The
Forbidden City is the centrepiece of Beijing and the home of the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. They lived in absolute luxury, basically cut off from their people, so the court eunuchs did most of the governing. The palace museum (as it is called by the Chinese) is enormous with many large buildings for ceremonial purposes as well as residences for the emperor, his wife and concubines. Although most of the treasures and artefacts have long since been plundered the place itself still speaks of wealth beyond measure. The entry price for hundreds of years was instant death but fortunately for us it has come down significantly since then and we enjoyed visiting with most of the rest of Beijing - very crowded!
This is the view from the park behind the city looking down over the golden roofs.
The Forbidden City is the centrepiece of Beijing and the home of the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. They lived in absolute luxury, basically cut off from their people, so the court eunuchs did most of the governing. The palace museum (as it is called by the Chinese) is enormous with many large buildings for ceremonial purposes as well as residences for the emperor, his wife and concubines. Although most of the treasures and artefacts have long since been plundered the place itself still speaks of wealth beyond measure. The entry price for hundreds of years was instant death but fortunately for us it has come down significantly since then and we enjoyed visiting with most of the rest of Beijing - very crowded!
This is the view from the park behind the city looking down over the golden roofs.
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