Tuesday, May 29, 2007

China (2) The Forbidden City

When: April 23, 2007
Where: The Forbidden City, Beijing
Words: Scaling the Walls

Entering the Forbidden City

Beijing is generally an exercise in scale, but I should mention that Mao looks much bigger when you're standing right below him.


Please don't forget to Love our Beijing.


The Outer Courtyard








The Hall of Central Harmony






Treading in the footsteps of warriors and emperors may be intimidating, but it's the door knockers that'll get you.


Chinese signs are almost as funny as Japanese signs, and equally earnest.


These guards appeared out of nowhere, lined up in snappy formation, and proceeded to do—not much. We all took pictures and watched for a while until we realized nothing would happen.


The Hall of Clocks and Watches

Each of these little fellows has a job: The swell on the left counts hours, the dandy in the middle counts minutes, and the gent on the right counts seconds.




Wandering the Alleys




The Imperial Garden


Here's when I officially ran out of black-and-white film, but it might take a second to notice.




The Inner Courtyard










This is the battering ram you have to use to exit the Forbidden City . . .


. . . if you declined to pay extra for the special jewelry exhibit. Thank goodness I'm a sweet talker.

No comments: