The Forbidden City Beijing, China

The Forbidden City-

This enchanted place full of rich history and Chinese heritage was swarming with people.  I had never seen anything like it!  Now some say it was due to the Chinese national holiday, I say it’s more because hardly anyone can leave the country.  It may be far stretched but I couldn’t imagine America shutting down for 4 days, there would be a social meltdown on US soil, but like many things in China “It’s Okay”.

Here was one of the lines (see above), and this line didn’t stop all day.  Where the hell did all these people come from?  Oh yes, China! Interestingly enough there is no sense of order in such a government controlled country, single file lines, forget it!

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty in 1420 to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five hundred years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 m² (7,800,000 sq ft). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.  How’s that for amazing!  (I spent the better part of the day bumping into strangers, fighting for camera shots, and still didn’t even come close to covering the entire grounds.

It was recommended by CEO at the USA Pavilion (at the World Expo) to rent a headset,walk around, and explore.  I did just that, and with sunglasses on, and shoulders twice the size of any local it made navigating through the crowds a little less painful.  The government has done an outstanding job preserving the grounds and ancient artifacts.  When visiting Beijing, The Forbidden City can not be missed, regardless of the lines or side stepping the flem commonly found like land mines on the ground. A slight touch of “couth” would be nice.

Wrapping up 31/2 hours here I decided it was time to make my move back to the hotel, after all I had Peking Duck on my mind!