Here’s the way I’ve seen many tourists take photographs in the Forbidden City.  They walk through the entrance at the Meridian Gate, see the magnificent Gate of Supreme Harmony in front of them, and take a picture.  Then they walk through that gate and see the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony just ahead, and take a picture.  Then they get to the Hall of Middle Harmony and take a picture of the Hall of Preserving Harmony just beyond that, and then the Gate of Heavenly Purity beyond that, and then the Hall of Heavenly Purity beyond that, and so on.  When they get home and look at their photographs, it’s just one golden-roofed red building after another.  Because everyone already knows what a typical Forbidden City building looks like, a better way is to photograph the details.  That’s what I’ll do on this page.  Above, two rooflines and the eaves underneath them near the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

Detail of the southeast corner tower of the Forbidden City, photographed from just outside the City before it opened for the day.  The Forbidden City, like most of the Imperial City surrounding it (which includes present-day Zhongshan Park, the Workers Cultural Palace, Jingshan Park, Beihai Park, and more), was constructed in the early 1400s by Emperor Yongle, son of the founder of the Ming dynasty.  China was ruled from the Forbidden City for nearly five hundred years, until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912.  Today, China is ruled from another forbidden city: Zhongnanhai, just west of the Forbidden City and also formerly part of the Imperial City, which is totally off limits to the public.

Near the same spot, a local man fishes in the Forbidden City moat.  The trees on the far left, on the other side of the moat, are in the Workers Cultural Palace.  Behind the fisherman is the east wing of the Meridian Gate, the south entrance to the Forbidden City.

The Meridian Gate, viewed from within the Forbidden City.  You can just make out the tourist groups starting their journey, heading north up the center of the City.  In the distance on the right is the Gate of Auspicious Harmony.  After a while, these names all start sounding the same, don’t they?

Construction work on the stone terrace near the Tower of Spreading Justice.  Restoration is always taking place in the Forbidden City, but a massive effort is now underway that will continue all the way up to the Olympics in 2008.

Unfortunately, a major part of the renovation this year is on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the largest and most important hall within the Forbidden City, where some of the most major imperial ceremonies were held during the Ming and Qing dynasties.  In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is a shroud covering the scaffolding with a full-sized picture of the hall on it.

Another view of the railing snaking its way alongside the Golden Stream, near the Meridian Gate.

Freshly painted east wing of the Forbidden City, near the Gate of Supreme Harmony.  A saying has it that the Forbidden City has 9,999 rooms and not one more, as only heaven can have ten thousand rooms, but the actual number is somewhat below nine thousand.  That’s still a lot of rooms.  Around half of them are open to the public, and that number is growing over time.

A Forbidden City roof.

Three Forbidden City eaves.

One of the inevitable guardian lions in the Forbidden City.

The White Dagoba over in Beihai Park, which touches the northwest corner of the Forbidden City.

Forbidden City door detail.

Eave detail.  Some of these were recently repainted; I imagine all of them will be repainted over the next couple of years.  The absolute best time to visit Beijing is going to be right after the Olympics, because all the sites will be in their best shape ever.

A faded wall in the east palaces section of the Forbidden City, where the imperial concubines lived.

Detail of a handle for a huge bronze water vat.  The vats, scattered throughout the Forbidden City, held water to be used in case of fire.  This was no small concern of the emperors, given all the wooden buildings, and though fires did occasional damage, the overall fire control effort was effective.  Over three hundred were on the grounds during the Qing dynasty; today, around two hundred are on display for decorative purposes.

Forbidden City roofline.  The more characters on the roofline tiles, the more important the building.

One of the few peaceful, tree-shaded spots within the Forbidden City.

An unusual large roofline dragon, on a nearby but inaccessible building within the Forbidden City.

More eave paintings within the Forbidden City.

Another in my occasional Great Signs of China series, in front of a wall along a major thoroughfare within the Forbidden City.  The terms “relic,” “protected,” and “no scratch” are all contradicted within this one photograph.

Definitely not a Great Sign of China.  Yes, this is actually within the Forbidden City, and goodness, is it ever controversial.  Starbucks is ubiquitous in Beijing, but to find one planted in the middle of the Forbidden City is just too much.  I don’t fault Starbucks for taking advantage of the opportunity to put a store here - what smart business person wouldn’t? - but really, the folks in charge of the Forbidden City shouldn’t have presented the opportunity in the first place.  (Months after this photograph was taken, the Starbucks sign was removed; later, Starbucks left altogether.)

More roofline tiles, in the foreground and in the distance.

Underneath a roof edge, camera pointed straight up.

A very large wall tile, at the entrance to a western section of the Forbidden City.

Ceiling of the Pavilion of Everlasting Reign.  This small pavilion is one of the very few within the Forbidden City that is round.

Detail of the imperial dragon within the Pavilion of Everlasting Reign ceiling.

More dragons: the Nine Dragon Screen in the Forbidden City.  China has three Nine Dragon Screens; another is next door in Beihai Park, and surprisingly, that one is far larger and more impressive than the one here.

Detail from the Nine Dragon Screen.

And now, something a bit prettier.  Along the far east side of the Forbidden City is a treasure gallery spread through a number of halls where many museum pieces can be found.  (China’s official name for the Forbidden City is the Palace Museum.)  This is a Qing dynasty golden bottle, used in Buddhist rituals.

A gold-bodied green enamel bowl inlaid with rubies, within the treasure gallery of the Forbidden City.

A panelled wall within a hall of the treasure gallery of the Forbidden City.

Detail of a gold statue of Tsongkhapa, a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, who lived at the same time that the Forbidden City was being created, in the early 1400s.  This statue was created during Emperor Qianlong’s reign during the Qing Dynasty, in the 1700s.

A beautiful golden magnolia tree with pearl blossoms within the treasure gallery of the Forbidden City.

Old wall tiles piled near an exit of the Forbidden City.  No doubt, the massive renovation effort - here and elsewhere in Beijing - is going to play havoc with tourists, but once the Olympics are done in 2008, the whole city is going to be an amazing sight.