Breakfast- tried something new. The spirally things are just steamed dough, no filling. Oh, well. I dipped them like I would have dumplings, in the red lightly spiced sauce, mixed with vinegar.
Tiananmen Square southern gate: Zhengyang Gate
Tiananmen sq: looking kind of stormy, but never a drop did fall.
The Tiananmen- first gate into the Forbidden City
Two pillars greet you
I tried to use someone else's ticket they had purchased online for yesterday. Fail. After standing in line at the regular ticket purchasing booth, I was redirected to (via pointing to a little map of the Forbidden City in my Lonely Planet guide) the correct area for the line, which was also the wrong line, but at least I hadn't spent a lot of time in that line. Finally approaching the window I was told it was for the wrong day. BUT I handed the clerk my pre-prepared money and voilĂ , she sold me a ticket rather than making me go back to line 1.
The Fordidden City is as massive as the Summer palace, flatter, less interesting and even more crowded. I really liked the Summer Palace's lakeside setting, too. There were many of the same types of buildings, like the private opera stage for example, and the Summer Palace's example was in better shape. The Forbidden Palace had slightly nicer Rockeries, but it was much more difficult to get around, I think. The signage of each in english was comparable.
From atop the outer wall
Hall of Literary Glory? After awhile all the halls and gates started looking alike.
This must be where they are storing parts and pieces in preparation for some restoration project.
Outside the walls, on the other side of the moat.
Hundreds of these vats are on the grounds. They held water for the purpose of putting out fires. The buildings look made of stone, but in fact the walls and roofs are mostly wood.
Imperial garden; many are rockeries and almost bonsi trees. Very calming, they have a great dimensionality (making up words now) that flower gardens lack. There was actually one regimented plant garden, but it looked too regimented for my tastes.
The ubiquitous lion, but always fantastic when original.
Steps up the sides for the litter bearers; the emperor rode in the litter suspended over the beautiful carvings in the middle, usually dragons.
I totally did not photoshop that sky; Beijing on a low smog, overcast day. This is one of several sun dials.
I think we should totally add water spouts like this to our eaves.
So many thrones. I'm not sure if each new emperor got a new throne.
This would be an awesome sliding tile puzzle.
The omnipresent huge doors. Since they were all made of wood, fire was also omnipresent.
This was a form of entertainment; cups filled with wine were placed in water filled channels, flowing from water kegs hidden in rockeries nearby to the building. If the cup lodged next to you, you drank the wine.
The emperess was jealous of a favored concubine (25 yrs old), so she took power and had the young woman drowned in this well. Later, she felt the ghost was haunting her, so she had the body removed and buried in a plain grave. It is a pretty infamous story.
Love the "whiskers".
I went back looking for this exhibit of figurines. I doubt I saw everything of value to see, but was pretty shot at the end.
There are many of these wells distributed around the compound.
This again is the southern gate south of Tiananmen sq. (Front Gate- Arrow) It is one of my main landmarks.
I saw this in the hostel and laughed. My daughter has this exact image as a sticker. The young lady was from Italy, but bought it from the same website.
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