My life and other things: Forbidden City

Today we visited the Forbidden City. It is called as such as no ordinary people could enter it during the reign of the emperors. Continue reading to read the whole story.

Forbidden City

Crowds at the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City, or the Palace Museum as it is called, is a large complex containing several hundreds of buildings. The main entrance is at the Meridian Gate. From there on the main axis is occupied by the Hall of Great Harmony, Supreme Harmony, etc. In the west there are the west palaces, and in the east are the... east palaces. In additional, for an extra fee, it houses Hall of Clocks and The Treasure Gallery.

When we visited it was a very crowded day. It took about 20 minutes to pass through the security check at Tian'anmen. Although the Tian'anmen East is the preferred metro station for visiting the museum, Tian'anmen West could be quicker. Note that this is only the security check for the square, and not yet for the museum. It took another three quarters to get the tickets and pass through the security of the museum, although the security check only took half a minute.

Clock from the Hall of Clocks

As it was that crowded, it was almost impossible to see the insides of the main buildings. If you finally moved towards a window of a building, somebody would pull you away because it was his turn. It takes some skills to move yourself towards the front.

One of the quieter places are the part which require an extra entrance fee, like the Hall of Clocks. This hall has a collection of clocks collected by the Qing Dynasty. It is quite nice to see such an unusual collection; the majority of the clocks are so decorated that it is hard to see that they are clocks at all.

Near the exit lies the imperial garden, which is really nice. Although it was crowded, one could still sit an take in the beauty of the garden. In the garden, one of the pavilions takes the most attention. It is namely located on top of a rock. At the sides of the rock are ancient water fountains that in the olden days shoot water in the air.

The conclusion is that a visit can be a bit hectic, but all in all it is well worth the visit.