Last summer I went to one of the world’s most famous historical places, The Forbidden City in Beijing, China. It was the home of the emperors of the last two dynasties in China, the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The Forbidden City was built in 1420. It stands in the center of the capital of China, Beijing. It is surrounded by high walls with dragons on each wall. The palace contains over ten thousand rooms. It was where the emperors held their court sessions with their servants.
In Mandarin, The Forbidden City is called the Purple Forbidden City. The color of the palace itself is not purple however. The color purple is the symbolic color for the omnipotence of the great emperors of China. It was a place so sacred that the commoners could not even dream of ever going in. Even some of the officials could not go in there if uninvited.
Some of the largest festivals were also held at The Forbidden City. During Chinese New Year, the emperor would invite all the members of his family and his officials to a banquet. The banquet was consisted of a hundred and eight dishes of Chinese delicacies. It was a banquet so expensive that it could feed a commoner’s family for three generations.
Right now The Forbidden City serves as a historical site for tourists from all over the world. Everyone can go in there. It is a museum containing invaluable Chinese antiques and treasures.
I really learned a lot about the Chinese culture and its history from this trip to The Forbidden City. Before the trip, I always dreamed about someday of going there to see all the beautiful buildings, the treasures, and the antiques in The Forbidden City. It was like a dream come true to go on the trip and see the things that I have always wanted to see.