故宫 - 紫禁城

紫禁城 - The Forbidden City was the imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is now the Palace Museum - 故宫博物院.
午门- "The Meridian Gate is the southern and largest gate of the Forbidden City. It has five arches. The three central arches are close together; the two flanking arches are farther apart from the three central arches. The center arch was formerly reserved for the Emperor alone; the exceptions were the Empress, who could enter it once on the day of her wedding, and the top three scholars of the triennial civil service examinations, who left the exams through the central arch. All other officials and servants had to use the four side arches."
Tickets for entrance into the Palace and the audio guide.

Upon entering the Meridian Gate, one encounters a large square, pierced by the meandering Inner Golden Water River, which one crosses via five bridges."

One of the guardian of the gates.
太和門 (Gate of Supreme Harmony)
太和殿 (Hall of Supreme Harmony )

Closeup of the stone path.
Roof with symbols which signifies the importance of the building.


Looking in through one of these doorways...
Throne
On the side of 太和殿
Hall of Supreme Harmony, 中和殿 Hall of Central Harmony and 保和殿 Hall of Preserving Harmony form the 外朝 Outer Court of the Forbidden City.

"The Hall of Central Harmony is a smaller, square hall, used by the Emperor to prepare and rest before and during ceremonies. Behind it, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, was used for rehearsing ceremonies, and was also the site of the final stage of the Imperial examination. All three halls feature imperial thrones, the largest and most elaborate one being that in the Hall of Supreme Harmony."

View of the courtyard around the halls.
乾清宫 (Palace of Heavenly Purity) is the largest of the three halls of the Inner Court. During the Qing dynasty, the palace often served as the Emperor's audience hall, where he held council with the Grand Council.
Behind the 乾清宫, there's 交泰殿 Hall of Union and 坤宁宫 Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
One of two rooms in the Palace of Earthly Harmony which PuYi (the last emperor of China) used on his wedding night.
Imperial Garden
The Imperial Garden is filled with imported stone structures, floral and fauna, and pavilions.
Another one of the many buildings in the palace. Thought it looked quite peaceful.
"The Forbidden City is surrounded by a 7.9-metre high city wall and a six-metre deep, 52-metre wide moat. The walls are 8.62 metres wide at the base, tapering to 6.66 metres at the top. These walls served as both defensive walls and retaining walls for the palace. They were constructed with a rammed earth core, and surfaced with three layers of specially baked bricks on both sides, with the interstices filled with mortar."
Nice seating area for tired tourists.
Between two walls.
One of many paths between the different courtyards and mini-palaces in the east and west wings of the inner court. (These walls are shorter than those in the photo above.)
Doorways within the inner court.
Details on the doorway.

One of the many courtyards in the east and west wings of the inner court.

Residence of the empress and concubines tend to have sculptures.
Seems like the emperor's private study.
Interior of the buildings in the inner court.

Nice sunset.

An incomplete western-styled palace built during Puyi's stay at the forbidden city.
Sunset at the palace.

Exiting the palace through the Meridian Gate.
This is the electronic audio guide for the palace. The lighted areas are places I have not visited. I had walked for 5hrs that day!
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Here're some photos featuring interesting items in the palace.
Huge stone carving with beautiful interlocking lotus patterns, curling waves at the bottom, and nine dragons admist clouds.
Turtle represents longevity.
Huge cauldrons contain water as a safety precaution against fire in the palace.


Wall deco.
More sculptures.
Doorknobs.
What's a museum without displays of historical artifacts.. here's an emperor's robe.