The Forbidden City Beijing.
By Gary Marsh
@garymarsh6 (23393)
United Kingdom
January 25, 2020 3:30am CST
The other evening I watched a programme from National geographic about the forbidden city in Beijing. I have always found this Palace amazing. It has been used as the Palace of the Emporers of China from 1420 to 1912 when the last Emperor was removed from power due to the Chinese revolution.
It is an amazing building complex has over 980 rooms divided around several courtyards. There are three archways leading into the palace which are entered over bridges over the river that flows not only around the palace but also inside the palace. Only the Emperor was permitted to enter by the middle gateway.
What was amazing is the massive blocks of marble were moved from quarries many miles away. This could only be done by building a canal network when over the winter the canal would freeze. The massive blocks were pulled across the ice by pouring water on the ice which helped reduce the friction enabling the massive blocks to be moved down to Beijing.
The building is mainly made of wood which is ornately decorated inside and out with gold leaf and beautiful coloured paints. The roof tiles are gold coloured and the tiles on the floor of the great halls are made by a process that takes around two years for each tile. Apparently the long method of making these tiles makes them practically indestructible and are as good as the day they were laid.
The biggest threat to the palace is fire as the buildings are essentially made of wood. The other threat is earthquakes but there is a very ingenious way of putting joints together at the tops of the wooden columns. They are slotted together in such a way that when simulated earthquakes have been done on similar structures up to magnitude 10.5 the walls of the building have fallen but the roof and columns have remained intact because they are not fixed into the ground and are able to move.
Within the palace are massive halls, palaces, and courtyards. The buildings have beautiful names such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony, The Hall of Tranquility, The Palace of Longevity and the Palace of Purity.
There are three distinct areas of the palace. The front courtyard where people would be met in the first great hall. The middle section where the Emperor lived. The final courtyard is where the concubines and Eunuchs lived. No one was ever allowed to enter the concubines courtyard apart from the Emperor the concubines and the Eunuchs.
Once the last Emperor Puyi was removed from the palace it was turned into a museum and eventually opened up to the public. They are still finding out secrets of how the building was constructed and discovering new secrets such as secret passageways over 100 years since being taken over by the Government.
If you ever get the chance to visit Beijing the Forbidden city should definitely be on your places to visit list.
20 people like this
21 responses
@topffer (42156)
• France
25 Jan 20
Old building techniques are fascinating and we can still learn from them. Most of new houses will be disappeared in less than 1 century, I realized it after a big storm that damaged many roofs in my area : the weight of water made ceilings fall, and damaged them at a point that only the outside walls were still good, and some 20 years old houses had to be rebuilt.
4 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
You are not wrong there. I remember the Millenium bridge they built in London to mark the New Millenium. A great fanfare about it being the first bridge to Open in 2000 over the river Thames. They had to close it after about four days because the amount of people walking over it made it wobble and yet structures made hundreds of years ago are still standing. So much for university degrees, technology and highly over paid architects can not get the basics right. Look at some of the magnificent buildings still standing in London Paris and other places. They were true builders and architects. They were fantastic masons and builders.
3 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
25 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 It is more and more complex due to new materials used, an architect needs a lot of technicians around specialized in these new materials to do the calculations needed. Sometimes a lack of knowledge of the way a material will react with time gives little disasters. A good example is the cathedral of Royan : it was the first one built in concrete, but they used sea sand, and the salt made the iron rust and the concrete exploding. Restoring it cost a fortune.
This said, an architect having only a 30 years guarantee to give on a house, I think they voluntary make use of cheap materials for new buildings supposed to last 30 years and 1 day...
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
@topffer The other difficulty is with measurements. A shopping centre built a few years ago the architects wrote the pylons should be drilled 30 feet into the soil but should have been 30 meters! As the centre was preparing for the great day of opening it started to sink. It all had to be underpinned which cost a hell of a lot more than had it been done correctly in the first place.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (458862)
• Switzerland
25 Jan 20
This is something I would love to see Gary, this building is fascinating and to know more about how it was built is so interesting. I watched a documentary about the construction of the Santa Sofia Mosque in Istanbul, the first construction made by the Romans. It is incredible what they did to make the Church safe during earthquakes.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
And the bonus is that these places are still standing for us to enjoy unlike some newer modern buildings that are poorly built and won't last nearly half the time!
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (458862)
• Switzerland
25 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 You are so right, surely the ancient Romans were better builders than the modern ones... even if we know that bribery already existed at their times. In Italy nothing ever changes.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
@LadyDuck I think bribery takes place all over the world Anna. Back hand deals etc
2 people like this
@Alexandoy (65308)
• Cainta, Philippines
25 Jan 20
We were there in 2017. It was a magnificent structure. However, it is like once you see one, you have seen them all.
2 people like this
@Alexandoy (65308)
• Cainta, Philippines
25 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 okay, I respect your opinion. I am talking about what I saw in those structures.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
NO I disagree All palaces are unique and fascinating in their own right with different features and architecture !
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
@Alexandoy There was also a Forbidden City in Hue Vietnam along similar lines but not as impressive. It was surrounded by massive fortifications.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
Yes it is currently closed due to so many people visiting and being in one place reducing the risk of infection it has temporarily been closed. You will never get a photo anywhere without people being in it. It has been the most crowded place I have ever been. Hopefully by May things will have settled down again!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (326094)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 That's what we're thinking. If we can't go, we're not sure insurance will cover it unless our embassy bans travel there. But our visit isn't of great importance really. There are thousands more becoming ill.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
25 Jan 20
I would like to see it and the Great Wall but China is such a hassle to visit.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
They have not made it easy for people to visit especially now you have such a rigmarole to go through to get the Visa to visit in the first place plus having to go to the embassy to be fingerprinted and photographed which is a pain!
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
25 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 It's very costly also.
2 people like this
@amitkokiladitya (171936)
• Agra, India
25 Jan 20
Wow...the city looks so exciting
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
Beijing is an amazing place in fact I love China! So much history and culture!
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
@amitkokiladitya I take it you are talking about the flu epidemic? Beijing is over 700 miles from Wuhan where the outbreak is and the city is in lockdown!
2 people like this
@amitkokiladitya (171936)
• Agra, India
25 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 yeah..but at present it isn't a safe place to travel
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
27 Jan 20
It really is a fascinating place.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
7 Feb 20
simply 'mazin' what folks were able to 'ccomplish with limited tools, eh? i fear i shall ne'er be'n that part 'f the world to see such a wonder'n person. i'm wonderin' if'n we didn't watch the same documentary? i saw somethin' similar anyhow'n p.b.s. here'n the u.s.
didn't learn 'bout those floor tiles though...kinda feel cheated a smidgen, lol.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
I could watch programmes about this kind of place all the time!
2 people like this
@xFiacre (12626)
• Ireland
25 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 Beijing’s reputed air pollution precludes me from a visit unfortunately - my wee chest might not cope. I wonder how many toilets service 900+ rooms. That would be a lot of bogs for the emperor’s wife to clean.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
Funnily enough when we went there the first half hour stop was for the toilets bearing in mind most of the visitors on our bus were in their sixties and no doubt on Diuretics.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (85498)
• Bangalore, India
25 Jan 20
This definitely sounds worth place to visit in Beijing. 980 rooms... That leaves me breathless. I am really impressed by the techniques used in such buildings. They had such intricate details and techniques to make them survive through natural disasters.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
India has many treasures too. Some of the buildings are absolutely magnificent.
2 people like this
@arunima25 (85498)
• Bangalore, India
28 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 Oh! They are. With different invasions we have beautiful architecture masterpieces. We can see their own style in different monuments and buildings. They are mesmerizing.
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54407)
• United States
25 Jan 20
i spent several hours wandering there!!!!
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
Sadly we only had two hours in there I could have done at least four minimum!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
26 Jan 20
Maybe not at the moment but never say ever!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
27 Jan 20
@Nevena83 I hope one day you will. When I was younger I never thought in my wildest imagination that I would ever visit half the places I have done. I just feel very fortunate that I have been able to.
1 person likes this
@Nevena83 (65280)
• Serbia
27 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 I don’t think I’ll ever have enough money to travel.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (86833)
• United States
25 Jan 20
Yes I had been reading about this place a while back..it is incredible the history of it.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 20
Quite fascinating and they are still discovering new things about it!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
26 Jan 20
I hope that one day you will visit it Judy!
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23675)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
26 Jan 20
I went there in 1955 and I still remember looking around with disbelief!!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
26 Jan 20
I would like to go there and do it all again!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247191)
• United States
27 Jan 20
@garymarsh6 I would, too, but during a different season, and not now with the corona virus floating around.
@zhangliy0625 (25)
•
21 Aug 21
In addition, my English level is not high and I cannot introduce ancient Chinese to you more comprehensively. But I will study hard, just like China now, getting better and better.
