Forbidden City - Beijing China

On Sunday, November 10, my colleague and team member Shuang Hong took me to visit a couple of the most famous places in Beijing.  Of course, the Sunday prior I was able to see the Great Wall (and a temple I might post about if I get the time.)  Amazingly, both Sundays were clear, which made for a great chance to see the sites, as well as to get some good photos.

Well, it turns out a large part of the Beijing population agreed with us that it was a beautiful day for a visit to the Forbidden City.  Crowds were inevitable.



Just outside the entrance, a couple of lions stood guard. These stylized lions are common images in China. I believe they, along with the dragon, were symbols associated with emperors.



Inside the walls, there are 9999.5 buildings, but most of them are not available for viewing. The central structures are, though. And people flocked to them.



One of the types of artifacts on display are these vessels. There was a vessel for each province, and whoever controlled the vessel controlled the province. The Emperor, therefor, had all such vessels displayed in the Forbidden City.



The Forbidden City is full of amazingly detailed work -- artwork on the buildings among it. This has been restored, and the bright colors are typical of Chinese decoration.



One of my favorite details is the string of animals on the corners of roofs.



I have many photos, of course, but I will stop with this one, which shows the tops of two of the special buildings on site.