Yin and Yang Road in the Forbidden City: Daytime is like a foreground, dark until no one dares to approach

Dongdong Pu (the north-south connecting road outside the East Road of the Imperial Palace) is known as the most famous Yin and Yang path in the legends of the Forbidden City.

In Chinese history, the Forbidden City is one of the most mysterious and haunting areas. It served as the royal palace of the Qing dynasty from 1420 to 1912.

The East Tongpu Road, also known as the Yin and Yang Road, located outside the East Road of the Imperial Palace, is one of the most famous roads in the legends of the Forbidden City.

With rugged terrain, diverse vegetation and many artistic close-ups, the Yinyang Road is becoming an attractive destination for many visitors who love to explore and learn traditional Chinese culture.

Located between two representations of life and death, the Yin and Yang path is known as the Yin and Yang path. This stems from the combination of the two concepts of "yin" and "yang". "Yin" represents inferiority and gloom, while "yang" represents playfulness and brightness.

However, the combination of these two concepts creates a balance, expressing contrast and balance in nature.

Dongdong Zi is a road about 7.5 km wide, located between the Two Empress Dowagers and Shanxi.

Walking on the Yin and Yang road during the day, you will feel like you can witness the pure natural world, combined with the feeling from mysterious legends.

However, at night, the Yin and Yang Road takes on a different appearance, dark and gloomy. You will feel the horror and scariness of this dark street, like entering the world of ghosts.

The legend of the Yin and Yang Path in the Forbidden City is a horror story involving palace ladies and eunuchs who end their lives under unfortunate circumstances.

According to legend, the Yin and Yang Road is a dark path that those who have wrongfully died will have to pass through to reach their resting place after death.

However, perhaps no one can be sure that the legend of the Yin-Yang Path is true or simply a legend. However, it has become part of Chinese culture.

In addition to the Yin and Yang Road, Zijincheng also has other areas that contain many mysteries.

The grounds of the Forbidden City have some very special places, open in the summer and only used by royal family members. The concubines also favorably named it "air-conditioning room". Where is that?

If you have watched Chinese movies with content revolving around the royal family, you must also feel that kings and concubines have a very luxurious and happy life. It can be said that their lives do not lack anything, in winter there is heating, in summer there are fruits and chilled fresh water. But, in feudal times, without refrigerators, how did they get ice to do so?

In fact, in the Forbidden City there is a very special place, it is used to create chilled items, even ice cream for the masters. In case when the weather is too hot, this place is used as a cooling room for the king and concubines. These were the ice cellars of the Forbidden City.

These ice cellars are entirely made from aged ice. It is built one-third above ground and two-thirds underground. Therefore, from the outside, the ice cellar looks like a cave with a low dome, but in fact the inside is very large.

In the Forbidden City, there are a total of 5 ice vaults. They were built in the directions and middle of the Forbidden City. Each vault is basically the same shape. Ancient workers dug about 10m underground.

When winter comes, the cold causes the lakes to freeze, and the workers will cut the ice into square, equal pieces. Then they transported them to the cellar, stacked in rows. The ice layers are tightly pressed, covered with straw made from wheat, then covered with layers of soil, so that the ice can be stored until summer.

To fill the ice cellars, workers had to work for days or even months. Mostly, ice mining takes place at night. It can be said that this is a very hard job, taking a lot of effort and money.

Fruits or food from places sent to tribute are stored in ice cellars. The temperature in the ice cellar is only about 0 degrees, so the food retains its freshness for a long time. Therefore, the emperor and his concubines always had fresh fruits to eat all year round. However, the ice cellar always had to be closed, only in summer was the ice cellar opened for the king and concubines to use as a shelter from the heat.

In the Qing Dynasty, regulations on the use of ice cellars were very strict. These ice vaults are all under the administration of the imperial palace. They were only used to make ice for the imperial court. Each function of the ice tunnel is individually licensed.

Only royal people were allowed in and out of the ice cellar. Civilians are not allowed to build ice tunnels for any purpose. It was only later, when the feudal era ended, the ban was lifted, many private ice tunnels were commissioned. Today, these ice cellars have been converted into restaurants by the Palace Museum Management Board to give visitors the opportunity to admire and enjoy the cool space of this place.

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