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image of a group of houses across a lake in hongcun villageimage of buildings in xidi village

Walk through anhui's pleasant villages that has over 400 years of history. See the idyllic villages of 西递Xidi, 宏村Hongcun, 南屏Nanping, and 关麓Guanlu.

故宫Gugong

, the imperial palace of the 明Ming (1368-1644) and 青Qing (1644-1911) emperors for the last 500 odd years, is today popularly known by one of its old name 紫禁城, literally - Purple Forbidden City, but translations usually leave out the word Purple (the imperial color) for more dramatic effect. It is no longer forbidden, however, and tourists now stroll through the public museum in waves. While I was there, the entire complex, as well as other well-known structures such 天坛Tiantan (The Temple of Heaven), were under major renovation. Everything will be repainted. So that when you get there for the August 8, 2008 Beijing Olympics, they will look as fresh as its inauguration day.

Gugong has its beginings during the Ming dynasty. The fourth son of the dynastic founder, 朱棣Zhudi usurped the throne and, to the great dismay of the 南京Nanjing citizens, decided to move the capital to Beijing. And on the center of that city, and to the east of the razed Mongol palace was the ground for the new palace. The architect was 蒯祥Yixiang, a former carpenter. His layout was a rectangular labyrinth, with the walls lined along the 4 polar directions and a moat surrounding it. It was a characteristically chinese modular design - one large set repeated hierarchically. From heaven, it looks like a computer chip. Construction began during the fourth year of his 永乐Yongle reign (1406), and completed about 14 years later. But during its long wooden life, several fire (often caused by lightning) had done serious damage to it, so that some buildings were rebuilt during the 24 reigns. Many more buildings were also added as each new emperor wanted something for themselves or their favorites. Thus, by the end of Qing (1911), there were over 9000 rooms in 720,000 square meters of ground area — small wonder it is the largest palace complex in the world today.

Travel Info
image of people on a boat in the Three Gorges area of the Changjiang river area

See the 三峡Three Gorges of the 长江Changjiang (Yangzi) River between 重庆市Chongqing city and 宜昌Yichang.

image of Tulufan's Emin Minaretimage of the ruins in Tulufan's Gaochang Ruins

See 吐鲁番Tulufan's well-known attractions -- 苏公塔Sugonta (Emin Minaret), 高昌城Gaochang Ruins, and 火焰山Huoyan Shan (Flaming Mountains).

故宫Gugong (The Palace Museum)

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫-午门 Gugong(The Palace Museum)

    The 午门Wumen(Meridian Gate) is the main south gate to the palace.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫--太和殿 Gugong(The Palace Museum)

    The palace was under major renovation while I was there. And this building, which is the 太和殿 Hall of Supreme Harmony(the largest and most important of the three main halls of architectural complex), was screened with a life-size image of itself.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫--太庙 Gugong(The Palace Museum)

    太庙 Taimiao is the royal temple for making offerings to ancestors. Located to the east of 端门 Duanmen, the gate after Tiananmen.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫--太和门 Gugong(The Palace Museum)

    As the name implies, 太和门 Taihemen is the gate to the 太和殿 Hall of Supreme Harmony.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫--太和门 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫--狮子 Gugong(The Palace Museum)-- Bronze Lion
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     端门 Duanmen (Duan Gate)

    端门Duan Gate is the gate after 天安门Tiananmen and before the 午门Wumen(The Meridian Gate). What you see here is the freshly repainted colorful decorations on its hallway.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     端门 Duan Gate

    The gate tower's hall.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     天安门 Tiananmen

    North side of 天安门Tiananmen viewed from atop the 端门Duan Gate.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫--万春亭 Gugong(The Palace Museum)-- Longevity Pavillion

    The brilliant dome-shaped interior of the pavillion.

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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫--万春亭 Gugong(The Palace Museum)--Longevity Pavillion
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
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    enlarge imageadd to lightbox license imageadd to cart-order print     故宫 Gugong(The Palace Museum)
portrait of a Uygur girl

Travelogues and travel notes

Travel Information

Getting There:

故宫Gugong (The Palace Museum) is at the heart of the city. On the map its rectangular layout, along with the 天安门广场Tianamen square, took up much of the space. You will see that many buses can get near there. You can enter the palace through its north and south entrance. The most popular is the south entrance, which is through the 天安门Tiananmen Gate, then through the 午门Wumen Gate ( Meridian Gate ) - the main gate to the palace. If you don't like the crowd or to wait on line, the north entrance - 神武门Shenwumen ( Divine Martial Gate ) - is a better option. Plus the north has the 景山Jingshan hills and the closer moat to look at while you wait.

Entrance Ticket:

60 Yuan. Summer 2006.