Cameron Highlands Tea Plantation, Malaysia

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Forbidden City

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with the Forbidden City and having to experience the historical significance of Imperial China was simply amazing. The Forbidden City a.k.a Imperial Palace, was the best preserved imperial palace during the last two dynasties (Ming and Qing). It is called the Forbidden City because only the Chinese royalty was allowed to enter the palace. These days, the city is no longer forbidding, but inviting. There are tons of beautiful buildings with fabulous roof architectures decorated with colored paintings of the dragon and phoenix embracing the royal power.

Here are some snippets of my trip.


T­he historic and sprawling complex is mostly p­ain­t­ed in­ just­ t­w­o colors, yellow­ an­d red, w­hich can­ b­e seen­ t­hroug­hout­ t­he cit­y. Red represents happiness, good fortune and wealth whereas yellow is the color of the Imperial.

A pair of Bronze lions, plated with gold. As you can see from the pictures, the­ m­al­e­ l­i­on­ wi­th hi­s ri­ght paw r­e­sti­n­g on­ a bal­l­(a symbol of power)an­d the­ fe­m­al­e­ wi­th he­r­ l­e­ft paw fon­dl­i­n­g a c­ub(the cycle of life).


Golden imperial roofs which symbolized royalty.

In Chinese mythology the dragon is composed of 9 different animals to ward off evil spirits. It also reflects the social status of the building.

Huge stone carving, Hall of Preserved Harmony

The largest stone carving in the Imperial Palace, known as the Dragon walk, is behind the Hall of Preserved Harmony, in the centre of the stairway. It is a huge piece of marble showing 9 dragons toying with pearls, weighing more than 200 tonnes.


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First Commenter-Lina
Posted by LifeRamblings at 8:07 AM
Labels: , , , ,

30 comments:

  1. linaWednesday, March 18, 2009 8:59:00 AM

    Cool!
    I'm fascinated with the Forbidden City too, all the history and intrigue behind the walls.

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  2. AnonymousWednesday, March 18, 2009 9:04:00 AM

    I agree with Lina...fascinating history within the Forbidden City. Did you watch the recent documentary on the last emperor Pu Yi? It was wonderful watch and so much to learn from this one person. He died as a so-called commoner but I believe a much a happier man than when he was cooped up in the Forbidden City.

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  3. AnonymousWednesday, March 18, 2009 9:25:00 AM

    The Must visit place of Beijing.
    The place looks magnificent!

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  4. MariucaWednesday, March 18, 2009 10:18:00 AM

    Thanks for sharing the pics dear, you seem to have done a lot of travelling, how cool! :):):)

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  5. LoriWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:09:00 AM

    Beautiful pics...Happy WW:)

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  6. levianWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:24:00 AM

    the place is truly mesmerizing! the lions particularly caught my attention to stare tentatively. :D

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  7. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:33:00 AM

    lina,
    you're such an early bird. i've put up your avatar for being my FC today.

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  8. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:33:00 AM

    lina,
    there's so much to discover in the city. I could not possibly fit it all in one blog post.

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  9. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:34:00 AM

    Mei Teng,
    I've not seen the recent documentary but I'm sure it was a good one with lots of archival footages.

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  10. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:36:00 AM

    napaboaniya,
    definitely. there's so much history in Beijing.

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  11. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:38:00 AM

    mariuca,
    you were enjoying your beauty sleep. i'm sure you'll get your chance to chop one day.

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  12. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:40:00 AM

    mariuca,
    traveling is my passion. the world is so wonderful.

    i love to get a taste of diff cultures, tasting exotic food and meeting ppl from all walks of life.

    ReplyDelete
  13. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:40:00 AM

    Lori,
    thanks for visiting my WW. i'll visit yours soon. :)

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  14. LifeRamblingsWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:42:00 AM

    levian,
    The bronze lions, a male and a female, can often be seen in front of the gates of traditional buildings.

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  15. linaWednesday, March 18, 2009 1:36:00 PM

    I watched the documentary about the Last Emperor Pu Yi. Riveting stuff.

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  16. eastcoastlifeWednesday, March 18, 2009 2:17:00 PM

    I was at the Forbidden City twice. I love to study the history of China.

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  17. eastcoastlifeWednesday, March 18, 2009 2:18:00 PM

    It was very crowded with visitors from all other parts of China and international travellers.

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  18. ddayWednesday, March 18, 2009 5:27:00 PM

    Neat!I will include that place in my "the places must see" list.Happy WW!

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  19. UnknownWednesday, March 18, 2009 6:28:00 PM

    Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. The marble is amazing.

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  20. JLWednesday, March 18, 2009 6:43:00 PM

    I love the Forbidden City <3

    I'd like to visit the Emperor's Palace (called Qian Qing Gong IIRC) someday.

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  21. Beth FWednesday, March 18, 2009 8:49:00 PM

    Wow!!!! Lovely. I really like the bottom two photos. Great job.

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  22. AnonymousWednesday, March 18, 2009 11:34:00 PM

    Thank you for sharing these amazing photo's they are wonderful

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  23. MonicaThursday, March 19, 2009 2:52:00 AM

    the stone carving in the Imperial Palace is beautiful!!!

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  24. JackieThursday, March 19, 2009 6:24:00 AM

    Oh my these are wonderful photos. I would love to visit there too.

    I love just about everything Asian. I have met and made some of the best blogging buddies ever from the East.

    Awesome share for WW!!:-)

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  25. foongpcThursday, March 19, 2009 12:12:00 PM

    I would love to go there one day! It's such a beautiful place!

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  26. levianThursday, March 19, 2009 1:55:00 PM

    indeed. there were even saying about how grand the place or the owner have to be if they were to have these lions to "guard" their place. :D

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  27. TekkausThursday, March 19, 2009 5:02:00 PM

    Most of us grow up watching dramas and movies which depicts the Forbidden city! To actually feel it, touch it and be there is really something special for anyone right? I envy you....haha :D

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  28. eastcoastlifeThursday, March 19, 2009 5:43:00 PM

    Congrats for being FC on my recent post. :)

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  29. LifeRamblingsFriday, March 20, 2009 12:22:00 AM

    thanks to all for your feedback. :)

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  30. AyieTuesday, March 24, 2009 5:48:00 AM

    I explored this place before...

    thanks to our history of architecture prof who made us draw the palace and certain details!

    (hehe i wish have explored it like how you did!)

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