and descended the steps toward the Treasure Gallery.

The Forbidden City Treasure Gallery opened in 1958. It is one of the important permanent exhibition halls of the Palace Museum. Along with the Clock Gallery, it mainly displays Qing-dynasty court treasures. Together with the galleries of painting, ceramics, bronzes, and crafts, it forms the Palace Museum exhibition system, complementing the displays of original historical architecture. The Treasure Gallery is located in the eastern part of the Palace Museum, situated in the west side hall of the Hall of Imperial Supremacy, the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Hall of Joyful Longevity, and the Hall of Pleasant Harmony. Inside is a treasure house of gemstones, shimmering gold and silver vessels, pearls, jadeite, golden-thread phoenix crowns, ivory works, and exquisite jade carvings—unparalleled treasures of all kinds. Most striking is a massive jade carving called Haoduota weighing 5,000 kilograms.

Before reaching the Treasure Gallery, you pass the Forbidden City restaurant and the Arrow Tower. Upon entering the Treasure Gallery, the first thing you see is the Nine-Dragon Screen.

The Nine-Dragon Screen stands outside the Gate of Imperial Supremacy in the Ningshou Palace area. Measuring 29.4 meters long, 3.5 meters high, and 0.45 meters thick, it is a single-faced glazed screen built against a palace wall, fired during the renovation of Ningshou Palace in the 37th year of the Qianlong reign (1772). The Forbidden City's Nine-Dragon Screen, along with those in Datong (Shanxi) and Beihai Park (Beijing), are known as the "Three Great Nine-Dragon Screens of China."

Then, passing through the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, you arrive at the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.

We entered the Jewellery Gallery to admire ancient Chinese jadeite and jade artworks.

Further inside, in order, are: the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Pavilion of Pleasant Sounds, the Hall of Joyful Longevity, the Hall of Pleasant Harmony, and the Well of Consort Zhen. Finally, the Imperial Garden.

This was the rear of the Forbidden City. There were probably other areas we didn't reach. We had been walking for three hours, and, all being over 60 years old, our backs and legs were aching. We decided to call it a day, exiting from the north via the Gate of Divine Might.

1. Nowadays, the Forbidden City places increasing emphasis on protecting historical relics, especially the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Visitors who want to see the true appearance of the Jinluan Hall now have virtually no way of doing so.

2. For visiting the Forbidden City, I recommend going in the off-peak season when there are fewer people. The Forbidden City is primarily about architecture and treasures, not flowers and plants.

3. Seniors over 60 enjoy half-price tickets.

4. If you want to see the Nine-Dragon Screen, you must buy a ticket for the Treasure Gallery, because the screen is inside that gallery. Treasure Gallery ticket: 10 yuan per person.

Written in Beijing on March 21, 2021.