Forbidden City and Taboo Food

No visit to Beijing would be complete without seeing the Forbidden City.  Built in the early 1400’s, it was used by emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties as a self-contained city isolated from the rest of the world.  It was both a sanctuary and a prison for the emperors of China. 

It was a scorcher that day with temperatures reaching 99 degrees Fahrenheit.  Another advantage of our hotel is that it is within walking distance to the Forbidden City.  We set off at a leisurely pace to the main entrance of the Forbidden City. There was plenty of shade from trees that lined Chang’An Road.

Like many large cities around the world, Beijing offers a bike-sharing program.

We stopped off at a random noodle restaurant for breakfast.

It seemed like a small mom-and-pop type of establishment.

We shared two bowls of beef soup with wheat noodles...

...and a spicy beef soup with rice noodles.

In years past, there were multiple entrances to get into the Forbidden City.  Now tourists are herded into one main entrance so that they can go through security checkpoints.  Once we were past the metal detectors, the Forbidden City was to our right, and Tiananmen Square was to our left.

Tiananmen Square is the largest open-air public area in the world.  It can accommodate about 1 million people (less than 0.1% of the country's population) for celebrations and events.  It was also the site of the 1989 democratic uprising and subsequent massacre.  Thanks to the Great Firewall of China, internet searches performed in the country show no evidence that this horrific event ever happened.

With all of the heat, crowds, and security checkpoints, this
would be the closest we would get to Tiananmen Square

Visitors enter the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate which is adorned with a picture of Mao.

As we entered the palace, we were beset by a horde of other tourists.

We fast learned to stay clear of the waving
flags and the tour group that followed them.

Chinese emperors were talented basketball
players, effortlessly posting triple-doubles.

With all the money made from tourists, you would think they could afford a new paint job.

At the ticket gate, we opted to do the audio tour for about 40 RMB/person.  The device which could be worn around the neck was programmed in more than 40 languages.  It would sense when we neared an important structure and turn on.  Just like communism, it works great in theory, but sucks in practice.  The strap was so poorly built that it kept coming loose.  Mine was the first to fail after repeatedly falling off the strap and crashing to the stone pavement.  All I could hear was a clicking noise.  The Wife's failed a few minutes later for no apparent reason.  Only The Boy still had audio throughout the tour.  I don't know if The Girl's guide really worked because she spent the whole time without the earphones plugged in, pretending like it was a cellphone.

The audio guide spent more time stashed
away in our pockets rather than in our ears.

The only good thing about the guide is that it had a free map of the Forbidden City on the back.

The Forbidden City is divided into an outer courtyard containing the three Halls of Supreme, Central, and Preserved Harmony.  These are the main attractions for tourist because these were the areas where the ceremonial and state functions were conducted during imperial times.  Coronations, royal weddings, and the final stages of the imperial examinations were all held in this part of the palace.  The inner courtyard to the north contained the living quarters.  The emperor, his concubines, and their children spent most of their time in these lesser halls.

We passed through a dark tunnel in the Gate of Supreme Harmony...

...to reveal even more tourists at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Only the emperor, carried in a sedan chair, was allowed to pass over this elaborate stone ramp.

Dragons and birds were carved into
the stones that adorned the staircase.

The worst part about the crowds was that so many of the short Chinese women carried umbrellas and parasols.
The spokes happened to be right at eye level for me, so I had to be vigilant lest I get one taken out. 

Most of the tourists crowded around the Hall of Supreme Harmony to gaze at the main throne room.

Very few people were interested in the buildings that flanked the courtyard.

According to the nearby placard, this sun dial symbolized
the Emperor's power to grant time to his subjects.

The grain measure showed that the Emperor designated standards
and weights across the land, hence unifying the country.

In order to actually see the throne room, which is one of the main attractions in the Forbidden City, we had to fight through the thick crowds.  Since most of our competition were local Chinese, not known to be genteel and mannerly, we had to be aggressive as well.  In order to get the kids in front so that they could see the inside, The Wife had to start swinging elbows.  Eventually it worked.  However, the kids didn't seem very impressed.

I could only get a blurry photo of the throne room.  It was hard for me 
to take pictures because some lady kept swinging her elbows at me.

Roof figures can be found on several imperial buildings throughout China.  The main halls in the
Forbidden City have the most in the country.  The first is a guy riding a chicken followed by... 

... a dragon, phoenix, lion, horse, sea
horse, a mythical suan ni, fish, a legendary
xie zhi, bull, and a dragon-like chi wen.

Unlike the roof tiles that we had seen on old buildings at other
historic sites, these were glazed yellow, the imperial color.

Stairs and terraces led from the grand halls down to the lower levels of the Forbidden City.

Several rows of dragon-headed
gargoyles...

...drained rainwater from the terraces. 

In imperial times, the Forbidden City would have been more sparsely populated like this.

Huge doors in the Gate of Heavenly Purity
separate the outer and inner courtyards.

Some lazy person polished only one and then quit.

Most of the treasures of the Chinese royalty were in the galleries on the Eastern side, some of which costs extra in addition to the general entrance fee.  The Hall of Clocks was one of the better exhibits.  The Boy liked the grand, over-sized timepieces.  The Girl really enjoyed the ones that looked like dollhouses.  The Wife favored those that resembled jewelry boxes.  I was just glad that the gallery had air-conditioning.

There were ornate 18^th and 19^th century
timepieces from China, France, and England. 

Five dragons in the Nine Dragon Screen.

Jewelry of from the Ming and Qing imperial families...

...are on display in one of the lesser halls.

This Phoenix Crown was worn by Empress Xiaoduan of the Ming Dynasty.

The ceilings throughout the Forbidden City such as this one in the
Hall of Character Cultivation demonstrate intricate craftsmanship.

Cast in 1791, this set of bells used about 1,400 pounds of gold.

This golden perfumer, in the shape of a mythical
beast, essentially served as an air freshener.

This gold basin (or chamber pot) from the Qing Dynasty is decorated with twin phoenixes.

The imperial family held private
performances at their own opera house.

These weren't real weapons.  They were props for the Chinese operas.

Sadly, the Qing Dynasty did not survive long enough to see the 8-track.

This sculpture, Da Yu Taming the River, was 
finished in 1788 after a decade of carving.

Weighing 5,000 kg, it is the largest jade sculpture in all of China.

Since fire was always a concern with so many wooden buildings, they were often lit in giant braziers.

During the invasion of the European powers to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, the Empress
Dowager Cixi ordered an eunuch to drown the young and pro-West Concubine Zhen in this well.
Although it seems like a tough squeeze to fit her through this dinner plate-sized hole,
the opening was actually much larger during the Qing Dynasty.

Conversely, it would have been easier to dump her down into the sewers.  In case any
C.H.U.D.'s get lost, the man-hole cover can inform them that they are in the Forbidden City.

After finishing the galleries on the eastern side of the Forbidden City, we were all wilted from the heat and exhausted from all the walking.  We decided to eschew the attractions on the western side, and exit the park.

Before we left, I did have to pay my tribute to the emperor...

...Western style.

A wide moat kept the rabble (left) away from the imperial family's quarters (right).

The four corner towers of the Forbidden
City were originally built in 1420.

Unfortunately, once we left the Forbidden City out of the back gate, we still had plenty of walking to do.  There is no parking area at the exit.  We had to follow the herd a long distance to one of the side streets until we could find a spot where taxis were allowed to pick up passengers. 

Even then, we were to find out how asinine Beijing cabbies can be.  We had been spoiled by Shanghai.  Over there, taxis were plentiful and drivers were happy to drive you anywhere.  In Beijing, most of the “empty” cabs were actually reserved for Chinese tourist who rent them for the entire day.  They would just be driven from the drop-off to the pick-up points.  Furthermore, since the traffic in the city is so horrendous, most cabbies will only take you somewhere if they can make a substantial amount of money to make it worthwhile.  It took us 30 minutes of trying to flag down a taxi before we finally got one.

The taxi took us to the pedestrian-only Qianmen Street.

Qianmen Street is known for shops that date back to the 19th century.
However, there are some burger joints that are much newer.

We stopped off at several establishments including a shoe store that sold old-fashion Chinese footwear.  The Girl was happy that I couldn't find any traditional foot-binding accessories there.

Despite a lack of an audience, this
cobbler demonstrates how old-
fashion shoes and slippers are made.

This "horse-hoof" high heel shoe was popular among the Manchus of
the Qing Dynasty.  They are mostly sold now for opera performers.

Although there are some revered restaurants that date back more than 150 years, we didn't have time to go searching for them.  We ate lunch at a more contemporary location called Gou Bou Li (literally "dogs ignore") that got favorable reviews in one of the guidebooks.

Gou Bou Li specializes in 8 different type of bao zi, each one individually steamed.

The best bao zi had some seafood components to them.  I was not very keen on the vegetable-only one. 

We washed down our lunch with
jujube, cantaloupe, and prune juice.

After lunch, we wandered into a small alleyway selling the usual, crappy knick-knacks.  Tucked away in the very back was an interesting stall where artists create a three-dimensional likeness of your face.  After they are done, they would stick the head on one of many models that you can choose from.  Basically, you get your own action figure.  We decided to get one done for each of us.

It took about 20-30 minutes for the artists to complete one person's head.

It was amazing to watch the artists at work, using only rudimentary tools and mainly their hands.   I was surprised to learn that the material isn't anything fancy like modeling clay, but just a flour mixture that becomes rock-hard after drying in a few days.

The price was reasonable for foreigners (~250-400 RMB per person) but expensive for the locals. 

Unfortunately, cracks formed in The Girl...

The Wife and I chose an imperial theme.

...and The Boy's faces after a few days.

With our purchases we decided to head back to the hotel.  We stopped at the Starbucks to pick up some cold frappuccino's.  The Wife purchased a new food product that Starbucks was debuting in China called the "dragon dumpling."  They are made of sweet bean paste encased in jelly, wrapped in bamboo leaf.    These were actually pretty good.  The Wife, The Girl, and I liked them, The Boy not so much.  I don’t know if it will ever make it to the U.S., but if African-Americans "don't eat scones," then maybe they will eat these.

The dragon dumplings come in 5 flavors—mango, strawberry, caramel frappuccino, mocha, and earl grey.

  

Despite trying for 20 minutes to flag down a taxi, we were unsuccessful.  Since we weren’t too far from our Hotel, we ended spending the next 30-40 minutes walking back.

We passed a public restroom that has solar cells.  Wouldn't
it be easier just to power the place by burning the feces?

After such a long, scorching day, there was nothing better than having a cool, refreshing pool to ourselves.

Once the sun went down and the weather cooled down, we walked less than a block to the Wangfujing snack street.

Even on a weeknight, the snack street was bustling with both foreign and Chinese visitors.

Vendors sold all sorts of snacks and drinks that you can imagine.  It was like a gathering of food trucks.  There was a huge variety of portable and over-priced food.  Besides the usual meat kebabs, dumplings, and fruit candy, there were several "tame" offerings.

This stall featuring shellfish had hepatitis A written all over it.

One of the most popular items were these roasted quails, served on a stick.

There is no easy way to eat these snails while walking around.

Workers take turns pounding out hua sheng su, a peanut brittle-type of candy.

Various types of tripe are sold on the snack street.

Despite the enticing options, we were mainly here to try the "exotic" foods that have been the hype of Wangfujing snack street.  Whenever I tell anybody back in the U.S. about some of the unusual things that I ate in other countries, they often give me a look of disgust.  Although some open-minded Americans have latched on to the idea of arthropod consumption, most find this diet repulsive.  For much of the rest of the world, however, it is considered fairly banal.  Even then, most of the "exotic" stuff at Wangfujing is geared towards tourists.  You won't find most of these insects being served for dinner by the local Chinese.

Several stands sold starfish, sea horses, centipedes...

...cicadas, silkworm cocoons,...

...locusts...

...and two different sizes of scorpions.

We decided to try them all.  Except for the small scorpions that were still wiggling on the skewers, the food is already partially cooked.

Once we picked our items, the cook dunked them in hot oil for a minute.

He then seared it on the grill for a another few seconds.

The final product was dripping with hot grease.

I had been freaking The Boy out for the past few weeks telling him that he would be eating a tarantula.  He was relieved to see that there were none available.  I guess May is not tarantula season.  The Wife and I had eaten the small scorpions years ago.  However, The Girl was freaked out by their wiggling, so she insisted we order the large black scorpions.  Kudos to her, because those freaked me out.

The Boy was initially very apprehensive about trying the insects.

However, he was eventually game.

The starfish was very tough and crunchy.  It was one of the least palatable items we tried.

The locusts didn't taste bad, but their wings would get stuck between your teeth.

The Boy was not very enthusiastic about eating those grasshoppers.

Surprisingly, The Girl liked them.  We had to stop her from
eating all of them so that everybody could get at least one bite.

Although I was a bit repulsed, the kids did not hesitate to eat the large black scorpions.

In the end, all of us tried a little of each item.  Most of us took one bite of each, and then The Girl would just finish the rest of it.  Overall, the insects all tasted about the same—like nothing at all.  They were just crunchy carapaces.  Unlike the fried silkworms we had years ago in Yunnan, these didn't have any of the disgusting, squishy parts inside.  Since the insects weren't very filling, we tried a couple of other items.   

The glutinous rice steamed in
bamboo wasn't too bad.

The fried birds nest tasted a little like sweet potato.

The curry shark was okay, but the crab tasted like it ate only mud. 

A worker makes dragon beard candy, a sugary hair-like confection. 

How safe is it to drink juice containing dry ice?

Although it was an odd combination, The Girl enjoyed the flavored gelatin with cherry tomatoes.

We wandered around the snack street some more taking in all of the sights.  There were several small, sit-down restaurants where people quaffed beer after beer.  Nearby, a lady performed songs from a Chinese opera.  The kids had fun posing with several statues scattered around the area.

The Wife thought the Chinese opera song was good,
but I thought the screeching sounded like a dying cat.

One hundred years ago, the kids would
have been the ones pulling the rickshaw.

More cheap souvenirs are also sold nearby.

Does the "BJ" refer to Beijing or...

Overall, the Wangfujing snack street was an interesting place to visit.  However, most of the food is really way too overpriced and not very good.  Most importantly, the kids got a fun experience eating insects.  And the best part is that we have plenty of pictures of them doing it so that they will now be teased mercilessly by their classmates for being "bug-eaters."