We arrived in Beijing via Air China and were met by Tom at the airport. When all twenty of us had collected our luggage, a tour bus took us to the hotel. It was late in the afternoon and the following morning came around quickly. The local guide then took us to Tiananmen Square. It was a nice sunny day and we were told that the national holidays had just ended, so we would not see the usual crowds but still enjoy the flowers and decorations.

Some of the buildings include the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao, the tall monument to the People's Heroes, the National Museum and the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the entrance to the Forbidden City. This was the home of many emperors for almost five hundred years, a place reserved only for him and his royal family, servants and guards.

We followed Tom with his blue flag through the first gate to a courtyard and the 'Gate of Uprightness'. We noticed a secondary gate to the east. It was used by the servants and suppliers of provisions to the palace. Guards dressed in green uniforms paraded in one corner as we continued to the next gate, the Meridian Gate.

The Meridian Gate was the main defensive part of the Forbidden City and the surrounding walls connected at this point. The inside courtyard has the Golden River with its three bridges. Only the emperor could use the center one. To pass across as a servant or layman would mean a beheading.
We were now entering the central parts of the palace. But wait there is one more gate, the 'Gate of Supreme Harmony'.

We, and several hundred more, now entered the holy sanctity of the Forbidden City. The large plaza, with its original paving, draws attention to the central palace, the 'Hall of Supreme Harmony'. Notice that the stairway in the center is blocked off; it was reserved for the emperor and all others had to ascend left and right depending on their rank. The buildings to the left and right served as storage of supplies while the smaller ones were dwellings for the guard officers and other officials.

Large stoves were used to burn incense during ceremonies. This would include marriages of the royal family and official and religious holidays. The carvings at the roof corners also had a significance and the central figures would be up to nine for the highest ranking person, the emperor. The inside of the palace was dark with a tall, golden shrine and throne. Again this was meant for the emperor only.

We continued our walk to the right and back. Several large bronze vessels with ornate handles would be filled with water to fight fires which often happened with the earlier wooden structures. The carvings and paintings on the gables were marvelous and gold leaf was used throughout. The color yellow, such as the roof tiles, was also reserved for the emperor and could not be seen amongst the common people.

Towards the back were the living quarters, the bed room of the emperor and his family, and the garden. We left the Forbidden City through the North Gate where our bus was waiting for us. We had walked the full length of the palace grounds - more than half a mile - and only seen the highlights. Many more buildings are located on either side of the main corridor.