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Kathryn
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Editor Pick

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

  • March 9, 2025
  • Rated 4 of 5 by TianjinPaul from Rotherham, United Kingdom
Familiarity breeds contempt. This may be something of a cliché, but my experiences with Beijing's Forbidden City proved that it can most certainly be the case, even with the most awe-inspiring of sights. To begin this review, I would like to re-wind to the balmy September of 2005. I had been working in Korea for a year when a friend of mine and I decided to take the boat to China for a two-week vacation. During that period, I fell deeply and madly in love with the Middle Kingdom and decided that instead of finding a job back in England, I should live in China for a while.

A while turned out to be four fabulous years, during which my love for the country grew and grew. However, at the same time a sense of indifference and even of animosity began to grow towards the Forbidden City. The reason behind this was simple. Every time any of my friends or family came to China, the first thing they wanted to see was … the Forbidden City. By the time my father and his new partner arrived in the Spring of 2009 I was on visit number eight, and was truly sick of the place.

Naturally, my rather cynical attitude towards the Forbidden City is nothing to do with the beauty of the place. It is without doubt, one of the most stunning man-made creations in the whole world. Therefore, to give a more accurate, less negative review, I need to think back to 2005 and my initial impressions of the City.

Any trip to the Forbidden City should begin in Tiananmen Square – you can also enter through the North Gate, but this is pointless as it is far less impressive. The front gate to the city is large and overpowering, painted in bright red paint and crowned with a picture of Mao Zedong. To get inside, you have to pass through three such gates. At first, this confused my friend Alana and I as these were so impressive in themselves that we wondered if we had somehow slipped inside without paying the entrance fee. However, these thoughts were soon dispelled when we arrived at an even larger gate at the foot of which were a series of ticket booths.

To get through the Forbidden City, visitors must walk in a straight line South to North. In a bizarre way, much of this process, almost reminded me of a Babushka doll in reverse. Whereas the doll gets smaller with every layer, the Forbidden City seemed to get more dramatic with every gate or building we passed. This had already been the case with the entrance. Then, as we passed through the imposing main gate, we were greeted by the first of the main palace buildings. These buildings themselves got more dramatic and more ornate, until we reached the highpoint. The main palace building, which was truly awe-inspiring.

On my first trip, this was enough for me. The shock and awe of the main buildings left me open mouthed. However, on trips two, three and four, I was able to spend some time exploring the smaller out-buildings to the side of the main structure, which were equally beautiful, only far more small and delicate. It seemed as though only after two or three trips had I actually managed to see everything. Sadly, then I went into overkill. By trip eight there was nothing new for me to see and the city had lost its magic.

Despite my cynical outlook, the Forbidden City is certainly worth the visit. In fact, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Entrance in the summer is around 75rmb, but is cheaper in the winter. It is easy to find as every hotel and hostel runs an excursion and is right next to the subway.

From journal The Historic Parts of Beijing

Editor Pick

Once Forbidden Now a Must Visit

  • October 12, 2025
  • Rated 5 of 5 by garymarsh6 from Gravesend, United Kingdom

This is a city built for the Chinese Emperor who was cocooned in the vast city within a city. Building started on the palace in 1406 and it took 16 years to build. Over one million workers were involved in the building of it and precious woods and marble were used from all corners of China. In total it housed 24 Emperors 14 from the Ming Dynasty and 10 from the Qing Dynasty.

As the most of the palace is made primarily of rare woods it has during its history experienced many fires. There are massive bronze cauldrons filled with water in case of fire throughout the palace. The fires were started both accidently and on purpose. There was an abundance of use of lanterns which sometimes caused a fire. Fireworks were another cause of fires.

The rectangular shaped palace is surrounded by a massive 29 foot high wall which is 28 feet wide at the base and 21 feet wide at the top and it has four entrances. The city is surrounded by a water filled moat 170 foot wide. At each corner there is a large watchtower. The South entrance was used by the Emperor that is now adorned with a massive picture of Chairman Mao Tse Tung.

There are five arched entrances in the south wall the middle entrance is the largest only the Emperor was permitted to enter. After this entrance there was a stone flanked walkway through to the palace that only the Emperor was allowed to walk on. Anyone who dared attempt to enter the palace by this entrance was executed by beheading. The other entrances were used by different grades of ministers according to their rank.

The palace is divided into two parts and the first courtyard where ceremonial and business meetings took place and then the inner courtyard which was the living quarters of the palace for the Emperor and his concubines.

Walking through the centre archway you come into a massive open courtyard which is a huge open area with a river flowing through it. Here there is a military presence on the right hand side for the red army whose role is the ceremonial guard duties around the palace and in Tiananmen Square. They have a practice area here for marching and perfecting their high leg swings. This leads to five bridges that cross the river to reach the gate of the Supreme Harmony.

When you have gone through this gate you enter the square of the supreme harmony and standing majestically the magnificent Hall of the Supreme harmony appears before you and two other great halls, the hall of central harmony and the hall of preserving memory. The Hall of supreme harmony was used for coronations, investitures and imperial weddings. The halls are ornately decorated and painted with intricate paintings on the ceilings.

The ramp leading up to the Hall of supreme harmony is 150 feet of solid marble that had been hand carved with dragons and other delightful carvings. At the base of the ramp there is a pair of lions standing guard. The roofs of the buildings within the palace all had golden coloured tiles which denoted that royalty lived there. They were decorated with sets of dragons down the edges of the roof.

Reaching the inner courtyard you are now entering the private quarters of the Emperor and those of his concubines. There are three more massive halls called the hall of the palace of heavenly purity lived in by the Emperor, the union hall and the palace of earthly tranquillity the empresses quarters. Only the emperor was permitted to be dressed in golden or yellow coloured garments. Only the Emperor and Empress were permitted to eat off gold or silver plates.

After this great collection of buildings are minor quarters where the concubines lived. There are music rooms, tea rooms, sleeping quarters, courtyards, gardens and various rooms where activities took place.

The only men other than the Emperor that were allowed in this area were Eunuchs who were there to protect the women of the harm. The Eunuchs had their testicles removed which were placed in a small box so that when they died they could be buried with them otherwise they believed they would never enter heaven as they would have been incomplete and would be damned to walk the earth for eternity never being able to rest.

The method of castration was particularly barbaric the man was sat in a chair with a hole in it and a swift swing of the knife removed his testicles in one fair swoop. Many men died bleeding to death but for those who survived it lead to a fairly comfortable life. At the beginning of the Qing dynasty there were 9000 Eunuchs in the palace and only 1800 by 1908. Life was very harsh for the Eunuchs and many were executed for the most simplest of reasons.

When the Emperor wanted one of the concubines he would decide which one he wanted to spend the night with. She was washed and bathed by the eunuchs and all hair from below her chin was removed. She was wrapped in a yellow cloth and carried to the Emperors room. This ensured that no weapons were concealed about her person. Once the deed had been completed she was not permitted to spend the night with the emperor but slept in an ante room. The date and time of the union was recorded in case there was a resulting pregnancy.


Towards the back of the palace is the north gate. There is the dragon’s wall with a relief of 9 dragons along the wall. It is brightly coloured with blue glazed tiles and it is quite beautiful.

The Forbidden City is a fantastic collection of rooms and hallways all decorated in red and gold. There is no way that you would see everything on one visit as the palace has 980 buildings within the palace and 9,999 including ante rooms.





From journal Highlights of China

Editor Pick

The not Forbidden City

  • September 18, 2025
  • Rated 5 of 5 by garymarsh6 from Gravesend, United Kingdom

This is a city built for the Chinese Emperor who was cocooned in the vast city within a city. Building started on the palace in 1406 and it took 16 years to build. Over one million workers were involved in the building of it and precious woods and marble were used from all corners of China in its construction. The area it covered is approximately 720,000 square meters. It was a massive project which was to house the imperial Chinese dynasties from early Ming dynasty to Qing dynasty, the last emperor. In total it housed 24 Emperors 14 from the Ming Dynasty and 10 from the Qing Dynasty.

As the most of the palace is made primarily of rare woods it has during its history experienced many fires. There are massive bronze cauldrons filled with water to be used in case of fire dotted throughout the palace. The fires were started both accidently and on purpose. There was an abundance of use of lanterns which sometimes caused a fire. Fireworks were another cause of fire and finally sometimes the Eunuchs would set fire to the palace so that they were given work and paid for the work to rebuild it. At the end of the 18th century the palace was home to 9000 people including the Emperor.

The rectangular shaped palace is surrounded by a massive 29 foot high wall which is 28 feet wide at the base and 21 feet wide at the top and it has four entrances. The city is surrounded by a water filled moat 170 foot wide. At each corner there is a large watchtower. The most commonly picture that conjures up in ones mind is the South front entrance by which most people enter facing the massive Tiananmen Square. This entrance was used by the Emperor that is now adorned with a massive picture of Chairman Mao Tse Tung over it.

There are five arched entrances in the south wall the middle entrance is the largest and only the Emperor was permitted to enter by this entrance. After this entrance there was a stone flanked walkway through to the palace that only the Emperor was allowed to walk or ride on which led to the palace. Anyone who dared attempt to enter the palace by this entrance was summarily executed by being beheaded. The other entrances were used by different grades of ministers or dignitaries according to their rank.


Walking through the centre archway you come into a massive open courtyard which is a huge open area with a river flowing through it. Here there is a military presence on the right hand side for the red army whose role is the ceremonial guard duties around the palace and in Tiananmen Square. They have a practice area here for marching and perfecting their high leg swings. This leads to five bridges that cross the river to reach the gate of the Supreme Harmony.

When you have gone through this gate you enter the square of the supreme harmony and standing majestically the magnificent Hall of the Supreme harmony appears before you and two other great hall one called the hall of central harmony and the other the hall of preserving memory. The Hall of supreme harmony was used for coronations, investitures and imperial weddings. All three halls had an imperial throne in it for the Emperor the biggest one being in the Hall of the Supreme harmony. The halls are ornately decorated and painted with intricate paintings on the ceilings. The imperial seals were stored in one of the halls. The buildings are exquisitely ornate and very colourful.

The ramp leading up to the Hall of supreme harmony is approximately 150 feet of solid marble that had been hand carved with dragons and other delightful carvings. At the base of the stairway and ramp there is a pair of lions standing guard. The lion that has a ball under its paw is the male lion and the one with the baby cub under its paw is the female.

The roofs of the buildings within the palace all had golden coloured tiles which denoted that royalty lived there. They were decorated with sets of dragons down the edges of the roof. Depending on how many dragons on the roof would give some indication of how important the person was who lived in this building. The emperor of course having the most dragons adorning his roof.


Reaching the inner courtyard you are now entering the private quarters of the Emperor and those of his concubines. There are three more massive halls called the hall of the palace of heavenly purity lived in by the Emperor, the union hall and the palace of earthly tranquillity the empresses quarters. The emperor dressed in golden or yellow coloured garments which were only to be worn by the emperor there were different coloured plates used depending on ones hierarchal standing and only the Emperor and Empress were permitted to eat off gold or silver plates.

After this great collection of buildings are minor quarters where the concubines lived. There are music rooms, tea rooms, sleeping quarters and various rooms where activities took place. Small courtyards with rooms around them decorated with dragons and other metal bowls and miniature trees. There is a small garden area for the concubines to enjoy.

The only men other than the Emperor that were allowed in this area were Eunuchs who were there to protect the women of the harm. The Eunuchs had their testicles removed which were placed in a small box so that when they died they could be buried with them otherwise they believed they would never enter heaven as they would have been incomplete and would be damned to walk the earth for eternity never being able to rest.

The method of castration was particularly barbaric the boy or man was sat in a chair with a hole in it and a swift swing of the knife removed his testicles in one fair swoop. Many men died by bleeding to death but for those who survived it lead to a fairly comfortable life. Well fed and watered. At the beginning of the Qing dynasty there were 9000 Eunuchs in the palace and only 1800 by 1908. Life was very harsh for the Eunuchs and many were executed for the most simplest of reasons. There was a lot of bitchiness and jealousy amongst the Eunuchs and power struggles.

When the Emperor wanted one of the concubines he would decide which one he wanted to spend the night with. She was washed and bathed by the eunuchs and all hair from below her chin was removed. She was wrapped in a yellow cloth and carried to the Emperors room. This ensured that no weapons were concealed about her person. Once the deed had been completed she was not permitted to spend the night with the emperor but slept in an ante room. The date and time of the union was recorded in case there was a resulting pregnancy.


Towards the back of the palace is the north gate. There is the dragon’s wall with a relief of 9 dragons along the wall. It is brightly coloured with blue glazed tiles and it is quite beautiful and took ages to make and one of the dragons has a flaw in it. The builders were under strict orders to finish it but it was running behind schedule so one of the builders used a piece of wood to cover a piece that he could not complete in time which meant that he would have faced execution. Fortunately for him it was not noticed by the Emperor and he kept his head.

Many of the occupants never or rarely left the confines of the Palace walls at least we got out with all bits and bobs intact you might be glad to hear.

The Forbidden City is a fantastic collection of rooms and hallways all decorated in red and gold. It is really a highlight to any visit to Beijing and is well worth spending several hours here exploring and looking through the palace. There is no way that you would see everything on one visit as the palace has 980 buildings within the palace and 9,999 including ante rooms. Some of the rooms are not open to the public but the main halls and the concubines quarters are available to look into or around and explore.

It costs approximately 60 Yuan to go in which works out just over £5. The best time to visit is spring or autumn bearing in mind the intensive heat and smog in Beijing in the summer months when temperatures can go up into the 40C’s. Also bear in mind that there will be millions of visitors and there is no way on this earth you are going to get a photo without someone else being in the photo.




Editor Pick

Moments of Solitude in the Forbidden City

  • December 8, 2025
  • Rated 4 of 5 by blueskygirl from Bellevue, Washington

60 RMB for admission + extra for audio guide (the audio guide ended up being more of a hassle than anything, as we had to deal with a finicky machine and much to our disappointment the original voice recording with Roger Moore has been replaced with a flat, monotone female voice. Very disappointing!)

We entered through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, coming from Tiannenman Square. Just follow the masses... they're heading there too.

We really enjoyed the Hall of Clocks and Watches with their collection of early mechanical pieces from China, Japan, Switzerland and other countries. Some clocks defy imagination with their over-the-top designs and style. You will have to buy and extra ticket for 10 RMB to enter this area.

The former living quarters of the Empress was also fascinating, containing a library, theatre for Beijing opera (the Empress was apparently an avid opera fan), gardens and more.

We watched Bertolucci’s, "The Last Emperor" just prior to visiting to understand a bit more of the history and scope of this "city". After we returned home, we watched it again and recognized some scenes, including shots of the Gate of Heavenly Purity (where the ministers would gather around waiting to report to the emperor) as well as the courtyard area outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation where the emperor as a boy rode his bicycle in the film.

The Forbidden City opens at 8:30 am and I strongly recommend getting there early in the day. By late morning, it was completely mobbed. We enjoyed our moments of solitude and tried to imagine what life must have been like during the 500 years that this palace was off limits to the common person.

From journal Autumn in the Capital City

Editor Pick

Forbidden City

  • September 5, 2025
  • Rated 5 of 5 by onesundaymorning from Los Angeles, California


The feeling walking into the Forbidden City was intense. I am an American, a Westerner walking the halls of what was once not only once forbidden for many of the Chinese People, but especially to foreigners. Although the area is now protected as a World Heritage Site and has been open to tourists for a better part of a century walking the paths that the empress Cixi (a personal fascination of mine) might have once waled herself as well as 24 other emperors sent chills down my spine.
I entered the city via Tian' AnMen Square.
Once beyond the gates my group broken up and was given headsets. Out of the corner of my eye a small crowd of people drew my attention. Curiosity took the better of me and a friend and I ventured over to find that people were dressing up like emperors and empresses to have their picture taken. There was a small fenced off area that we were taken into and got to choose the robes and headdress that we wanted to wear. I almost felt like a true empress by all of the people who were fawning over us to help us dress. From there we were lead over to four different area (one was a throne, and the other some sort of gate) for our picture. I suddenly realized that we were rushed ahead of a line waiting to get their pictures taken and that a very large crowd had now gathered around the gate not signing up for pictures, but to take our pictures. Once we ready to undress a lady explained that it was exciting to see someone with our "skin color and hair color" to dress up in traditional costumes and that we had drawn a crowd. We didn't know what to think to sure felt like rock stars.
The buildings that make up the palace are beyond description and were even set up to the principles of Feng Shui. Everything is on display here from the Emperor' s robe room in the Hall of Middle Harmony to the banqueting hall in the Hall of Preserving Harmony. The halls are all breathtaking, but without knowing the history behind them they all being to run together. Luckily I had a self guided tour head set that explained everything that I was looking at; a bit dry, but very informative. The Imperial Garden, towards the end, was a huge surprise to come across. It's rather small, but beautiful.

Somewhere a long they way we met with a scam. "Students" pulled us to a side building where we were able to look at "original art work." Weary of the paintings and their high prices I politely refused, but my friend fell in love with a few pieces. Together we negotiated the price down for a set of four and left only to find that another "student" a little later had that same four "original" artworks for sale.
When we reached the end we found that there was a mix up with the bus and that there was some time to kill. I took this opportunity to explore a small gift shops full of souvenirs. I bypassed most, but couldn't resist a small doll dress in the same traditional costume that I was photographed in only hours before. Still with some time left we gathered our group of 60 students and teachers together for a photo. This turned out to be the highlight of the day. While taking the picture several Chinese tourists stopped to take our picture as well. Then two Chinese boys jumped in the picture with us so that they could have their picture with us opened a flood gate. After about thirty minutes of picture taking my group was soon out numbered with more Chinese then Americans in the picture. Our bus pulled up ending the fun, but leaving the best memories ever.

From journal My Cultural Revolution

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