The first morning of our tour, Mike and I were taken to Tianamen Square! It was a crisp, cool, sunny morning and the sight-seers were just starting to make their way to the Fobidden City which lies just beyond this massive gathering place.
Looking through one of the many many many entrance ways in the Forbidden City you start to get a feeling for the magnitude of this fantastic World Heritage site.Forbidden City
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Overview of the Forbidden CityThe Forbidden City or Forbidden Palace (Chinese: 紫禁城; Pinyin: Zǐjìn Chéng; literally "Purple Forbidden City"), located at the exact center of the ancient city of Beijing, was the imperial palace during the mid-Ming and the Qing dynasties. Known now as the Palace Museum (Chinese: 故宫博物院; Pinyin: Gùgōng Bówùyùan), its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters, 800 buildings and 9,999 rooms. As such, it is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 as the "Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties". The imperial palace grounds are located directly to the north of Tiananmen Square and are accessible from the square via Tiananmen Gate. It is surrounded by a large area called the Imperial City.
Although no longer occupied by royalty, the Forbidden City remains a symbol of Chinese sovereignty and the image of its entrance gate appears on the seal of the People's Republic of China. The Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Recently, the site has been under much renovation which has limited visitors to the main courtyards and a few gardens.
Any resemblance???Just kidding Mike!
Looking out over Tianamen Square from the balcony of the South entrance to the Forbidden City (I'm standing right above Mao's painting).
More red.
Early morning roof tops in the Forbidden City.
Remember the movie "The Last Emperor?" This is where it was filmed! It's under restoration at the moment, but still quite astounding! Also notice the distinct lack of people.
There were soldiers on guard everywhere-they all looked about 15 years old (which we found out was the truth) and they wore uniforms they hadn't quite grown into yet.
This stone slab was carved from a single piece of granite and brought to forbidden palace on an ice road which was made by sprinkling water on the road as the slab was being pulled.
Click on this photo and zoom in on the sign on the door...
Inside the Forbidden City.
Looking down one of the loooooong roads inside the Forbidden City.I'll leave you with some random shots from our first morning:
2 comments:
thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, and i am looking forward to the rest of the tour!!!
I noticed some english signs (including the starbucks), i guess that is because it is such a big tourist attraction...
Living where we do, does it not make you even more in awe of the amazing structures and how old the civilization is there and especially all of the history? Looking at your photos brings back some of the feelings i had when i was travelling, especially to certain places in Africa and Nepal and even parts of Europe. But you must get some of that in Japan as well...Japan just looks so modern..
I have sooo many questions and comments, but i will put them all in an email later...when i see the rest of the photos.
beautiful! stunning!! thanks for my private showing on Saturday!!! Beijing is on my list...one of these days!
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