The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City also known as the Palace Museum is one of my favorite places in Beijing.

For 500 years this "city" was the residence for the Chinese emperor and their court. It was off limits for anyone else. Now it is the largest and best preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China.

I could spend all day wondering around the grounds. This day we spent 4 1/2 hours there. We did not see everything.

This always reminds me of the opening scene of Shanghai Noon with Jackie Chan.

Look, she is so excited she is walking on air!

The grounds cover about 720,000 sq meters. Only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the complex is actually open to the public.

These huge vats were used to store water in case of fire.

Actually, fire destroyed large parts of the palace on more than one occasion. At least some of these fires were probably set intentionally by eunuchs.

I love the different passage ways and courtyards. I could really get lost in here.

These guys always remind me of Mushu from the Disney movie Mulan.

I love history and old buildings, so this place is great! I find is fascinating!

I was seriously tempted to buy one of the many books they had at the gift shop, but I couldn't chose just one, and they were way over priced. I think I may look on amazon or E-bay, so I can pass on even more trivia.

The first time we visited the Forbidden Museum in 1999, we took a picture here at this wall. Then again when we came in 2002 when Hallie was less than 2 years old, we took another picture here.

We searched for this wall again, and found it right before we left....

And here we are again in 2010!

Right before we left the palace grounds, we found a bathroom. It was even rated! If you have traveled in China, you know that finding good bathrooms can be tricky...

This one was pretty good. It was a 4 star!