Entering the Forbidden City

It is hard to describe the immensity of the center of Beijing – Tiananmen Square is so fast that it is like Grand Canyon – difficult to get perspective and appreciate. The Forbidden City, however, we walked through, so we’ve marked its size through the soles of our feet. At first there are large gates and courtyards – large? No, vast. We walked and walked. It would have been stunning with a blue sky, but the sky seems to be where Beijing sweeps its pollution under the carpet. (At least it didn’t feel dirty on the skin, in the eyes, in our lungs.) Gate and Courtyard, Gate and Courtyard, then a honeycomb of living spaces which curled beyond the public spaces in a labyrinth of complexity. We got lost among the twists and turns, all the buildings painted elaborately, saffron yellow and green… Then at the very top, we entered a garden, as graceful as any Japanese garden, only elaborate in a Chinese way, not Zen like.