I left you in my last post which we entered to Forbidden City via Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen Tower).
After entering through the Tiananmen Gate, we reached to the square which is the southern part of the palace. It was already 1.00pm however the weather was nice. Not so cold anymore. Here is the spot for you to buy tickets to Tiananmen Tower or Forbidden City. Foods and souvenir stalls were also available here.
Lots of gate here. You could see it everywhere!
People were busy either to enter Tiananmen Tower or Forbidden City.
We skipped Tiananmen Tower as our main purpose here to visit Forbidden City...
Ticket counter for Tiananmen Tower.
Ramai juga manusia.
ii) Forbidden City (Gu Gong)
Ok what is Forbidden City. I bet most of you knew this place from Chinese drama and movie especially those period/costume one. Not only Chinese, you can also see Forbidden City showcased in other Hollywood movies like The Last Emperor (owh you should watch this film about Puyi, The Last Emperor of China before the end of Imperial Dynasty era) and The Karate Kid. Even several Bollywood films also have shoot here!!
The Forbidden City is the palatial heart of China. Constructed in 1420, during the early Ming Dynasty, it is China's best-preserved imperial palace, and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. As one of the five most important palaces in the world, the grand halls and walls proudly display the essence and culmination of traditional Chinese architecture, fitting for the capital city of the world's largest nation.
Originally it was called "Purple Forbidden City" (紫禁城 Zijincheng /dzrr-jin-chng/).
Now, in China, it is usually called the "Former Palace" (故宫 Gugong /goo-gong/).
In ancient times, the emperor was said to be a son of Heaven, and therefore Heaven's supreme power was bestowed upon him. The emperors' residence was built leading north, - a heavenly abode deriving its features from the ‘Purple Star’ or ‘Polaris,’ and hence the name Purple City. Considered a divine place, it was certainly forbidden to ordinary people and that is why the Forbidden City is so named.
Direction:
Direction is the same as to go to Tiananmen Square.
Entry and Exit:
The palace allows a south-to-north unidirectional route. Visitors can only Enter to Forbidden City via Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen Tower). Through the gate, across an expansive brick-paved square, you will reach the main entrance to the palace, the Meridian Gate (South Gate) or Wumen in Chinese which the only entrance to this majestic palace.
For Exit, there is just one exit gate to leave Forbidden City, namely the northern gate, or Gate of Divine, also known as Shenwu Men in Chinese.
Admission Fee:
April to October - RMB 60
November to March – RMB 40
Operating Hour:
8:30am–5:30pm or 8:30am–5pm off-peak
Closed on Monday
* Time needed: At least 2–3 hours
First thing before entering the Meridian Gate to the Forbidden City or also called The Palace Museum, we need to buy ticket first. No early ticket is required. You can just walk-in.
Just follow the signboard. Inside the palace was quite big and you’ll need to spent at least 2hours there, so better go to toilet earlier to ensure you can explore the palace without disturbance 😅😅
We got in line and bought our ticket here.
Took photo around the ticketing area before entering The Palace Museum.
Just love the autumn trees at my back.
Ok got the ticket already! Now lets go inside the Palace.
My ticket. I am about to enter the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Note that before you can enter the Tiananmen area and walk through to the entrance of the Palace Museum, you will need to queue for a security check. You will need your passport to get a ticket and enter the Palace Museum.
Make sure you didn't bring any prohibited or dangerous items.
Definitely to the left side.
The Meridien/Southen Gate with two protruding wings on my back.
Owh ya….. Guide Service is available before entrance to the Meridien Gate if you interested expecially those history buff as it will explain more about the places we visit inside the palace. The automatic /audio guide which using a recoder can recognize your location and give information about it. Cost is RMB 40 for the Audio Guide. For Docent Guided tour the cost is RMB 400 (up to 5 visitors for all tour) and RMB 300 (up to 5 visitors but for Central and Western Tour only). RMB 20/person will be charged for additional visitor.
The counter just before entrance to the Museum Palace.
The charges.
Finally I was here... There's a 9 by 9 array of golden nails on the wooden gate and legend said that it could bring luck to anyone who touches it.
Welcome to the world of Imperial Dynasty! Drum rolls....!!
History of Forbidden City:
1. The construction of the grand palace started in the fourth year of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1406), and ended in 1420. It took 14 years to build.
2. It was built by over 1,000,000 workers, including more than 100,000 craftsmen.
3. It was the imperial palace of China for 492 years (1420–1912).
4. It was the home of 24 emperors — 14 of the Ming dynasty (1420 – 1644) and 10 of the Qing dynasty (Oct 1644 – 1912).
5. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the Forbidden City was controlled by Anglo-French forces and occupied until the end of the war.
6. From 1912, the Forbidden City was no longer home to the emperor with the abdication of Puyi, the last Emperor of China.
7. In 1925, the Forbidden City became the Palace Museum.
8. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Upon passing the Meridian Gate, one immediately enters an immense courtyard paved with white marble stones in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian). Since the Ming dynasty, officials gathered in front of the Meridian Gate before 3 a.m., waiting for the emperor’s reception to start at 5 a.m.
Glimpse of the Hall.
Excited face detected!
The Forbidden City covers an area of about 72 hectares with a total floor space of approximately 150,000cm. It consists of more than 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and over 8,728 rooms. (A common myth states that there are 9,999.5 rooms, but it is not supported by survey evidence.)
The Forbidden City falls into three parts: The Defenses (moat and wall), The Outer Court and The Inner Court.
1. The Defenses
Around the city there is a 52-meter wide moat as the first line of defense. For security the Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10-meter-high defensive wall, which has a circumference of 3,430 meters. At each corner of the Forbidden City, there stands a magnificent watchtower, which was heavily guarded. There are four gates in each direction of the Forbidden City: the Meridian Gate on the south, the Gate of Divine Might on the north, East Glorious Gate on the east and West Glorious Gate on the west.
Meridian Gate.
Looking back to the Meridian Gate from the north.
The river with crossing bridge inside the Palace.
For different functions, the complex is divided into the Outer Court in the south and the Inner Court in the north.
2. The Outer Court
The outer court has three main buildings, where emperors attended grand ceremonies and conducted state affairs.
• The first hall waiting for you is the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), the most important and largest structure in the Forbidden City. The emperors' Dragon Throne (Longyi) is in this hall.
A three-tiered white marble terrace rises from this square. Three halls stand on top of this terrace, the focus of the palace complex and Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest.
Meridian Gate again from the Supreme Harmony Hall.
We went closer to the hall.
As mentioned before, stone and bronze lions are popular as symbolic guardians, and can be seen beside the gates of many Forbidden City palace compounds. Can you guess either this lion is male or female? Clue look at it's left feet. Ya it's FEMALE since she's playing with a baby lion!! Who have invented this was very clever!
One of two enormous bronze Ming Dynasty lions guarding the Gate of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City.
The carving on the stairs.
Layan lagi gambar ok...
Similar like Gyeongbokgung Palace in South Korea, the paving in the Forbidden City also was purposely made uneven so that those who approach the king will do so with caution as they have to watch their stepping. In turn, this would mean they were constantly lowering their head to the king as like a respect to the king.
Sukenya deme..
Lets check what's inside....
Closer into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Berapa ramai paparazzi nak mengendap inside the hall... :P
What was this?? Description as below.
Sebut betul2... silap baca lebih kurang "sundal" plak bunyinya 😅😅
Another brilliant invention. The fire protection system. Description as below photo.
Description.
• The second hall, behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony which is the Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghedian), the resting place of the emperor before presiding over grand events held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Emperors would rehearse their speeches and presentations here before departing to the Temple of Heaven for the sacrifice rites.
Hall of Central Harmony.
• The last hall is the Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian), used for banquets and later for imperial examinations.
Surprisingly some area in the palace was quite deserted.
The Forbidden City is the largest and most complete complex of ancient wooden structures in the world. The main frames of all buildings were built with high-quality wooden beams and columns, including whole trunks of precious Phoebe zhennan wood from the jungles of southwest China.
The main colors of the Forbidden City are yellow and red. The walls, pillars, doors, and windows were mostly painted in red, which is a regarded as a symbol of good fortune, and happiness in Chinese culture. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, yellow was a symbol of supreme power and only used by the imperial family. If you climb up to the top of "Scenery Hill" in Jingshan Park and overlook the Forbidden City, you will see an expanse of yellow glazed tile roofs.
In front of red door.
In front of one of the Hall.
The roof and Jingshan Imperial Park from distance.
3. The Inner Court
The inner court was the residential area which has three main structures at the northern rear of the Forbidden City:
• The first structure inside the inner court is the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong), the emperors' sleeping quarters.
Jom layan gambar lagi...
The Hall.
Description is available.
The throne in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Outside the Hall.
• The second structure, located behind the Palace of Heavenly Purity is the Palace of Union and Peace (Jiaotaidian), where the imperial seals were stored.
• And The third hall is the Hall of Terrestrial Tranquility (Kunninggong), which was the emperors' wedding room.
Besides the three main buildings, there are the six eastern palaces and six western palaces, where the emperor used to handle everyday affairs, and which was the living quarters of the emperor, expresses, and concubines. Converted into exhibition halls, they now display a spectacular set of imperial treasures.
So that was it.. This palace indeed was so big. I could easily make 3-4 posts just about Forbidden City and upload all photos here but will never ended.. 😅 So ya enough is enough! After about 2hours tour inside the Forbidden City, we finally found our way to exit the palace. Perut pun sudah lapar.. mana taknya it was already 3pm, already passed lunch time! 😅😅 So next mission was to find place to eat.
But it was not that easy... the journey was still long to go...
I will continue on next post ok.
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