China Girl: Day 2: Beijing: The Forbidden City

Directly across the street from Tiananmen Square is the Forbidden City. Following feng shui priniciples, the enterance is from the south through the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Inside the Gate of Heavenly Peace is a long corridor, flanked by Zongshan Park to the west and the Worker's Cultural Palace to the east. This corridor serves as a entrance to the entrance to the Forbidden City, which is entered through the Meridian Gate to the north. Inside the Meridian Gate is the lobby of the Forbidden City. The interior of the Forbidden City and the main buildings are accessed through yet another gate, the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Inside are 3 main halls, the largest and most important of which, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, was closed for renovations. The 2 smaller halls, the Hall of Middle Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, were open, however. These halls were used for ceremonial occasions, speeches and banquets. Once past these main halls, one passes through another gate, the Gate of Heavenly Purity, and into the main living spaces, including the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, as well as smaller spaces to the east and west that were living quarters for the palace concubines, as well as libraries, studies, temples, theatres, gardens, etc. At the northern end of the Forbidden City is the beautiful Imperial Garden, where I would have spent most of my time had I been a Chinese emporer. Finally, the exit to the Forbidden City is through the northern gate, the Gate of Divine Military Genius. The entire Forbidden City is huge, and even with several hours of exploring, I felt like I had only begun to scratch its surface.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace