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.
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Please don't forget to Love our Beijing.
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The Outer Courtyard
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The Hall of Central Harmony
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Treading in the footsteps of warriors and emperors may be intimidating, but it's the door knockers that'll get you.
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Chinese signs are almost as funny as Japanese signs, and equally earnest.
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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.
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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.
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Wandering the Alleys
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The Imperial Garden
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Here's when I officially ran out of black-and-white film, but it might take a second to notice.
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The Inner Courtyard
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This is the battering ram you have to use to exit the Forbidden City . . .
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. . . if you declined to pay extra for the special jewelry exhibit. Thank goodness I'm a sweet talker.
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