In spring and summer, the Forbidden City stops selling tickets at 4 o'clock and closes at 5 o'clock. In autumn and winter, this time is also half an hour earlier, that is, 4:30 to clear the museum. I believe that friends who have been to the Forbidden City are not strangers to this.
You know, Beijing in the summer more than 7 o'clock sunset, more than 8 o'clock will be dark, compared to other tourist attractions, the Forbidden City closed time is indeed a little strange. What secrets are hidden in this? Why do I have to clear the scene as soon as I get to 5 o'clock?
01
Rumors of four supernatural events
The Forbidden City has always insisted on closing at 5 o'clock, and after a long time, there are many legends circulating outside, and they are all particularly mysterious.
As we all know, the Forbidden City was the residence of the rulers of the Ming and Qing dynasties in the feudal era, ancient and mysterious, so there are many strange legends circulating here, and even Puyi has described them in his writings.
For example, the book records some legends about the elves, fox immortals, Wong Tai Sin and other related legends in the Forbidden City, and even The Second Master Guan in the Guan Emperor Temple in the Imperial Palace has appeared as a spirit.
In addition, as a place dominated by power, the palace is also a dark place of intrigue and deception, and the people who die here are immeasurable.
According to the Buddhists, if a place's grievances are too deep, then the place will become a "yin land", and some strange phenomena will inevitably appear.
It is said that many people witnessed this phenomenon in the Forbidden City long ago: some Qing Dynasty palace women were working, some washing, some boiling water, looking talking and laughing.
Experts investigated afterwards and found that this is actually a scientific phenomenon. Because the red paint on the walls of the Forbidden City is a special material, magnetic. In a specific natural situation, such as lightning, the magnetism of the red paint is activated, which just records the scene of the palace maids working.
After that, whenever there is lightning weather, this recorded scene will be played repeatedly. This is the so-called "Yin Soldier Borrowing Path". The saying that the Forbidden City is a "yin land" is also self-defeating.
So if this is not the reason, why did the Forbidden City close so early?
02
The real reason is the lesson of 62 years ago
The real reason for this is actually for safety, especially cultural relics. The cause was a theft of cultural relics that occurred 62 years ago.
In 1959, not long after the Forbidden City closed, the sky gradually darkened. Two managers checked according to the custom, and when they came to the Yangxin Hall, they were stunned by the sight in front of them.
I saw that there were many broken glass scattered on the ground in front of the door, and more than ten precious cultural relics including "golden books" and "treasure swords" were lost in the hall.
Subsequently, through the meticulous investigation and study of the public security organs, a person named Wu Qinghui was locked.
After investigation, it was found that 20-year-old Wu Qinghui had recently come to Beijing to work, and visited the Forbidden City during his rest, and when he visited the Yangxin Hall, he saw that many precious cultural relics in the hall were placed in the glass-covered display cases, so he had evil thoughts and wanted to break the glass and then steal these treasures.
After the decision, he began to wander around, and when it was almost dark, he secretly hid in the toilet, and then hid in a hidden place outside the Yangxin Hall under the cover of night to observe, and after confirming that there was no one, he sneaked into the hall to break the glass and stole the precious cultural relics in the display cabinet.
Among the stolen cultural relics, the "Golden Book" is the most precious. These "golden books" were specially produced by the Kangxi Emperor to express filial piety, not only the material is pure gold, but also the content is very rich, which is a precious material for the study of ancient royal writing.
Unexpectedly, this Wu Qinghui actually extended his hand to such a precious cultural relic. The most infuriating thing is that when he was captured, some of the "golden books" had been cut and sold, causing irreparable losses. Some experts even cry with the remaining pieces, which shows how painful this lesson is.
Therefore, the Forbidden City learned the lessons of that year, not only re-stipulating the business hours, but also strictly clearing the scene after closing at 5 o'clock, and strictly checking all corners to avoid the tragedy from happening again.