A fascination with Beijing that started over thirty years ago

Like every first time visitor, my explorations would start with the Forbidden City. I was familiar with images of Tiananmen Gate and the portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong positioned on the wall above its main arched passageway. However I was not prepared for the sheer scale of everything about the former Imperial Palace. It was hard to keep up with the multitude of halls, with names often reflecting harmony. Indeed I had to later study guidebooks to work out their sequence and names. 1987 also saw the launch of Bernardo Bertolucci's film spectacular, 'The Last Emperor', which had been extensively created within the walls of the Forbidden City. It was screened after I returned to Scotland. That production displayed to worldwide audiences so much of the beauty and intricacy of the Palace and indeed subsequently proved a boost for inbound foreign tourism to China. When I went through its vastness, following basically the city's historic Axis Line along which Beijing is laid out, although busy it was nothing like the crowds of today. Domestic tourism was then relatively small while the international side was growing steadily, but expensive. Western visitors brought much needed foreign currency and had to pay in 'FEC' or 'Foreign Exchange Certificates', something now long gone. One delight was the free distribution of cold drinks at the various gift and curios shops along the route.