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China |
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China |
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Beijing...Forbidden City |
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To view a larger size image simply click on the thumbnail of the picture. |
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| The Forbidden City | ||||||
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The Forbidden City has a history of over 600 years as it was the home of 24 emperors who ruled the entire city from here for nearly 500 years. In ancient times the emperors believed they were the sons of the heavens, therefore their power came from heaven. It is for this reason that ordinary people were forbidden (not permitted) to enter this city. That's how it got the name Forbidden City. This rectangle-shaped palace is 960 meters long from south to north, 753 meters wide from west to east, and it occupies an area of 720,000 square meters. There are more than 9900 rooms in nearly 900 buildings. The number 9 is regarded as auspicious. |
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| The entrance to the Forbidden City is on the south side, just north of Tiananmen Square. It was a very crowded place to visit. Just as we in the United States tour our country to visit famous sites, the same is true in China. There were many Chinese tourists visiting this historic place. It was not unusual to see parts of the Forbidden City covered with tarps due to restoration projects being carried out. If you look at the first picture you can get an idea of how big the picture of Chairman Mao is by looking at the people over it. The main gate, or entrance, is very beautiful, with unbelievable architecture on the buildings. | ||||||
 To enter the Forbidden City we walked through this tunnel. What was unusual was it was rectangular when we entered, but the other end was arched. It was dark inside.
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 All the gates in the Forbidden City have nails which hold the boards together. Because 9 is the largest odd (yang) number smaller than 10, it is regarded as auspicious. Therefore most of the gates have nails in a 9 x 9 formation. |
Hall of Supreme Harmony
 Supreme harmony means all things in the universe are harmonious and satisfactory. |
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 There is neither trees nor grass on the square. It is so vast and so quiet that it makes people feel solemn and respectful. In the middle of the square is a straight road, which was used only by the emperor. Both sides of the road were paved with bricks. Allegedly, there are 15 layers of bricks spreading disorderly, and they were built to avoid that someone would dig the ground and enter the hall. |
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 Yellow is a royal color, thus the color of the roof tiles. The red color of the walls symbolize happiness and auspiciousness. |
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 This is Baohe Dian, the Hall of Preserved Harmony.The golden throne is the ancient Emperor's special chair. |
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 Zhonghe Hall is the place an emperor would go to rest on his throne before going to important meetings. |
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Marble for the palace came from outlying areas of Beijing and colored stones and granite from Hebei Province. During Beijing's cold winters the roads were splashed with water so sleds could move the huge chunks of rock. Wells were dug every 500 meters along the way especially for the purpose. In summer logs were used to roll the rocks along. This might take hundreds of people for large rocks. |
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 Dragon heads are used as water spouts. As in Chinese mythology Paxia, the sixth of the dragon's nine sons, loves water. |
 Carved marble terrace |
Inner Golden Water River On the river there are five marble-made bridges, the middle one of which could only be used by the emperor. Civil and military officials passed from the left side, and members of imperial families passed from the right side. Different people used different bridges, which could not be confused. |
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 The elephant carries a precious bottle holding five cereals (rice, millet, sorghum, wheat and beans). It is symbolic of peace and bumper harvests of the five cereals. |
 Animal ornaments commonly decorate the corners of roofs. The more animals the more important the building. On the far left is a dragon and on the right an immortal rides a phoenix. The Hall of Supreme Harmony has the most figures, therefore it is the most important building. |
 This was a wall in the Forbidden City that was very ornate. Many people had their picture taken in front of it. We took a picture for this woman. |
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 These large bronze vats seen throughout the Forbidden City are for extinguishing fires as well as for decoration. In the past they were kept full of water and in the winter they were lined with cotton pads, had a lid on them, and were heated by a fire underneath to keep the water from freezing. There are more than 300 of these in the Forbidden City, each weighing two tons. If you look closely you can see the scratch marks where enemy soldiers scraped of the gold covering with their bayonets. |
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 This bronze crane is a symbol of longevity. |
 There were many, many carved ornaments. These ornaments were made of marble and had various things carved on them, from dragons to phoenix. Keep in mind, they are over 600 years old! |
 Traditional headdress |
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| Imperial Garden, Forbidden City | ||||||
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The Imperial Garden is where members of the imperial household came to relax. There are old trees, pavilions, and flowers. The footpaths are paved with mosaic patterns made from small stones. At the Mid-Autumn Festival (the 15th day of the eighth lunar month) the emperor and empress came to the garden to view the full moon. |
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The Duixiu Hill and Yujing Pavillion is actually a rockery piled up with Taihu rocks. The emperor and queen would come here to look in the distance to enjoy the autumn scenery, as well as the lunar moon. |
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Click here to see
pictures taken by another traveler at the Forbidden City. |
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Click on the Fu symbol to go back to the main page. |
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