Forbidden City

 After a crazy taxi drive and I mean weaving in and out of traffic driving on the side walk and nearly side sweeping pedestrians, because they don't have the right of way in China the bigger the vehicle the more freedom you have! Randy and I made it to the Forbidden City and it was a sight to see here are a few pictures to explain what I saw and felt. As we walk towards the massive entrance to this GIANT and not exaggerating 720,000 sq meters Palace home to the Qing and Ming dynasty. Above is a picture of me and a Giant stone that hand very detailed work of a Dragon and Phoenix which I am blocking. The meaning of them together is to help bring in knowledge of the past and to remember what you have been taught before, and to give eternal knowledge of the future of what is to happen to help make decisions on what we are to do with our lives.

 Above is a picture of the first gate to the Forbidden City it is guarded by Lion Statues that symbolize wealth and security because if you have money you can afford security.

 This picture above is  of Coal Hill is were we hiked to get a birds eye view of the Emperors Garden and the Forbidden City. It was a good hike took almost 2 hours including we got lost on our way and took a rick shaw ride around the small village behind the Palace were the emperors 40 concubines, eunuchs, and political advisers would live. When i got to the top my cameras battery died so I was so upset I hike up there to get a good picture of the Forbidden City and to see the palace garden.

Here is a picture of the tree the last emperor hung himself in the palace garden at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

This is just one of three banquet halls or thrones that the emperor would sit on. At this throne the emperor would give his decree and have wedding banquets for his family.

Just look at the Size of these walls they are huge I was so amazed at the beautiful architecture of this palace they were so big kind of like a city inside a city. I learned there that the emperor was born in the palace and would never leave that is why he had his summer palace built with a man made lake so he could imagine what the sea looked like. I then understood why the palace was so large and had so much detailed work of art, and traditional banquet halls, thrones and statues so that the emperor would never get bored of his palace. It was such an amazing thing to see to see something that was built almost hundred years before America was even a country.