Imperial Beijing - The Forbidden City    The Forbidden City The Dragon Throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony The Forbidden City, like all of China is huge. Unfortunately it is comprised mostly of empty buildings which you can not go into. I guess I found this to be a big difference between China and the European buildings we have visited. Even when there was something to see it was poorly displayed and close up access for photographs were difficult. Maybe it has to do with the number of people who go through the scene but I suspect it has more to do with the Communist mentality of destroying anything that has to do with the old empire. It was evident that there was a lot of work being done to make the buildings presentable to the world because of the upcoming Olympics. The wooden exteriors had lots of bright colors which appeared to be fresh paint. The Forbidden City was the home of the 24 Emperors of China for 500 years. The huge palace was completed in 1420 and represented the center of the Chinese universe. The palace was the exclusive domain of the imperial court until the 1920s and was opened to the public in 1949. It was said that once anyone entered the Forbidden City he never came out. All of China was regulated from this spot with couriers bring messages in and sending them out to all areas of the empire. The Walled city is a rectanglular out on a north to south axis with the length divided by several gates and Halls each one of which is more restrictive. The main gate to each hall is reserved exclusively for the Emperor and they are guarded by Chinese Lions. Tia'an Men Meridian Gate Gate of Supreme Harmony Hall of Supreme Harmony Hall of Middle Harmony Hall of Preserving Harmony Gate of Hevenly Purity Concubine Quarters Palace Gardens Index to all China 2007 Adventures: Imperial Beijing - Tian'an Men Square Imperial Beijing - The Forbidden City Imperial Beijing - The Great Wall of China Imperial Beijing - the Summer Palace Imperial Beijing Today - City of Bikes Imperial Beijing Today - Artists and Craftsmen Imperial Beijing Today - The Hutung, a Neighbood Enclave Imperial Beijing Today - The Lama Temple Imperial China - Xi'an, The First Capital of China Imperial China - The Terra Cotta Warriors Xi'an Today - A Country School and Peasant Village Overland Across China by Train and Bus Chingdu & the Panda Preserve The Three Gorges Dam The Minor Three Gorges of the Yangzte River The following pages are still under construction so be patient and come back to watch its growth. The Yangzte River Cruise Tibet - an Ancient & Exotic Land Hong Kong Imperial Beijing Today - Olympics 2008 [Back to the Top] This page was created by Bob "Belli" Frazee Belli at the Grand Titons, June 2015 Return to Belli's Home Page If you have any questions, or corrections, just write to Belli. Since March 2008, you are visitor number