It generally takes a trick of Photoshop to turn Beijing skies blue, but maybe there was a hint of color the day we went to the Forbidden City. I did try to read up on China before making the trek over, but how much can you learn about a country of over one billion with a history that goes back to what may as well be the beginning of time?
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Outside the gates we met Laura, a student of American literature at Beijing University (favorite author: Henry James). For 100元 and the price of admission, we brought her in for the grand tour. At home you'd be wary of freelance tour guides, but this is China.
What I first noticed - and what you don't really see in these photos - is the wide open spaces. Enormous paved courtyards. Enough space for large gatherings. Large, large gatherings. So much space that even empty they remind you of how many Chinese people there are, ready to fill them.
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And the stones. The courtyards, unlike most other things in China, are paved with stone, rather than concrete. I heard once that a Chinese friend of my father's was quite impressed when he heard as a boy about all the stone castles lying about in Europe. Enough to trip on. How industrious must those Europeans be to mine that much stone... At least, he was impressed until, upon visiting Europe, he discovered that large stones are even easier to find than castles. In any case, the large dragons carved into stairways in China are that much more, well, impressive when you think about how far someone had to carry them. Supposedly the biggest one in the Forbidden City was so heavy they waited till winter, then iced the road and skated it to Beijing.
Laura told us about the importance of 9s and the bad luck of 4s. And about red, yellow and green. Red for happiness, yellow for something else, and green for something else again. Needless to say, the Forbidden City, being the emperor's palace and place of business, is full of red and 9s. She pointed out the emperor's bedroom and the head wife's bedroom, and their special doors, and other chambers intended for this and that.
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What was more interesting though was just hearing her talk about China. Does she like the new Prime Minister? Of course, he's much better than the last one, has done good thing for farmers like her parents. Does she like being a tour guide? No! It's not actually legal to be a freelance tour guide. You have to watch for the guards. They'll kick you out. But even without all of that, it's no way to get a husband. Being outside all day like this, your skin will turn a dark brown. No, no no. This isn't a good job, but it does help with rent.
I don't remember what else we asked her. Whenever we tried to draw her out, we got almost predictable responses. As if she'd gotten a preprinted flyer with all the answers. She was nice, though, and took us to a spot with free tea where we could rest our feet for a bit.
This was the beginning, our first day in China.
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