Today we went to the Forbidden City then went to this really hipster part of town which is known for its artwork. We learned a lot thanks to our awesome tour guides. Everything in the forbidden city has a purpose and has symbolism. I also learned a lot about the eunuchs and their role. Let's just say that I would rather not be castrated and serve the emperor. Ouch! The dragon in China symbolizes the emperor and power. The passageways up to the forbidden city were even segregated with the emperor only traveling along the center road. The palace was designed with a purpose and it was designed according to the cosmos.
The emperor was constantly paranoid and would have many people try to the food before eating. Poison was very common and the emperor would use silver chopsticks to detect poison. There were also 15 layers of bricks because the emperor was paranoid about tunnels being built under the palace. In fact he would sleep in different places each night. The empress and concubines were also always a source of his paranoia. In fact no woman, his wife nor his mistresses would spend the full night with him. There was constantly drama between the empress and the concubines. Sometimes the emperor would have 3,000 concubines. Some he may never have met or slept with. The concubines would pay the eunuchs to spy on the empress so they could find out when the empress was gone so they could try to get closer to the emperor.
After going to the Forbidden City we went to this really awesome art district of town. Evidently hipsters are everywhere especially Beijing. This area of town used to be very industrial but has been transformed completely.
Just a couple of things I would like to point out. The city of Beijing is absolutely enormous and really nice. There are parks and the city is full of cool architecture. However the smog here is no joke. People that own cars are not allowed to drive every day of the week it depends on their license plate and the number they are assigned. However every day more than 1,000 new cars enter the streets.
The people here have been really really friendly. I can't tell you how many people have come up to us and said hello or brought there young kids over or have wanted a picture with us. Awesome stuff!
Real estate here is crazy expensive. $5,000 per square meter. You also omen the propert for 60 years not life.
Tomorrow we are going to the Great Wall of China. We get to take a toboggan down. Then we get to go to the traditional neighborhoods of Beijing, the Hutongs. I am so lucky!
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