Lost in the Forbidden City [UPDATED]

1. A matter was settled on the evening we went out for Sichuan cuisine: I saw an albinic Asian playing the trumpet. Kristin and I had discussed whether albinism exists among Asians, and although his hair was dyed, other key features clued me in.

2. While riding the subway this morning, a young boy was bouncing happily around the train. I noticed him because of a semi-permanent electrode stuck on his head.

3. At one stop on the ride, a mother and another young boy squeezed on to the train. There was a space between me and Kristin, but the boy--bashful and hesitant to stand between two foreigners--shyly hid behind his mom.

Besides 90 seconds of the series finale, I’ve never watched the tv show, Lost (I sometimes think that’s odd, considering it contained elements that would usually attract me, such as dinosaurs.) But here’s what I assume is an accurate synopsis: strangers board a plane, and then find themselves interconnected and stranded on an island. Today felt like I was in the series of Lost, because even though I passed these three people miles (and a day) apart from each other, we were brought back together in the Forbidden City. AMONG THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS. what’re the chances?? (no really, I would like a statistician to determine this for me. prove that you earned your degree.)

--

This saturday morning, Kristin and I finally boarded the subway at about 10:30. Pretty late if you’re wanting to battle thousands (or more?) of other tourists on a weekend at the most densely concentrated tourist destinations in the city: the Forbidden City and Tianenmen Square. The Square is adjacent to the City on the latter’s southern edge, and its vastness (it’s the 1st or 2nd largest square in the world, depending on whom you ask). Really, emerging out of the subway station is what I imagine living in an anthill would be like: you march in queues along with so many people towards the mona lisa-esque portrait of Mao hanging above the Tianenmen Gate.


Kristin: “I’ll bet he was photoshopped.”

Along the way, you also see some jawesome lions:

How many cats can you count? 48, if you can see the lions on the roof. This is a little variation on the game we usually play, How Many Cameras Can You Count?


This is the advanced version of that game.

Anyway, after we got past the sphinx of Mao (does anyone remember the Sphinx scene from The Neverending Story?) We got into.. another square. Seriously, sometimes I feel like wall lobbyists were involved in the planning of the Forbidden City - there’s one after another! But we queued to buy tickets, then queued to rent an audio guide, and then queued to obtain the audio guide (streamline engineer needed). Actually, the first two were lines, but the third was more like a mosh pit. I honestly think I had more body contact in those five minutes than in even my fiercest group hugs.

It was a lost in the first line that we saw boy number 2. “Oh, look, there’s that boy with the electrode. How interesting that we see him here.” It really wasn’t very exciting.

Equipped with tickets and earphones coated with others’ sweat, we were free to roam where commoners were once banned! and then walked over the Golden Stream...

(and through another gate, the Gate of Supreme Harmony) to the Court of the Imperial Palace:
or Sea of Flagstones. You can choose.

Kristin--who was in charge of the Forbidden City history--mentioned something about how one dynasty was all about supremacy, which is why the halls and courtyards used to have that in their names. But then another dynasty was all about ying/yang, so they included “harmony” into the names. fancy.

Kristin loved the Hall of Supreme Harmony so much that she demanded a picture of her doing the hand motions in front of the building:

(it’s supposed to look more meditative than “raise the roof.”) the three levels of marble stairs is supposed to be symbolic of its holiness. Also, there are lots of lions on the edge of the roof. can you see them? they scare away evil spirits. they may also be dragons.



Just beyond this point, we saw boy #3. Just like a T-rex, my eyes catch movement, and I spotted his I-Gotta-Pee dance as we passed the hall. “Oh, that’s a bit more interesting to see two people that we saw earlier today, especially among all the people.” But right then his mom handed him an empty bottle to fill, and so I looked away and pondered more supremely harmonious things, like how best to mimic a bird statue:

(can you tell which is the bird, and which is me?? didn’t think so).

At this point, I was content we’d come here. I mean, how else could I connect to Puyi in The Last Emperor than to be at his casa? But to be honest, much of the place was the same (admittedly finely crafted) things over and over: carved stones, colorful eaves, viewpoints into dark halls for which I had to body surf to see. But then… we saw boy #1. At this point, I freaked out a lil and started to fear the Mist Monster from Lost would pop up to say “hello”. I mean, what are the odds? (statisticians?) But, considering how often I freak out a lil, I’m pretty good at hiding it and didn’t mention anything to Kristin until later.

Also, I was distracted by the glory that--beyond the Palace of Heavenly Beauty, Hall of Union, and Palace of Earthly Peace--is the Imperial Gardens! Seriously, amazing. Kristin: “I was thinking, ‘oh, they have gardens like this in San Fran,’ but then I was like, ‘Wait, these are Chinese Chinese Gardens. In the Forbidden City!’”

Just “ooh” and “ahh” at the pictures, okay?

Upon exiting the Forbidden City on the north, we beheld a large hill that was constructed from the earth displaced from the building of the moat:


never deterred from a lil hike (and with the aid of a few popsicles. mine was Red Bean flavored.), we made it to the top of the hill (Jingshan Park) for the view:

“they should’ve sent a poet…”

The temple at the top housed a buddha watching over the Forbidden City.


at the bottom of the hill, we found a huge peony garden and also lots of older Chinese people enjoying a stroll. Better still, they were strolling towards a square where a small band was playing:

























--I'm not sure why there's this extra space here--


You know the American pastime that teens play called “hackysack”? Well (like most things), the Chinese must have invented that and badminton. Evidence:


Oh yes, those are real bird feathers.

On either side of the gazebo featuring the band were two groups of middle-aged badminton/hacky-sackers:


Unfortunately, I got too close and they kicked the birdy to me. Despite my conflict between wanting to connect with the Chinese and wanting to not look like an idiot, I kicked the birdy around a bit. Most of the times it landed lifeless in the middle of our circle, but once or twice a hit a home run out of the park. This is when I really wished that I’d played soccer more. But, unlike my experience with soccer where I kicked the ball triumphantly into (*ahem*) the wrong goal, I knew when to quit and thanked them for the invitation.

It was very cool and the ambiance had a very organic feel to it. We felt pretty special for getting to share this with the Chinese (and acted like we didn’t have to share it with a few other Westerners whom we saw).

After we had our fill of the park, we left and a rickshaw driver approached us with an offer to visit a hutong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong). My understanding is that hutongs are old neighborhoods with winding roads. I’ve read that it’s a “must see”, but nervous about losing my way in a maze, I wanted to be guided. So after a little friendly bargaining, Kristin and I sat down and were pulled by bike.



From what I gather in the broken English, traditional housing included walled family dwellings with a courtyard. The could include a few floors and many rooms to accommodate an extended family, but following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, Mao divided up the houses for several families to live in. In the last decade or two, however, people have started to restore some of the original dwellings.




Some had fancy doors:

the stone fixtures at the bottom indicate the profession of the head of household (military in this case, clerk in the previous). The number of beams above the doorway (two in this case) indicate his rank. The raised door stoop prevents ghosts from entering.

We were told that Hu Jintao lived in the very hutong through which we were passing! As most of the buildings were constricted before indoor plumbing (I think), the place wad dotted with public bathrooms. It was fun to pass by little shops and residents, though I must admit I felt a little invasive. The neighborhood actually felt pretty similar to winding, cobblestoned villages in Italy. Funnily, our rickshaw driver brought us to a tea shop where he told us to check out the inside. However, my scam-o-meter went off as I realized that this was a trap to charge tourists exorbitant amounts of money for a little tea. Scam avoided!

I think he was a little annoyed that we didn’t play his little game, and that we’d been pretty ruthless in our bargaining, so we were dropped off at a bus stop at the end of our tour instead of Tianenmen Square. He actually told us then that rickshaws weren’t allowed to go to the Square (which was probably true) and also which bus to take. A little dazed, and nervous that we would hop onto the wrong bus, we walked.

Arriving at Tianenmen some time later, we found that people were just… sitting there. A person would lay out their city map or shopping bag and just… sit there on the concrete. Just.. sit. Okay, well, “when in Beijing…” Luckily, the lowering of the flag happened soon after our arrival, so we didn’t have to sit-and-do-nothing for long.

So, that was the bulk of our day! after that, we grocery shopped a bit. I was pretty dehydrated (I downed 1.5L of water). Kristin’s obsession with popsicles had curbed her dehydration.

umm.. hm, how to tie this all together…

Although we found ourselves “Lost” and bewildered by running into random people among the masses, we also found some experiences wherein we connected with locals and the history.

the end.


[EDIT]: I was asked why the people hang around Tianenmen Square. I think it's because people may be waiting to see the raising or lowering of the flag, to ponder the vast space, or admire the huge buildings that line the square (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Great_Constructions). Personally, I prefer the lakeside at the Summer Palace for reflection (see what I did there?).