Patterns

The city ceased to be the seat of political power in 1912 after Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated and allowed the formation of new Republic of China.
Red is Lucky

Emperor Yongle, third of the Ming Dynasty, began construction of the Forbidden City in 1406 and it was completed in 1420. 14 Ming emperors held power there until the Manchus took possession in 1644,En savoir plus
Happy Traveler

Kathy looks so happy to be here in the Forbidden City. We've been in China for only a short time and we've already had such amazing experiences and seen such wonderful things. This is shaping up toEn savoir plus
Waiting

That's part of our tour group just standing around with Kathy on the right. As for me, I'm too busy exploring the Forbidden City and taking pictures to just stand there and wait for the tour guide.En savoir plus
Rooftops

The roofs of the Imperial Palace buildings deserve special attention. Originally, the roofs were made mostly of wood, and to prevent the tiles from sliding, wooden nails were used. However, withoutEn savoir plus
Yellow Tiles

The roofs on most of the buildings in the Forbidden City are made with yellow tiles. Yellow was the exclusive color of the emperor and symbolized his ultimate power.
The Power of Color

Colors are very important in the symbolic system of the Chinese emperors. The two most important colors are yellow and red. Yellow is the imperial color, so the emperors' clothes were mostly yellow.En savoir plus
No Longer Forbidden

The Forbidden City is not forbidden anymore. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Forbidden City was forbidden for commoners and only opened for imperial families and government officials who wereEn savoir plus
No Birds Allowed

When visiting the Forbidden City, you may notice that no birds are sitting on the roofs. This is because the roofs have a special design.
To keep the birds from landing on the roofs, so as to retainEn savoir plus
Almost Done

With all of the big palace style buildings behind us, I'm thinking that our tour of the Forbidden City is starting to wind down. I wish that I could have stayed longer because I feel like there'sEn savoir plus
In the Park

This little park at the end of the Forbidden City was a nice way to finish our tour. Lots of people must agree with me because there was a lot of people standing around relaxing and talking. Since ourEn savoir plus
Guardian of the Rear Entrance

Even though we're nearly out of the Forbidden City, I'm still spotting so many fascinating things to see. I don't understand why the rest of our tour group seems oblivious to them. Why would they comeEn savoir plus
China in Color

This area at the end of the Forbidden City seems so much more colorful and cheerful. So far, the only colors that we've really seen a lot of is red and yellow. This spot makes for a nice, and welcome,En savoir plus
More of the Same

This looks very similar to what we've been seeing all along inside the Forbidden City but it doesn't look to be quite as old. I'm not sure if this area has undergone a recent restoration or if theEn savoir plus
The Wall

I'm not sure why these jagged stone walls are so popular with Chinese people. I see them in restaurants, tourist attractions and even tiny ones in house plants. I asked Kathy if she had any idea whyEn savoir plus
Chinese Architecture

This area at the end of the Forbidden City tour is so beautiful! The rest of the Forbidden City looks very drab and plain when compared to this area. I must admit, this is what I was how I hadEn savoir plus
The Way Out

As we leave the Forbidden City, I can't help but notice these giant gates. Lisa, our tour guide, explained that the door studs on the gates of the Forbidden City were made of brass and plated withEn savoir plus
One Last Look

As we leave the Forbidden City, I take one last look back, remembering all of the wonderful and amazing things that we saw there. I'm hoping that we can come back here someday. I'd like to see theEn savoir plus
Time for Lunch

After leaving the Forbidden City we made a quick stop for lunch. Everyone was hungry, including me, but I wasn't thrilled with the restaurant that the tour guide brought us to. It was a vegetarianEn savoir plus
Next Stop, the Temple of Heaven

After walking around all morning, and that long trek back to our tour bus, it felt great to sit and relax for a while while we drove to the next spot on our tour schedule. The traffic wasn't bad, andEn savoir plus
Kathy

As we were going into the Temple of Heaven, we saw this garden like area out front and everyone in the tour group wanted to stop for a moment and take pictures. I must admit, it is a good spot forEn savoir plus
Here We Are

There was a lot of cameras and cell phones changing hands in our group as everyone was asking each other to take pictures of them. This is the shot that was taken of us. I must say, it came out veryEn savoir plus
Almost There

We had to walk on this long pathway to get to the Temple of Heaven but I didn't mind it. It was nice, in fact. It was almost as if we were being given the time to leave the hustle and bustle ofEn savoir plus
The Temple of Heaven

We're still outside of the gates, but nearly there. This is my first view of the Temple of Heaven. Although we haven't gone in yet, I'm already in awe of this beautiful monument.
Red Gates

Just like in the Forbidden City, we passed through a big red gate to enter the grounds for the Temple of Heaven. These gates always seem to be open; at least, I've never seen any that were closed.En savoir plus