Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
IMPERIAL SYMBOLISM
Almost every colour and image in the Imperial Palace is richly symbolic. Yellow was the
imperial
colour
; only in the palace were yellow roof tiles allowed. Purple was just as im-
portant, though used more sparingly; it symbolized joy and represented the pole star, centre
of the universe according to Chinese cosmology (the implication of its use - usually on
wall panels - was that the emperor resided in the earthly equivalent of the celestial zenith).
The
sign
for the emperor was the dragon and for the empress, the phoenix; you'll see these
two creatures represented on almost every building and stairway. The crane and turtle, de-
picted in paintings, carved into furniture or represented as freestanding sculptures, repres-
ent longevity of reign. The
numbers
nine and five crop up all over the complex, manifes-
ted in how often design elements are repeated; nine is lucky and associated with
yang
, or
male energy, while five, the middle single-digit number, is associated with harmony and
balance. Nine and five together - power and balance - symbolize “the heavenly son”, the
emperor.
The Forbidden City
故宫
, gùgōng • Daily: April-Oct Mon 8.30am-noon, Tues-Sun 8.30am-5pm; Nov-March Mon 8.30am-noon,
Tues-Sun 8.30am-4.30pm • April-Oct
￥
60, Nov-March
￥
40; audio guide
￥
40 •
010 85007421,
www.dpm.org.cn
• Tian'anmen East or Tian'anmen West subway (both line 1)
Lying at the heart of the city, the
ImperialPalace
- or, most evocatively, the
ForbiddenCity
- is Beijing's finest monument. To do it justice, you should plan to spend at least a whole
day here; you could wander the complex for a week and keep discovering new aspects, espe-
cially now that many of the halls are doubling as museums of dynastic artefacts. The central
halls, with their wealth of imperial pomp, may be the most magnificent buildings, but for
many visitors it's the side rooms, with their displays of the more intimate accoutrements of
court life, that bring home the realities of life for the inhabitants in this, the most gilded of
cages. It is somewhat ironic that the “Forbidden” City now admits up to 80,000 visitors each
day. However, this is the largest palace complex in the world - even at capacity the countless
faces, tour guides and sun-umbrellas melt away as you walk under
Mao's infamous portrait
and into the complex.
The Forbidden City is encased by a moat and, within the turreted walls, employs a wonder-
ful symmetry and geomantic structure to achieve a balance between
yin and yang
,
positive
and negative energy. The City's spine is composed of eleven south-facing halls or gates, all
colossal, exquisite and ornate. Branching off from this central vertebrae are more than eight
hundred buildings that share the exclusive combination of
imperial colours
:
red walls and
yellow roof tiles. Elsewhere, jade green, gold and azure blue decorate the woodwork, arch-
