The Forbidden City was beautiful and cold!
We ended up doing a quick tour because of the cold but I was able to get some amazing pictures. The architecture is amazing. So detailed, with bright, vibrant colors. The Forbidden City is over 1,700 years old. It is actually 3 cities in one. The outer city was for the common people. They could come and go during the day, but then had to leave at night. The second ring was for the government workers so they could live closer to the Emperor. The inner ring was for the Emperor and his family.
This is the entrance to the government ring
This is the Emperor's chair. He would sit in this to hear people speak.
The detailing is phenomenal. The colors are just incredible! The mixture of tiles and wood...
There are lions all throughout China. There is always a male and female. The female stands for mother and home. She is in the West and has a cub with her. The male is in the East (which is most important since the sun comes up in the East). He has a ball. He stands for the head of the household.
9 is the largest number in single digits and so the Emporers all loved this number and thought it to be their lucky number. Everywhere throughout the city has 9s. This door has 9 knobs running across it and people would walk past and rub the knobs for good luck.
This was a man-made mountain. They brought in rocks and then sealed them together with honey, rice and water.
Beautiful. How come the sky was never blue in China when I was there? Even Elijah asks about why our sky is blue and China's sky is grey.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that you were blessed with sunshine!
I think it's because the cold air blew all the nasties away.
ReplyDeleteAngela, our guide, said that they have passed new rules and regulations about air quality and pollution.