Beijing

FORBIDDEN CITY, Beijing --- This was the seat of the Chinese Emperor from 1491 to 1911 when it was toppled by Sun Yat Sen and converted into a republic.

The 70-hectare area where still imposing structures stand, was the center of power where Chinese emperors of the Ming and the Qing dynasty were exercising hegemony over Southeast Asian nations, bribing their sultans with their young daughters as a gift.

But when Sun Yat Sen toppled the emperor in a revolution, the Forbidden City ceased to be the center of power. For three hours yesterday we toured the area under cloudy weather which made it comfortable to walk on. The highlights given by the tour guide were very interesting.

The tour guide said that each emperor had an average of 70 young girls, offered by their parents to be their concubines. According to the tour guide the emperors died at a young age, and it is no wonder that with their four regular wives known as empresses and their 70 concubines, they could not age longer.

What favor did the parents get from the emperor for giving their daughters as concubines? Ask our 11-year-old inquisitive Alec Rojas. "Nothing", answered the tour guide. It was an honor for them to offer their daughter as concubines to the emperor.

Why is it called Forbidden City, Alec asked the tour guide earlier. She answered that the common people were not allowed inside. But after 1911 the place became a public property.

The Forbidden City, which is also called the palace museum now, occupies the central part of Beijing municipality and was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its construction began in 1406, so it has a history of nearly 600 years. Over the years after its completion, 24 emperors ruled the whole country from here for nearly 500 years.

With many halls and pavillions, marble railings and steps, red walls and yellow tiles, the Forbidden City looks resplendent and magnificent. It occupies an area of over 720,000 square meters with 9,000 bays of halls and rooms.

The construction area amounts to about 150,000 square meters and the surroundings walls are 10 meters high and 3,428 meters long with 4 splendid corner towers standing separately at four corners of the city. A moat, which is 52 meters wide and 3,800 meters long, surrounds the outside walls. Thus the city was made a strongly fortified castle.

In the Forbidden City, there are magnificent rear halls, quiet pathways, secret places were important matters were discussed and an Imperial Garden for the emperor and his family as well as imposing halls and open squares.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts: the outer court and the inner court. The former is the place where emperors handled court affairs and held different ceremonies. It consists of Taihe, Zhonghe and Baohe Halls, and to either sides in front of these halls the Wenhua hall and Wuying Hall are on east and west, respectively.

The inner court consists of Qianqing, Jiaotai and Kunning Halls where the emperor lived and handled day-to-day work. The imperial Garden lies north of the Kunning Hall where green pines, exotic flowers and rare stones, pavilions and two-storeyed houses, ponds and waterside pavillions look like a natural picture.

There are four gates at both east and west side of the three rear halls, leading to the west and east halls, namely the western rear halls are Yongshou hall, Taiji hall, Yikun hall, Changchun hall, Chuxiu hall and Xianxu hall and the eastern six halls are Jingren hall, Chenqian hall, Zhongcui hall, Yanxi hall, Yonghe hall ang Jingyang hall. Each of these halls has two courtyards, the front hall being used for the emperor to receive his guests. Beside the front hall, there are one bedroom and one side hall. The Yangxin hall to the south of the western six halls is the place where the emperor lived and handled his day-to-day work.

To the south of the eastern six halls, there is the fasting hall. Beside the eastern and western halls, their are the living quarters of the princes. The dining hall and the Shoukang hall are to the west of the western six halls, and they are the places where the queen and concubines of the late emperor lived. To the east of the eastern six halls, there are the Huangji Hall and Ningshou Hall where emperor Qianlong lived after he let his son become the emperor.*

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