Beijing Stopover
by Jill Maguire

On my way through Asia, I discovered that the pyramids of Giza have nothing on the Emperor's Palace! My unforeseen stopover in Beijing proved a wonderful idea.

Today was absolutely unbelievable, a trip to another world from long ago. China is so much more than just the "Great Wall", so wrongly stereotyped by ignorant western tourists. Today I walked back through the centuries and made my first visit to the amazing "Forbidden City" in Beijing, which certainly rivals the great medieval cathedrals and even the Colosseum in grandeur. It is true that no visit to Beijing could be complete without seeing this magnificent monument to medieval life. The feeling of walking through these huge, heavy metal doors and walking on these ancient paved floors will stay with me for many years.

"The Forbidden City" as the name suggests, was not a place that ordinary people could enter. In fact, to keep the ordinary people out of the palace, the whole place was surrounded by ten metre red walls. These walls create an atmosphere of mystery, and the ordinary people "outside" were very curious about what was happening behind these walls. Another way of keeping the peasants out was the moat, situated behind the wall. Inside the grounds, I felt as though I was enclosed in a secure fortress. That wall and moat would certainly have deterred would be criminals.

The first thing I noticed was the Meridian Gate. From here the emperor would make his New Year announcements to the masses of loyal subjects crowded below. From here he also decided whether prisoners should live or die. I could feel the awesome power of the emperor as I stood at that giant gate.

Overwhelmed by the sense of wealth and power, I wandered past the gate, crossed several ornamental bridges, and eventually reached the hall of the Supreme Harmony. This enormous hall with 110 foot ceilings has bright yellow glazed tiles. This colour was the royal colour of the royal family (gold), and only emperors could enter such a hall. I paused and imagined the fabulous events that had occurred in this hall over the many centuries. Again I felt a sense of the awesome power held by the Emperor, absolute power over the life and death of every person in China.

At one end was the king's throne, and from here he presided over special functions, such as banquets, ceremonies and the political meetings in here. The golden lacquered throne was positioned between two dragon pillars and above it was a sphere hanging from a colourful carved ceiling. Behind the throne was a magnificently painted silk screen of nine dragons, which symbolised unity and longevity of the heaven and earth. Those emperors really protected their power behind mysterious symbols which kept the peasants scared and superstitious.

I really enjoyed the richness of Chinese architecture. Compared to the simple, undecorated Australian style, it was really complicated and ornate and many animals were represented in sculptures, engravings and paintings. The detailed art of that time was fascinating and their love of beautiful living creatures was obvious. The imperial family must have been environmentalists to have commissioned such expert lifelike animal paintings of beautiful sculptured cranes and giant tortoises.

How did the palace function and how did the people survive the centuries all the way from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty? The hold of traditions on the minds of the people must have been enormous. I began to feel quite lonely walking through this palace, feeling an immensity that suddenly seemed cold, unfeeling, and silent. The only sounds I could hear were running water, birds chirping, and whistling wind.

As I passed through the majestic gates on my way out of the palace grounds, I wondered how many innocent lives had been sacrificed to build this complex. For a moment I imagined thousands of slaves and peasant workers patiently working their lives away for the glory of the emperor. I asked myself how many hundreds of servants does it take to keep an emperor on his throne. I realised that the poverty of the people gave the emperor his wealth and position. The poor had never seen the garden beds with the rocks and flowers, the cypress trees, the golden pavilions. They had never heard the pleasant rushing sounds of the miniature waterfalls. Over a million labourers had spent thirteen years building the palace, as a monument to the supremacy of the emperor. It stands today for the "ordinary people", as a memorial to their servitude, which even today remains unchanged.