We set off to visit central Beijing. That is the place where you meet the largest number of law enforcement per square meter in the world! Why this is so, it's not hard to guess… I said to start my day with something that is at the limit of my imagination. With the Forbidden City. Leaving the subway entrance, we reached a checkpoint (with 20 police officers), this being the mandatory access road to the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square or Mao Mausoleum. After my passport was checked, the bag passed through the scanner, and I was checked from top to bottom, here I am at km 0 of the city.
I went down to the underground passage, where the policemen stood motionless and made me wonder if they were real or just wax dolls, put there to scare passers-by! They did not even startle when a platoon of their peers ran past them. I would have gone to see if he was breathing, but here I was not in London or in Santiago de Chile, where being in a "gossip" with the guards was normal.
I chose the exit to the Forbidden City, where the portrait of a smiling Mao greeted me from the Tiananmen Gate. What could I do ?! I smiled at him too! I looked at her picture and the texts that flanked her: on the left, "Long life to the Chinese people", and on the right, "Long life and unity of the peoples of the world". So let everyone live! 🙂 That's why Mao is eternal!
I passed it and the Forbidden City opened in front of me. Why would they call him that? Didn't they find another name too ?! I go online to see what's with the baptismal name. Hm…! The desire to compete with the stars! The North Star was considered to be the residence of the heavenly emperor, in which no one could enter. The Chinese emperor could not be inferior to a star (be it Polar), so he created a similar place on earth, which would be forbidden to ordinary mortals. For this, 1 million people have worked continuously for 14 years! The Earth's Polar Star was to be the residence of 24 emperors, the last of whom was forced to abdicate (1912) and live for 12 years in the inner court before being evacuated.
I passed the Meridian Gate, having the privilege of walking right through the middle arch, which had been intended only for the emperor, the empress (on the wedding day) and the first 3 students who passed the exams for the imperial functions annually. Although I believe that in a previous life I had been neither an emperor nor an eminent student (there can be no question of an empress 🙂), I stepped under the archway and entered the Outer Court. White marble stretched everywhere! Even the five bridges were also made of marble!
Beyond the courtyard, followed the Gate of Supreme Harmony, whose central staircase was reserved for the emperor, a sign that after the wedding, the empress no longer had a preferential regime. Like them, all tourists had to climb one of the side stairs. The loss was not great! The important thing is that I had passed well in the courtyard where, in the past, the heads of unworthy soldiers were cut off.
After I took my breath away ("taking" a few pictures) I took three rooms in a row where you could only look into the distance. Well, even now it was forbidden to enter ?! How ugly the statue of a Chinese-eyed dog looked at me, I complied with the ban… The Supreme Harmony Hall had in its center, the dragon's throne that was surrounded by 6 golden pillars. On the ceiling hung a metal ball from a dragon's mouth, which was said to be ready to fall into the usurpers' heads. So the dragon was a kind of Vlad the Impaler! 😎 The wedding festivities also took place in this hall. I was curious if the bride, during the dance, was held for a few seconds under the metal ball. For one reason or another! 😛
After 4 hours, I went out through the Gate of Divine Power, which was used only by workers and candidates who wanted to become concubines. So, what conclusion could I draw after half a day? That I entered like an emperor (through the Central Arcade of the Meridian Gate) and I came out like a tired tourist!
After 4 hours, I went out through the Gate of Divine Power, which was used only by workers and candidates who wanted to become concubines. So, what conclusion could I draw after half a day? That I entered like an emperor (through the Central Arcade of the Meridian Gate) and I came out like a tired tourist!