A Lizard in Beijing, China!: The Glorious Forbidden City

The Hall of Supreme Harmony where many important ceremonies were held, including, weddings and enthronements. It is by far the most important building in the Forbidden city, as well as, one of the largest wooden structures in China.

The Forbidden City ("Forbidden", meaning it was forbidden to enter or exit without the emperors permission) was another incredible and unforgettable experience. On Friday January 1st 2010, Jenni and I wandered throughout the city for most of the day and still weren't able to see everything! The Forbidden City consists of 980 buildings and covers 7,800,000 sq. feet. It was built from 1406 to 1420 by over a million workers and was the Chinese Imperial palace during the Ming Dynasty to the end of Quing Dynasty. There were over 24 emperors who lived in this Palace. The stories of historical events that we heard on our audio tour were so interesting! Honestly, I really enjoyed hearing the history about the concubines and common folk that came into the Palace through the Imperial garden along with the stories of the Emperors. The Emperors, for safety reason, could only stick to a small portion of the City, mostly the Inner Court. Overall, the Forbidden City's history is just as dynamic as the immaculate wood carvings on all the buildings; truly impressive and endless in its historical glory.

Such an adorable girl!

Symbolic animals up on the roof tops. The numbers of animals show how important each building was in the Forbidden city. This building was pretty significant.

There were several outstanding, colorful entrance ways and yellow was glazed over all the rooftops. Red and yellow were the most common colors used throughout the City. Yellow represents the color of the Emperor.

The beautiful craft work of the buildings and stone carvings were impressive.

Palace of Heavenly Purity

Gilded Lion in front of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity

SO ADORABLE!
Panda bear hats were such a huge hit! They were everywhere!

These guys were having fun flaunting cute head wear, especially the one on the left who is being more traditional girl's piece.

Guard outside the Palace. They all were so serious and still, you would of thought they were manikins! Jenni and I were trying to get them to smile, but it was nearly impossible!

Ahh... a wild Panda on the loose in the Forbidden City!

So beautiful!

The wood carvings on the buildings were so gorgeous with their intricate design and colors!

I believe this is the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Extremely important building; note the number of animal figures up in the corner of the roof. During the Ming Dynasty, it was the residence of the emperor. At night time, the emperor would rotate sleeping in different bedrooms for security measures. Later on, it became a banquet hall and had several other purposes.