Inside the Forbidden City

There was a program on National Geographic Asia from the "Inside.." series called Inside the Forbidden City.

It was telling the history of this emperor and government seat of China. So just a few notes scribbled down.. I was lucky to see the documentary as I saw more from the F.C. in the film than in the actual place itself. The main halls are undergoing reconstruction now and they are closed to public until the Olympics. It would be worth it to get the documentary on DVD, so beautifully done and insightful.

Hall of Supreme Harmony - there are Golden Bricks - they are unique because they survive the test of time. It took 2 years to create them and they are hundreds of years old without the need to restore them at all. They are made of clay in a very special and laborious way; and because of this highly demanding process of manufacturing, they were as expensive as gold, therefore they were called golden bricks.

Restoration of Forbidden City is undergoing, an international team is working on it right now. 8 million visitors a year in F.C. Built in 1407-20. Legend has it that there are 9999 rooms. Seat of government and sacred place. Emperor's seat. It is the navel of the world.

Before there was Genghis Khan's palace - this was destroyed in order to build the new palace. 14 years of construction, 1000 buildings, over 10000 rooms. Home of 24 emperors, seat of government, heart of civilization. "City within a city." It is "an ultimate mystery destination". Largest wooden complex in the world. On the UN list of World Heritage sights. Mandarins - 9 ranks, distinguished by hats and embroided animals on their clothes.

Wood - for the Hall of Supreme Harmony: 100,000 logs. Pillars (= single tree) - it took 4 years to get the logs from the South to the North by river - only during monsoon rain season.

Emperor's dragons- they are different/special - 5 claws. Dragons bring water (rain).

Stone stairs to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. A big stone, it took 28 days to move this stone to BJ - on ice. They would be able to move it in winter only - dig a path on the road and pour water on it to get ice - pull the stone on it. (A very common method in that time.)

Eunuchs - in 1912 the emperor had 1,500 eunuchs. China - first country of meritocracy. Chinese government based on literacy. 1861-1908 - Xuxi: she was a concubine that gave the only son to the emperor; a disaster for China - she spent lots of money. 1924 the emperor was expelled from the F.C.