Bell Tower outside the Forbidden City (or Emperor's Palace). In old Beijing, the Bell tower would be rung to indicate the time of the day. The Forbidden City was the residence of 24 emperors from the Ming Dynasty (before the 1640's) and the Qing Dynasty, ending in 1906 with the last emperor, Pu Yi. It is referred to as the Forbidden City because only the emperor, his concubines, servants and thousands of eunuch servants lived in the city. Commoners were not allowed inside, or to glimpse the emperor.
People's Liberation Army statue, outside of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
Dragon Statue outside the gateway of the Bell Tower. This is a male dragon since the statue is stepping over a round sphere. The female dragon statues have baby cubs feeding from their palms, such as the picture of the bronze dragon on the previous page.
Tiananmen Square, which is also the entrance to the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City or the Imperial Palace stands in the center of Beijing. The palace was completed in 1420 by Ming emperor Yongle. It is protected by high walls and a moat on all four sides and consists of dozens of halls and courtyards. It consists of 999 rooms, nine being a lucky number, and covers an area of 250 acres surrounded by a wall 35 ft high. The emperors of two dynasties, the Ming and the Ching, lived here with their families and hundreds of concubines and thousands of eunuch servants. From their throne in the Forbidden City they governed the country by holding court sessions with their ministers, issuing imperial edicts and initiating military expeditions.
Interior shot at the Forbidden City.
Another male dragon.
Throne of the emperor
Daphne at the Forbidden City.
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