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Forbidden City - Beijing

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Great Wall of China - Badaling Section
great wall of china - badaling section
Suzhou - Fisherman's Garden, Master of the Nets Garden
Forbidden City - Former "white house" to the Emporers of China
Suzhou Humble Garden
Beijing Hutong - 700 year old neighborhood with rickshaws and labyrinth streets
beijing lacquer and woodcarving factory
Ming Tombs - 400 year old excavation of the final Ming Emperor
Great Wall of China - Mutianyu Section
Sacred Way, Sacred Path - Ming Tomb garden of stately and animal statues
Funny Signs Gallery, funny chinese signs, funny warning signs
Suzhou silk factory
Suzhou, China
Summer Palace - Former garden of the Emperors on a lake
Suzhou, China
Temple of Heaven - former Chinese Emperor worship area
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Suzhou, Tong Li - Little Venice water city
Beijing, China
China driving, Beijing traffic, beijing builldings
Beijing, China
suzhou, tong li - little venice water city
Beijing Cloissonet Factory - lavishly decorated copper, kiln-fired urns, pots, and plates
Forbidden City - Former "white house" to the Emporers of China
Great Wall of China - Badaling Section
Great Wall of China - Mutianyu Section
Beijing Hutong - 700 year old neighborhood with rickshaws and labyrinth streets
Ming Tombs - 400 year old excavation of the final Ming Emperor
Sacred Way, Sacred Path - Ming Tomb garden of stately and animal statues
Summer Palace - Former garden of the Emperors on a lake
Temple of Heaven - former Chinese Emperor worship area
Tiananmen Square - memorials, governement buildings, Mao's tomb
Beijing Lacquer and Woodcarving Factory
Suzhou City Traffic
Suzhou City Traffic
Suzhou - Fisherman's Garden, Master of the Nets Garden
Suzhou Humble Garden
Suzhou silk factory
Suzhou, Tong Li - Little Venice water city
funny signs gallery - funny chinese signs
Trip Preparation
Frequently Asked Questions
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MickTravels to China - Beijing, Suzhou
Trip Preparation
Micktravels Home
MickTravels to China - Beijing, Suzhou
The Forbidden City used to be the home to the Emporers of China. When the last of the Chinese Emperors fell in the early 1900s, the area was opened to the people. It is a huge tourist attraction now, just to the north of Tiananmen Square. The Forbidden City is undergoing significant renovation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Check out the pictures on my Panorama page, too!

The entrance to the Forbidden City is on its south side. It is just north of Tiananmen Square. The day after I took this picture they draped huge green tarps over the front walls for restoration.

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A continuous line of people decends into the tunnel that carries them safely under the street to the Forbidden City. Almost nobody was coming the other way.

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Another view of the tunnel beneath the street.

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The masses head for the Forbidden City entrance. It was mostly Chinese visiting.

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Seeing 2 children next to each other was a rare site since China doesn't allow more than one child per couple. Nobody could believe it when I told them I only had one kid and wasn't going to have anymore. "Why?!?! You are allowed to!!!"

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Dancing waters are becoming more and more popular in front of tourist attractions. The Summer Palace was having some erected, too.

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The intricacies of the main gate to the Forbidden City.

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Entering the main gate under their beloved Chairman Mao. Here is where a woman saw my camera equipment and asked me something in Chinese. My guide translated it as her wondering if I was a reporter.

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The man standing on the balcony gives you an idea how big Chairman Mao is.

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The next gate into the city. I have no idea what's on the top in those structures or what is inside the huge pedestals. We were only allowed to go through a relatively small opening straight through the center.

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The next gate into the city. I have no idea what's on the top in those structures or what is inside the huge pedestals. We were only allowed to go through a relatively small opening straight through the center.

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The restored intricacies of the second gate.

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These were the emporer's bridges. The higher up you were as an official, the closer to the center bridge you were allowed to take over the moat.

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You can see the restoration scaffolding in the background. I'll bet they're done before the 2008 Olympics.

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Yours truly in front of a large hall.

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The celiing inside the hall.

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The ceiling inside the hall.

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You can read the sign that describes the entire complex.

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We are towards the bottom of this map. You can see the bridges at the center bottom that we just walked over. We are standing inside the building above the bridges with a long way to go.

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This is the Hall of Supreme Harmony. You can read about its purpose on the next image.

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Looking back at the gate just after the bridges.

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Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony it is quite dark and open. You've got a throne and some decorations and that's about it.

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This bronze crane, along with the turtle, was a symbol of longevity.

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This bronze turtle, along with the crane, was a symbol of longevity.

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Longevity turtle closeup

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One handle on a massive, unliftable bronze pot.

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The number of figures aligned on the corners of the roof signify the importance of a particular building. The Hall of Supreme Harmony has the most figures so it was the most important.

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A different throne in a different harmony hall - the Hall of Preserved Harmony.

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A different throne in a different harmony hall - the Hall of Preserved Harmony.

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Ahh, the modern competes for skyline with the ancient.

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Sometimes you've gotta wonder why bother with all of these buildings. I mean, the place is so immense that it takes a bit of a walk to get from one end to the other.

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One of the many carved railing ornaments in the shape of a Phoenix. The amazing thing is that these things are 600 years old, but they are out in the open for everyone to fondle and increase erosion.

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Lots more buildings.

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The inner court wall at the back of the Forbidden City is very nicely decorated.

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Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity. It looks like all the other halls to me. Why do you need so many throne rooms?

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The fully restored roof of a palace hall looks so much more brilliant that the as-yet untouched roofs of the majority of buildings.

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One of the halls in encased in glass and filled with replica furniture and decorations.

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The emporer's insignia was the sign of Double Happiness as seen here towards the back of this replica bed.

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Double Happiness is seen on the lantern, and on the tassle decorations.

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Outside the inner court there is a nice Chinese Garden.

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It's still crowded here, even at the back of the garden.

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