Beijing 2024 - Forbidden City Side Courts and Exhibitions

Continuing on with our exploration of the different courts and halls in the Forbidden City, there were just so many to explore. We wandered into endless gardens and courtyards, and each one has a unique exhibition on. The one above was of the traditional musical instruments called a Gu-Zhen. But they way they exhibit it is so classy and well, relevant to modern times.

The instruments were so well maintained that even in their glass display, they shine brightly. Some were ancient pieces too! It's amazing how they preserved all these cultural items so well. 

A vertical display of a Gu-Zhen with characters carved into them. So beautiful. Almost like a magical spell carved into a magical item.

We also saw halls display of calligraphy. This was kinda similar to what you might find in the Asian Civilisation Museum, or the Peranakan Museum in Singapore, but here, it was just grander, and so many more pieces on display than just one single exhibit.

And surely you can't beat how the items were displayed, in ancient courtyard halls. Even going into any halls here was magical, like being transported through time into a different world. Just look at the flooring, from polished wooden floor, to concrete stone outside the garden. And the artistic character hanging over the door frame, so cute!

Wandering around the garden compound, we also came across a pavilion that has a pantheon-dome-like roof with natural sunlight shining in. I know it was a pantheon dome cause I've actually visited the Pantheon in Rome before, twice! And both time, it was an amazing experience seeing the lights shining in and bouncing off the concrete walls inside. But at the Forbidden City, it was placed on top of a pavilion instead, so the lighting wasn't as enchanting. But the dome still looked amazing.

We also saw so many elaborated stone carvings, mainly of mystical creatures and auspicious symbols. 

And lastly, we found a in-house post office! You could purchase some postcards and stamps to send them out. But unfortunately, they don't sell single postcards. I didn't feel like buying a whole set, so I just went in to browse and left kinda with mixed feelings. I guess I might have sent myself something if I could have just bought a reasonably priced postcard and a stamp. It would have made such a nice souvenir. But I guess sometimes, shops just want to make more money.....