Took the crowded subway to the centre of the Chinese Universe --- Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. The Square is about 4,000 acres, made huge by Mao specifically to make the individual feel insignificant under the all-powerful State. The lineup to see Mao's yellow-waxy
mummified remains is about a mile long and 2 hours deep. And you can't help but imagine those brave pro-democracy protesters who lost their lives here in 1989. It's huge but on this Sunday was overflowing with tour groups and a few foreigners like us. Did I mention it's huge?
Across the 12-lane tank-parade avenue is the Forbidden City: home of ancient Emperors, Empresses, and I estimate about 700,000 tourists on any given day.At $11 each, you do the math. Hundreds of ornate buildings with names like Heavenly Peace, Imperial Harmony, Hall of
Purity, Earthly Tranquility, Mental Cultivation, Thousand Autumns, etc., etc., etc. In the 15th (Ming Dynasty) and 17th century (Qing), there may have been 100 people allowed to walk this divine compound. Today, it is overrrun with tourists, touts, and ticket-takers. You've gotta see it, but I wouldn't go back for a rematch.
Purity, Earthly Tranquility, Mental Cultivation, Thousand Autumns, etc., etc., etc. In the 15th (Ming Dynasty) and 17th century (Qing), there may have been 100 people allowed to walk this divine compound. Today, it is overrrun with tourists, touts, and ticket-takers. You've gotta see it, but I wouldn't go back for a rematch.
All of these pictures were taken in the middle of the day. The smog is obvious, constant, and very hard on the lungs and eyes. To me, that's why this City should be Forbidden.
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