Beijing - Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace built in 1420.  It is probably one of the most famous ancient palaces in the world.  The principles applied in designing this palace are balance and symmetry. The Chinese believe that the sky is round while the earth is square.  According to ancient Chinese astrology, the North Star is at the center of the universe and it is where the heavenly emperor resides.  The Forbidden City palace is meant only for the emperors on earth.

An amazingly large place.  Amazing buildings, but not much else to see.  Our favorite area were the gardens.

Really cool pictures ... almost black and white looking.  Call this the haze / pollution effect.  This day, we couldn't see too far ... which makes for cool pictures.  Breathing wasn't good.

The street just outside the Forbidden City.