It's common knowledge that the DragonLady who effectively ruled China during the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911) for nearly five decades led an extravagant lifestyle. Here are the lesser-known facts about EmpressDowagerCixi:
1. She had her own exclusive railway in the royal park.
2. She was served 120 dishes at each meal.
3. She had her own exclusive kitchen built within the Forbidden City, known as the “Western Kitchen”. It was subdivided into five areas – the meat section,
vegetarian section, rice, bun and noodle section, snack section and pastry section.
4. She would eat only two or three bites of some of the dishes because of fears that would be poisoned.
5. She did not consume 'more than 150,000 apples' each year. She smelled them instead.
6. Her dogs were served by their own eunuchs.
7. The imperial palace also prepared a large number of clothes for the dogs to wear each year.
8. She was buried with jewellery and other luxury items worth about 1.2 million taels of silver. The various activities held to mark her death included the burning of a giant funeral boat on August 30, 1909.
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people-events/article/2119973/woman-who-ruled-china-what-you-didnt-know-about
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