Our first stop on our first day in Beijing was the Forbidden City, or Palace Museum. It was the home to the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was built back in the early 1400’s and it was called the Forbidden City because for some 500 years, everyone was forbidden from entering it without the emperor’s permission, which was not granted very frequently.

This was a great first stop for our trip to China as it was incredibly impressive. The size and scope of the Forbidden City was a bit overwhelming. The grounds cover 180 acres. I didn’t get a count on how many buildings but our guide said that there were 999 rooms altogether, 9 being a lucky number to the Chinese. Our guide also said that 300,000 people built the Forbidden City but I can’t believe that. I would think it was more like a million people. It was a mind-boggling construction project for the 1400’s as it would be for today. The size of some of the rocks that they moved and carved were huge. They did it in winter by digging wells and freezing the roads to move the rocks. The builders were also artisans as much of the carving is intricate, ornate, and very detailed. There are also hundreds of 500-gallon copper pots, full of water, in case of fire. These huge buildings were heated from below in winter by charcoal and coal. They had gardens, fish ponds, many trees, a sewer system, and a moat around the city.

Our guide said that the emperors had some 30,000 eunuchs live in the Forbidden City to take care of the place, but the emperor was the only ‘functioning’ male to live there. The emperors also had up to 3,600 concubines live with them. The city was forbidden to all but the emperor but soldiers, advisors, and scholars would come in every day to inform the emperor and to get his orders, but they didn’t live in the Forbidden City.

The Chinese believed that the only person with human rights was the emperor, per our guide. The emperor was a very powerful position and in all, China had over 400 emperors.

We only saw a fraction of the Forbidden City but we saw enough to understand that it was an incredible place. We saw the emperor’s quarters, the concubine’s quarters and the throne which was the source of the “power behind the throne”. But what might have impressed me the most was so many of the small details. The Forbidden City was highly decorated by artisans. The details of their work was evident everywhere in the city. We saw untold examples of true artistry. I’ve included a few examples below.

There were also many opportunities for learning about the history and culture from our guide but also from displays.

I loved our stop here but I think I could have spent several days and still not seen it all.