紫禁城: Home to 24 Ming & Qing Dynasty emperors | Political Center of China for 500 years!

Forbidden City here in Beijing. As I promised you yesterday, I will, uh, get into the Forbidden City and do a brief tour for you here. It's very packed today, very crowded, but also because it's very sunny, and so it brought in a lot, a lot of tourists here, and mainly the Chinese. I am very impressed and surprised that a lot of Chinese from different parts of country. Remember, China is so big. They really come in to visit here, and there are groups. And I was supposed to be with the group this morning. Things didn't work out, but life goes on. So, uh, there are military passing by, other ones. So, so what I'm gonna do is, uh, I want to first of all just walk you, uh, back here. Uh, I'm gonna switch the screen so you guys can see. Let me, let me get my, uh, Yeah, it's right here. I'm gonna switch it. There we go. So you guys can, uh, first of all, just to highlight to you how big this area here. So I'm gonna go back, then turn around and get a picture. The, the, the, uh, the Qin Dynasty and the Ming, uh, the emperors, all of them died in this particular, uh, palace here. So it's very, very huge. It was for the entire family at the time. So, and I'm gonna get into a little bit of history of it. I just wanted to show you at least, uh, what you can see here. So as to, uh, the crowd, it's very, very, very packed here. So as you notice, so I'm going to go and walk all the way inside, uh, through the, the, the, the big doors, uh, and those doors have some history to them. Not your average doors, but I'm going to just show you. Now remember, there is a lot of history here. I'm going to just do a brief based on what I know, then we just go from there. So now if you think about the Forbidden City, how far back you have to go in time? You have to go to about 14th century. Based on what I read and the historical record, it was 1426. And please, if somebody can correct me if I'm wrong or off by a few years, but that's when it was. And it was during the, the, the Ming Dynasty when they all started. So I want to show you here the door because it's worth looking at. This is like a very, very interesting way of— and those knobs here, I'm gonna touch on those. Those are metals. So, so my assumption is that they had these big doors like this. I'm gonna show you where they can stand on to lock this, to protect, because that's why they call it the Forbidden City. For one reason, there is one pigeon at the top right there. I don't know if you can see it. That's a pigeon hanging out there. So the idea of— and it's both sides of the door here. And what they use, they use a major barrel here that can block, that is made out of— I'm gonna show it to you here in a second. This is what it's made— this one here, it's what blocks or close the doors. That's what they're using for this one here. So I'm gonna walk through here and get to the main court. Like I said, 1426, when the emperors used to reside here, their families and so forth. One thing about how strict this particular— how strict this particular area used to be, strictly, that's where the name of Forbidden City came from because it was very, very, very strict. And if you go back in history all the way to 1426, forward. This gives you an idea of where things are, and I'm gonna get into the court here. Of course, it all went from that time, 1426, all the way to 1912, and it ended with the Qing Dynasty, of course, with the last emperor being Puyi. That's how far back it goes here. So I am right now in the court. I'm gonna see— so look at just the massive amount of people here. And this is, uh, the tourists coming from different parts of China, all of them with the, with the, uh, so which is, you know, it's, it's like I said, China is big. So I'm going to show you the back of, uh, the palace here. This is all the way from the other side. So, uh, I don't think so you can go inside there. But you can certainly see it from here. Uh, so what I'm gonna do, I'll walk all the way on my right and make a circle and come back just to highlight to you where everything is. So what's interesting about this, as I said, it was during the Ming Dynasty first, then the Qing Dynasty ended with it. That's where the emperors reside. To my knowledge, there are about 200 rooms in this particular palace, and it's one of the iconic place here, and not only here in Beijing, it's the iconic place for the entire Chinese civilization. This one stands till today, still hold the same standing for it. Anybody who can visit Beijing, they will come to visit the Forbidden City. And this is why, again, you're seeing massive amount of tourists with groups. They are the tour guides and so forth, which is nice. I was thinking about it, but I won't be able to talk to you doing this because I have to listen to the tour guides. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna walk through here. I'm gonna get closer to one other entrance. They are about, uh, 1, 2, 3 4, 5 entrances to this. So I'm gonna walk you through all of them. The first one we came through is what we came through right here, the main halls. Those are the 3 entrances, the, the main hall here. So, and I'm gonna move into the first one on my right, then walk away— walk around, rather, to give you an idea of, of this particular— it's, it's enormous. It's so big. But it's also— this is not about just the size of this, it's the reflection of the expansion of the civilization of the Chinese culture. That's how it was back then. And this is why a lot of us do not really have a grasp of the 5,000-year history. We just don't grasp much of it. And if you remember, last time I had Dr. Ken Hammond, He's a Chinese historian by trade, specialized, and, uh, so, um, he usually would give us an idea of really how old the tradition, or the civilization rather, here. So, so this is, uh, one of the entrances here. Uh, if you notice, there's only a few people on this side here. Let me walk you through the the gate just for you to see what's out there. Yeah, you, you go into the, uh, sort of the garden areas where you take— you can walk there and so forth. That's, that's how it was built here. And, uh, let me go. I'm gonna get you closer to a room, one of those so-called rooms, uh, but they're locked, you know. You can't get in here. They're I just want to show you since I am closer by here. So right there, so you see the lock, it's locked, you can't get in here. So, and once again, when you look at the, uh, the architecture here is a reflection of that, of that, that, that era where this was developed. And remember, it started back in 14 15th century. No, 1426 to be exact. So, and that's how far back it goes. So, and as I said earlier, it was with the Ming Dynasty, that's where it started first, and all the way to the Qing Dynasty, that's where it ended, uh, with the Emperor Puyi. That's the one that was back then. So Of course, the whole place has to be fortified by high rising walls. If you notice there, there's also the, the sides of, of to protect the whole area here. So okay, I'm gonna keep touring here, keep walking around to go to the second gate. Just for you to see. Then, uh, I'm gonna do this brief one here. It's nothing, I just wanted— because I gave you my word that I will come here, and I only follow through with what I say. So, uh, I— so far, by the way, guys, I hope you are enjoying these videos here from reporting to you from the ground here. I'm seeing myself and I'm learning myself here, so there is a lot to learn. Look at this one here. Look at this architecture here. It's unbelievable. Very, very, very pretty. And again, it reflects the, the, uh, the era not only in which this was built, but also how life was back then. 'Cause remember, there used to be some major progress back then. Then it went down. It went downhill because of the conflict internal, and there were also some social issues back then. So China is, it sort of experienced this kind of turmoils. And of course, if you go back to the revolution that took place and the famine that took place in China and so forth. So China has its share, had its share of, of the turbulence that any society can sort of face, except that they dealt with it differently and they managed to come ahead of that. So, and this is why you are seeing now the reflection of the progress that the country has achieved. It's because it's perseverance. That's part of them. This, I do not know. By the way, last time I show you, I showed you one of this and one of you put a comment that says Japanese. No, it's not, it's not Japanese, but I do not know exactly where they're from. The Han. And I'm gonna ask if that's, uh, so I'll ask permission. Yeah, yeah, no, they're taking pictures here, so I don't want to get in the middle of that one, so out of respect for So let me wait till they're done picture. Excuse me, can I have your permission to share with my community? Okay, I have to ask your permission first. So here is, uh, here's a lady. What dress is this? From where is that? Do you know which area in China? No worries, no worries. So, but this is the one of the traditional dresses here, and the lady is wearing this. They're taking some pictures. Her friend or colleague is dressed differently. Uh, can I show you? Okay, they're saying okay, it's okay if I show her with the dress. This is another dress here. So, and, uh, so I just want to share this with the community. Thank you very much. So very, very, very nice. They take pictures a lot here with the, the visitors and so forth. So, uh, once again, this is one side of the— this is the first, uh, entrance or exit. As I said, there are 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Yeah, this is the first one. And I'm walking over the other side of the second gate here. So very interesting passage here. So, and just imagine, imagine you're walking through history here. And this is the feel that I get when I am in this, walking around here, like going back in time. And you're talking about 1426. You know, way back. And, and you, you ask yourself, how many emperors walked on this ground? How many events took place, historical one that is, and so forth? And here we are in the 21st century, walking through here to see all this. So, so beautiful, and, and very— has some sort of an energy to it. That's the beauty of this. So one lady wants to take a picture here. Let me cross first. Excuse me, I don't want to get in the way. There we go. Thank you. So, so here is the second gate right here. Now when I say second gate, that's to enter into another major areas of the, of the palace here, because it's not just one area. What you saw here, it was only one from the entrance. And this is another entrance I'm gonna— that will lead us to another hall and another palace. So I'm gonna walk you through there. This is one of the reasons why I didn't want to do the tour here, because I won't be able to talk to you, uh, if I did the tour here. But once again, here is the— this is the courtyard, the second courtyard here. And if you notice, that's the extension again from the previous one. So I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna get in the middle. Everybody will have— and I'll go to the center to share this with you. By the way, this is not funny, but can you guys hear me right? Just give me a thumbs up, please. I want to make sure. Okay, let me see. I'm going to wear my glasses to see. Yeah, if you can just give me a thumbs up, I would like— I would greatly appreciate it. Uh, okay, there's a delay here. I don't know why it's not showing up. Oh, can hear you. Thank you very much, Kevin. And by the way, appreciate you coming. Kevin, JD, thank you, thank you guys. I just want to make sure, uh, it's a learning, a learning experience from what I had last time at the Tenement, uh, the first time. So anyway, back to my conversation here about the second part of the palace here. So once again, you look at it, it's the same design as the first, or the same layout rather, from the first one, you know. It's just like with more rooms And of course, remember, over 200 rooms, at least based on what I read. And that's why it was called the Forbidden City. It's because getting here was very, very, very restricted. So you won't be able— that's, that's where the name came from. So I'm gonna take you over to the back of the main, main structure of the building. And I want to show you some, uh, traditional iron, uh, huge pots. I don't know what they call them here, uh, the, the term for them, uh, just to me— you, you'll see, I'm going to show you. Let me walk here, then, then I'll go the other side. So here is the Uh, here is the, the back of the, the other building from the first courtyard. So this is like the second building, if you may want to use the term. So there is one, this is second, and the third one is the one I'm gonna walk towards later on. That's right, the one you're looking at. Everybody's going there now. That You can get up there, and I'm going to, I'm going to take you up there so you can see. Uh, for this, I'm going to get you closer so you'll see those, those. They are so— I don't know how long they've been here, but I can only imagine, uh, those been for a long, long, long time because, you know, you just take a look here. Look at this. Uh, I do not know what they used to be used for. But, but it's a major, major pot. If the, the iron— I think it's iron. Yep, iron, cast iron. So it's only a major one here. So, all right, let me, let me walk you through the other side here so we can see. Uh, now if you noticed, this is sealed here. You can't, you can't get up here. You can't see this because— and rightly so, you don't want people walking around here. So this is like the, uh, the second building from the first courtyard. So, so, and they sealing off, uh, all this. As you notice, the doors were from what it used to be back then. So All right, let me walk you, let me walk you over to the other side. Uh, there are a lot of group, uh, group tours here, uh, with the, uh, a tour guide that provides some, uh, historical knowledge about the whole Forbidden City aspects of it. So this is one of those groups taking a picture here. Large one. And if you notice, there are Chinese, not foreigners, they're Chinese. There are a lot, a lot of Chinese from different parts. I asked, as a matter of fact, I asked some through the translator, and he told me, yeah, we coming from the west side of China to visit here. So, so see, they all, they're very, very, very proud of their country. I know, rightly so. Where it is today. Uh, I didn't mind the waiting line because if you ever come here, make sure you get early. I got up at 6 o'clock in the morning here today to make sure you get on time, and even with that, I was late a little bit. But that's— it's okay, it's not a big deal. So I'm gonna— oh, oh, I remember seeing this in one of the museums in Shanghai. I think I snapped a picture of this particular, uh, the— I don't know what it is, pots, whatever they call them. This is during, uh, if I am not mistaken, during the Ming Dynasty. That's what I recall from the, uh, from the museum, what I saw. And I have picture. When I get back home, I'll share the picture with you guys. So very, very interesting. And it gives you an idea that even back then they had some kind of understanding of how to build not only this kind of stuff, but also they built tools by which they managed their, you know, their defense, manage their how to live daily lives and so forth. So I'm gonna walk up the stairs here. And get you closer to the third building. Let me go back here and take you back to watch here. Remember, that's the second building from the first courtyard. It was another building at the front, second, and the one we're gonna see now is the third one, which I'm gonna take you through because it's open to the public. This is huge. It's big. So when they have 200 rooms, you can only imagine. And yet, uh, the— throughout both dynasties, the Ming and the Qing Dynasty, the progress has been made at a level that if we are to look at it today in today's term, it will be very, uh, some sort of progress. And, and so China experienced that back then, and of course went the other direction at a later date. So, so I'm gonna get you closer. You can get inside there, but if you notice, so many tourists here. So let me get you— yeah, look at this one here, guys. Okay, as you notice, there are a lot, a lot of tourists. Uh, tourist people. That's as close as you can get to this location here. And just to show you, I want to show you at least the door so you see the columns inside. And, uh, it was, it was a big, big place here. So I can only imagine an emperor, whomever that might be at that time, walking through here. And it's, it's again, it's a reflection of the historical changes that took place in this country from the 1426 forward. That's to me the importance of preserving, and this is why after 1912 This was made a decision to preserve it as a museum so people can visit here, but also it reflects the history of, uh, the history of the, of the China developments over the years. Okay, after this I think there is another entrance. Let me go check. Then once I'm done there, I'll go back to the center court, then I'll conclude this one here. So I have, by the way, I only have few more days left here, so inshallah I'll be heading out soon. But I did promise you a surprise, inshallah. It is another metal, uh, part, uh, pot rather, iron right there. So there's another one on the other side. Oh, that's another court. You know, this is a— it's almost— they were right when they called it a city, a Forbidden City. So I'm gonna raise this so I want to have people's faces. Sorry. Okay, let me move here. This is another traditional dresses. If you notice those, uh, 5 individuals walking, 2 females and 3 males, uh, those are the children. I don't know what represents whether the Huns, whether the, the Ming. I, I don't know. I don't want to assume either. So, and they don't speak English, so I can't— I don't speak Chinese, I can't ask them. So, all right, let me show you one other side. If you notice what I'm gonna share with you, uh, what if you notice there are some tall buildings on the other side? This is the the new development areas in Beijing. Remember, Beijing is different than Shanghai, for example. Beijing still has certain quarters in it. I'm staying close by in an old city, old part of the city, the Huguó Temple, which, as I said to you in a video, that was during the Ming Dynasty, so. But this is what you're looking at on the other side there. That's the developed, uh, areas of Hoods and so forth. So it is another courtyard from what I'm standing here looking at it. This is again a major courtyard here, but the main entrance to the other building is from this side right there. So most tourists will go over there, plus there is a little bit of shade, so So here is the third building or third structure that I want you to see. So, and I'm sorry guys, I can't see the comments because it's so sunny and it's so bright here, so I won't be able to see. Later on, before I, I, I, I conclude this I'll, I'll see if there's any questions and I'll move to the shade so you can— I can answer at least one or two questions. I'm gonna get you closer to the door because I want you to see how the door is made of. And they have the— of course, the area is sealed. You can't, you can't get in here, so This is how close I can get here. So if you notice, all a reflection of the exact, uh, sort of designs for the all the buildings, which how it was since its inception or its, its, uh, creation. That is Okay, let's walk to the other side. No. Oh, there's another courtyard on the left side of this. The earlier courtyard I showed you is on the right side. And the same building, it has another one on the left, which I'm gonna just point at it with the camera here so you'll see. Then I'll walk to the other. You know, this is big. It's very, very big, very huge. And I don't know if the former emperors come down to the courtyard here and have tea, maybe. I don't know, I'm just speculating here. So this is the courtyard, another one on the left side, and all those, uh, structures there, uh, rooms based on what I read. And still certain other sections, if you notice, behind, all the way back there. Oh, I lost you. I think I lost you guys. Let me see if we can reestablish, uh, a contact here. 41. Yeah, uh, I don't know if you can hear me here, but, uh, here we go. Okay, I wasn't sure if you're still on or you Yeah, okay, that is correct, that is correct. Kevin is the outer court. So to me, I looked at it as a court because— but you're right, it's because if we are to consider the court right here by the building, then this one will be the outer court. You're absolutely correct. So thank you for pointing that out. Uh, Let me see one more section here. And now, if you notice, the structure here is slightly different than the one before. Let me point out to you. So, so if you notice, this one here is slightly different than the other two structures or three structures that I showed you earlier. Now, whether this was constructed at a later date and reflected the time. Maybe, maybe not. I do not know the answer to that. Okay, let's go to the fourth court, that is, or the fourth building, that is. So I'm walking towards it here. Okay. Yeah, I'm gonna show you a writing to those who speak Chinese in the audience, if you will be kind, or in the chat room rather. If you will be kind, then share it with the community if you can translate that. Yeah, right there. Let me see if I can get closer. There is an open door and see if we can see through. Oh yeah, let me, let me see here. Hold on, I'm gonna raise this up for you guys to see. So I don't know if you can see there, right there. So very, very interesting. All right, let's keep walking here. They, they were right when they said you need about a minimum of 4 hours or even 5 hours to go through all this. This is if you truly want to have a better understanding of the development of this place, how it's all started. And that usually will be with the tour guide, uh, who is very, very familiar with the history of this place. So for me, I'm just providing you some basic information, no more, no less, just to give you an idea about the whole area here.