Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Forbidden City

To get a feel for the grandeur of the Forbidden City, watch "The Last Emperor," an Academy Award winner from 1987. It was the first movie for which the Chinese government authorized filming in the Forbidden City.

Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex contains courtyards within courtyards, and more courtyards along with buildings where for 500 years the emperors and families of the Ming and Qing Dynasties dwelled. Chinese today don't refer to the Forbidden City by this name. Instead the call it the "Palace Museum."

Bronze lions guard the entrance to the inner buildings. In Chinese culture the lion is a holy animal that can drive devils away. Therefore it is traditional to have a pair (a male on the right and a female on the left) to protect a home.

The Imperial Palace is the largest and most complete group of ancient buildings which the Chinese have preserved. No trees were planted in any of the courtyards because nothing should be taller than the tallest building within the Forbidden City, and also for fear that trees might seclude assassins who lay in wait for the emperor.

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