Tain'anmen Square, Forbidden City and Feng Shui

Our first full day here (Sunday) was a free day and we did some major walking. Jian's husband had offered to act as our guide - he's a bit of a history buff and Jian took their kids on more kid friendly activities. We took a taxi from our hotel over to the south end of Tian'anmen square. For centuries, the ancient chinese system of feng shui was used to oreint buildings, tombs, parks, etc. It was thought that by using certain laws of the heavens and the earth one could maximize the influence of positive 'qi' on one's life. In particular, there is a north/south (almost) line that runs through Beijing that was supposed to represent the exact center line of the city (and I think, perhaps the universe). Several important structures are aligned on this axis. We were generally following that line - and hoping for the resulting benefits of positive qi! The map below shows the area we were in, the center line (added in red) and our route (added in black).

We walked across Tian'anmen square. There was a security checkpoint, but it was pretty low key. Actually the only scanning technology I've had to pass through here is infrared cameras that are looking for people with a fever. The imaginary centerline of Beijing runs right through the middle to Tian'anmen square, including Mao's masoleum and the monument to the people's heroes (a war memorial) shown below.

From Tian'anmen square just crossing the street brings you to the forbidden city. This is a huge palace compound. It was built in the Ming dynasty in the 1420's when they moved the 'capitol' of China to Beijing. Twenty some odd emporers ruled from here over a 500 year period. The last being kicked out in a revolution in 1911. Coming up from the south, there are five huge gates to pass through before one got to the emporer. There are other entrances with fewer gates, but the southern one is the principal way in (more feng shui). Below is the first gate; note the picture of Mao is right on the centerline of the city.

I guess I didn't get a picture of gate 2 (wasn't counting them at that point). Gate 3 is shown below. Evidently if your meeting with the emporer went badly, you might be taken out and be-headed in front of gate 3. But now it's the ticket booth area for the park.

And now gate 4. These are big gates and not close together! To see the emporer you really had to work on it. Actually, your station in life determined how many gates you'd ever get through. A peasant would never get through the first gate.

The last picture was taken while standing right on the centerline of the city. Note the path leading up to the gate. There are stairs on either side but not right down the middle. The middle ramp has dragons carved in it. When the emporer came out the gates, he'd come down the middle, but he wasn't walking. He'd be carried on large throne platform; it was the several servants on either side that needed to use stairs. Once through gate 4 you can fan out and there is a lot of the palace grounds that can be reached. I don't think we ever did go through gate 5. It's a huge place and we didn't try to see it all.