Impressions of China

The Forbidden City by Audrey

The Forbidden City is surrounded by a very tall wall called the Purple Wall. One might be confused with the name, as it is pictured red. If you can look close enough, there is definitely a touch of purple somewhere among the red expanse. A possibility as to why it is called the Purple Wall is that the wall is so old, 600 years, in fact, that the paint used on the walls is so faded and the sun has tinted it a grapefruit shade of red.

Street Peddler by Audrey

When we arrived we parked a long distance from the entrance. From the moment we got off the bus to the moment we entered the Forbidden city we were surrounded by a literal swarm of people trying to sell us postcards and figurines. They appeared out of nowhere and followed us like mad until they started dispersing in the crowd at the entrance to the City. This location is a virtual magnet for peddlers. They can only gather outside of the purple wall because of admission fee purposes, but believe me, they make up for not being able to get in by getting you good (or at least harassing you to a point of near-insanity) while you’re waiting to get in.

Crane Statue by Luke

When you go through the gate you pass through a small hallway that is filled with souvenirs and necessities for trekking around the hot courtyard such as an umbrella or a multitude of bottled water. After this dark merchandising tunnel you emerge in to a wide plain of stone with widespread landmarks such as statues of cranes, lions, and bridges over a small river that passes through that lead to stairways up to the first large building. Large urns were placed mathematically through the entire place, on the perimeter. Some of us hid in the shade of these, along with an umbrella to ease the heat, while others took pictures and explored this historical site.

Traditional Scaffolding by Jim

We spent about 15 minutes milling around and then the full group met at the top of the first large staircase. Some tourists asked some of us for pictures, and we observed the traditional style scaffolding they use in modern times to do renovations on various buildings.

Styrofoam Booties by Steve

Once we passed through that area of the City we were required to wear these strange booties made of styrofoam, nylon tape, and elastic. Yang said that they probably didn’t care if we kept them on, because most likely it was just a way of making money.

Performing the Cotton-Eyed Joe dance by Audrey

Further in to the Forbidden City there were museums and gardens. In one pathway between museum halls, the group did the “Cotton-Eyed-Joe” dance and a bunch of Chinese tourists got to watch us make complete sillies of ourselves.

Throne where emperor sat - by Becky

We left the overpowering landmark with a sense of smallness, which is exactly what the emperor, Qin, who had it built intended. He wanted to create a feeling of heaven on earth, and for all the subjects to feel weak and insignificant so they would easily bend to his power.