Beijing - Forbidden City

I am so thankful that the Chinese have preserved the Forbidden City. I've read some historical fiction that is set in the Forbidden City, and as we wandered through, I could take myself back to the time when the Emperors and their community lived within its walls.

Just a bit of history - the Forbidden City was built in the early 1400s to be the home to the Emperor of China and his people. Twenty-four emperors lived in the Forbidden City from the 1400s to the early 1900s. The walled area is huge - 178 acres (that's twice the size of the public area of Disneyland). There are 980 surviving buildings and 8707 surviving rooms. It is now a museum and it sits across from Tiananmen Square. Up to 7 million people visit it per year. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

I had read that there was a Starbucks inside (and I was appalled!). However, when we were in the middle of our day, and hungry, and out of food, we went in search of Starbucks. No deal, couldn't find it. Later I read that it closed in 2007 because it was too controversial. I agree. There are some places that Starbucks just doesn't need to be. We did just fine at the local snack shop instead!








We joked that this looked like early satellite TV:


The main gate entrance:


The portrait of Chairman Mao is huge:


A view of Tiananmen Square from atop the main gate:


In a park near the Forbidden City:

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