The Purple Forbidden City
Now where was I … Ahhh yes, our preview...
For the First time I was actually feeling short of Breath.
“Common Chucky, just a few more steps.”
“A few more?!?!?! Looks like 10,000.”
“Quit Whining, you’ll make it… Hey remember… You're in China at Last!”
Feet don’t fail me now… hips and knees either. This climb up Jingshan Park, better known as Coal Hill overlooking the Forbidden City will be the end of me [and I still have to climb the Great Wall!!!]… Uh-Oh… tummy starting to rumble…I sure don’t remember drinking any of the water or eating any raw veggies washed in it. Maybe it’s that slightly greasy lunch trying to push breakfast through… Now What?!? The closest “Facility” is all the way at the bottom and we haven’t climbed to the first pavilion yet……
But Wait… this comes later... lets start the day.
The day began with the trusty alarm clock acting more responsibly this time and beating the back up wake up call by 2 minutes and I sprang from my bed… ok, slinked from the covers after a fitful sleep and nudged the comatose Dragon Lady into her morning grumble…
“Don’t start with me! I know this time we’re not late and I'm gonna get ten more this time…”
“Yes my sleepy one but Teng and the driver will be here at 9AM so get up or the water starts…”
“OK…OK you nag, I'm up.
[I found that our guide’s true given name was Zhang Teng, the western JOHN is used for the benefit of non-Mandarin speaking tourists.]
With that we started the morning “Dance of The Tiny Bathroom” [lovely modern design…extremely narrow with horrible lighting] and got ready without much incident.
Down to the buffet breakfast which was very nice and bountiful… some interesting offerings from Western style scrambled eggs to Chinese noodles, cold meats, cereals, fruits, various breads and pastries and salads.
A quick trip back to the room to brush fangs and Teng was waiting in the lobby.
Our day will begin at Tiananmen Square and continue to the Forbidden city which is only 4 block from the hotel but the traffic on Chaos Boulevard is so jammed and the cross lights so short that we could have walked and gotten there 20 minutes faster. 
Parking is west of the Square, touted as the “Biggest City Center Square in the World”
and after a brief introduction, Teng walked us to the south entrance which is guarded by the two massive Gates that straddle the line of the ancient
city wall, the Arrow tower to the south and the Formal entrance to the inner city, north 
of the wall line. We pass the statues memorializing the Cultural Revolution in front of Chairman Mao’s Memorial [whose glass incased body is raised and lowered daily in a temperature controlled vault] and stepped onto the Famed Dragon Path to the Forbidden City within the Imperial city.
Teng is a student at the Ren Men University [Peoples University of China] working on his masters degree in Finance and was asked to guide us because our tour operator mistakenly confused my sending out NOWAT’s as my being a journalist who spoke Mandarin and they wanted a Bejing native for this most honored guest [boy did they have THAT wrong]… at least that’s his story and he’s sticking to it. He is very comfortable in his knowledge of China, its history and cultural influences and his pride shows… this is gonna be one helluva ride!
At this point I must beg your indulgence if I get a tad emotional throughout this trip, but those who know me, are well aware that this has been an adventure 40 years
in the planning to include #7 on My Life’s List: “Walk on the Great Wall of China”. And at this moment as I gaze at the “The Heavenly Gate” [Tiananmen] entrance to the Imperial City, home to the 24 Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties beginning in 1369 AD, my heart begins to swell. I am about to walk the path of history. And I struggle to hold back the tearsBeijing’s actual dynastic rule began in 789AD with the Liao dynasty through the Qin, Yuan, Ming and Qing’s. But only the Ming’s and “Qing’s occupied the Forbidden City, [completed after 14 years of construction in 1420] until 1925 when the last emperor, Qing Pu Yi was deposed by the Communist Government.
Entering Tiananmen under the watchful eye of Chairman Mao [whose portrait is replaced
with a fresh painting every October 1], the Dragon Lady snaps a shot of a very emotional Chucky at the Gates of Heaven
. I am beginning to feel the goose bumps as I pass through the giant doors of the Inner City. The size and scope of the Inner City is amazing and we are told that of the 2 million people that lived within the walls of the Inner city, over half maintained the Forbidden City including 100,000 skilled artisans who designed and built most of the furniture, fixtures, and artifacts there. A brief walk around while Teng stands in the queue 
for tickets and we discover the display of cannons from the various dynasties that were not looted by the Japanese during WW II, each one a different design and function.The unbelievable number of tour groups, with each guide waving a flag of the same color as their caps, is amazing. They are everywhere and have no compunctions in muscling their way through.
We are about to enter the Forbidden City and my heart is now racing… I, a mere commoner by
the ancient standards, am about to set foot in the Head of the Dragon, where no commoner had tread prior to 1925 [except for the workers and eunuchs that served the Emperor]. Illy is snapping photos of my every step and as I cross the threshold into the Forbidden City my emotions get the best of me and I have to stop for a breath and wipe a tear… this is INCREDIBLE!!! I'm finally here walking the Dragons path where only the emperor’s sedan was carried [he never walked] and breathing the rarified air fit only for the Exalted one himself. It’s too much, and again I have to pause… this a moment I have waited 40 years for and the enormity of it to me is overwhelming.
Teng looks at me with a smile and instantly he understands. “Welcome Home”, he says. “It is as I felt the first time I stepped through Wu Men [South Gate] as well… I can feel your emotion Meng Tzi [using my Mandarin name] you are finally home.” And what a Homecoming!!! Now if I can just slow my Heart rate we can move on.
We proceed to walk slowly so I can overwork the camera…not including working Illy’s digital inside the artifact rooms. Each step is an adventure in learning, Teng’s running dialogue is eloquent and you can hear the pride in his voice as he brings us back over 600 years to the history of his heritage. The passion of his rhetoric is only equaled by his enthusiasm for teaching us as much as he can in such a short time. I sometimes have to slow him down he is so animated.
As we view the throne of the last emperor I recall the movie of the same name and can almost see young Qing Pu Yi as he ascended this very throne at the age of 7. More later about his love affair with the bicycle.As Teng walked us through the many sections he discussed the 9,999 bedrooms contained in the Purple Forbidden City [he always refers to it by its formal name, never forgetting to included Purple in its title]. If you were to sleep just one night in each room, it would take you 27 years, 4 months and 21 days to do so.
Lots of photos of lots of neat stuff… to much to mention but here are a series of scenes from the Purple Forbidden City..
I'll end this part and continue with our trip to Bei Hai Park and Coal Hill in the next one. [Yeah I know Rene'… it’s a bit wordy but… hey… its Chucky so just sit back… roll your eyes again…and read on]
再见朋友
Zài Jiàn Péng-You
Chuck and the very tired but properly hydrated
Dragon Lady.
再见朋友
Zài Jiàn Péng-You
Chuck and the very tired but properly hydrated
Dragon Lady.
