Lying at the city center and called Gu Gong in Chinese, it was the
imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing
dynasties. It was first built throughout 14 years during the reign
of Emperor Chengzu in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Ancient
Chinese Astronomers believed that the Purple Star (Polaris) was in the
center of heaven and the Heavenly Emperor lived in the Purple Palace.
The Palace for the emperor on earth was so called the Purple City. It
was forbidden to enter without special permission of the emperor. Hence
its name 'The Purple Forbidden City', usually 'The Forbidden City'
Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tianmmen Square.
Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and
covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a 52-meter-wide moat and a
10-meter-high wall are more than 8,700 rooms. The wall has a gate on
each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate of
Divine Might (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park. The distance
between these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the
east and west gates is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately
structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These
afford views over both the palace and the city outside.
It is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court
was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The
northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal
family. Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the
Inner Court, fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of
the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for
some five centuries, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities.
Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace
Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions world-wide.Construction of the palace complex began in 1407, the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor (Emperor Chengzu, Zhu Di) of the Ming dynasty. It was completed fourteen years later in 1420, and then the capital city was moved from Nanjing to Beijing the next year. It was said that a million workers including one hundred thousand artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor. Stone needed was quarried from Fangshan District. It was said a well was dug every fifty meters along the road in order to pour water onto the road in winter to slide huge stones on ice into the city. Huge amounts of timber and other materials were freighted from faraway provinces.
Ancient Chinese people displayed their very considerable skills in building it. Take the grand red city wall for example. It has an 8.6 meters wide base reducing to 6.66 meters wide at the top. The angular shape of the wall totally frustrates attempts to climb it. The bricks were made from white lime and glutinous rice while the cement is made from glutinous rice and egg whites. These incredible materials make the wall extraordinarily strong.
Nowadays, it is open to tourists from home and abroad. Splendid painted
decoration on these royal architectural wonders, the grand and deluxe
halls, with their surprisingly magnificent treasures will certainly
satisfy 'modern civilians'.
Cormorants
are good sized birds who enjoy diving underwater in search of fish.
Fishermen use the cormorants to catch the fish and return them to the
boat. Usually fishermen seem to be more sun-tanned. The fisherman drive
the birds into the water where they dive below the surface in search of
fish. When the birds catch a fish they return to the boat and the
fisherman removes the fish from their throat and places it in the
basket. The secret is that the fisherman places a cord around the bird's
neck to keep the bird from swallowing the fish.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
- See more at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangxi/guilin/li_river.htm#sthash.lwBFfwV3.dpuf
You
will see buffalos gazing along the river bank or patrolling on the
fields. They seem to be indispensable friends of peasants, especially
for kids.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
Fisherman and CormorantsCormorants
are good sized birds who enjoy diving underwater in search of fish.
Fishermen use the cormorants to catch the fish and return them to the
boat. Usually fishermen seem to be more sun-tanned. The fisherman drive
the birds into the water where they dive below the surface in search of
fish. When the birds catch a fish they return to the boat and the
fisherman removes the fish from their throat and places it in the
basket. The secret is that the fisherman places a cord around the bird's
neck to keep the bird from swallowing the fish.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
- See more at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangxi/guilin/li_river.htm#sthash.lwBFfwV3.dpuf
Fisherman and CormorantsCormorants
are good sized birds who enjoy diving underwater in search of fish.
Fishermen use the cormorants to catch the fish and return them to the
boat. Usually fishermen seem to be more sun-tanned. The fisherman drive
the birds into the water where they dive below the surface in search of
fish. When the birds catch a fish they return to the boat and the
fisherman removes the fish from their throat and places it in the
basket. The secret is that the fisherman places a cord around the bird's
neck to keep the bird from swallowing the fish.
You
will see buffalos gazing along the river bank or patrolling on the
fields. They seem to be indispensable friends of peasants, especially
for kids.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
You
will see buffalos gazing along the river bank or patrolling on the
fields. They seem to be indispensable friends of peasants, especially
for kids.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
Fisherman and CormorantsCormorants
are good sized birds who enjoy diving underwater in search of fish.
Fishermen use the cormorants to catch the fish and return them to the
boat. Usually fishermen seem to be more sun-tanned. The fisherman drive
the birds into the water where they dive below the surface in search of
fish. When the birds catch a fish they return to the boat and the
fisherman removes the fish from their throat and places it in the
basket. The secret is that the fisherman places a cord around the bird's
neck to keep the bird from swallowing the fish.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
- See more at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangxi/guilin/li_river.htm#sthash.lwBFfwV3.dpuf
You
will see buffalos gazing along the river bank or patrolling on the
fields. They seem to be indispensable friends of peasants, especially
for kids.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
Fisherman and CormorantsCormorants
are good sized birds who enjoy diving underwater in search of fish.
Fishermen use the cormorants to catch the fish and return them to the
boat. Usually fishermen seem to be more sun-tanned. The fisherman drive
the birds into the water where they dive below the surface in search of
fish. When the birds catch a fish they return to the boat and the
fisherman removes the fish from their throat and places it in the
basket. The secret is that the fisherman places a cord around the bird's
neck to keep the bird from swallowing the fish.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.
- See more at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangxi/guilin/li_river.htm#sthash.lwBFfwV3.dpuf
You
will see buffalos gazing along the river bank or patrolling on the
fields. They seem to be indispensable friends of peasants, especially
for kids.
Yellow Cloth ShoalBoating
downstream southward from the Mural Hill about 500 meters, peaks become
steep and the river become wide and quiet. A huge yellow flagstone
lying under the limpid waters can easily be seen. It is like a cloth
piece and people called it Yellow Cloth Shoal. There are seven green
peaks standing nearby. A legend goes that the seven peaks are fairy
girls from the heaven who took baths in the river. Enthralled by the
charming scene, they stayed here and become into the peaks. With verdant
bamboos, the green peaks under the blue sky reflected on the quiet
waters create a spectacular scene. Sometimes, people doubt they see
boats floating on hill tops. Many Chinese paintings and poems present
this charming scene and tourists run out of their films for it.