The Ancient City

We met up with our group, some twenty plus of us from the U.S. and Europe. 

We arrived in this fabulous ancient historical city.

Beijing (Peking), one of the most populous cities in the world, one of the most intriguing one. 

Capital of China.

I had seen pictures of the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, and the many other famous sites . . . 
I had studied Chinese history and knew about the Dynasties . . .
But nothing had prepared me for this phenomenal sight.

Although the sky was very gray, the air was badly polluted, and the so-called modern but drab apartments mushrooming all over the city, over-shadowing the ancient hutongs and lanes; still the beauty of the ancient architecture shone through.

There were thousands of bicycles. There were crowds of people on the road.  

In 1986, there were not as many tourists as it is today.
And, we were there during off-season.

Our first stop was the Forbidden City, now A museum.
This was the Chinese Imperial Palace for the Ming Dynasty and the Qing (Ch'in) Dynasty. A massive Palace complex!
9,999 rooms!
Home for 14 Ming Emperors, and 10 Qing Emperors (one Empress, Xici),
The many Halls - Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Earthly Tranquility . . .
Can you imagine the eunuchs, serving the Emperors? Can you imagine the many concubines who saunter through the many halls. The Manchu women did not have bound feet. They also wore platform shoes.

Those wonderful carvings! And the vivid colors!
Everywhere you turn, you would see some treasure. 
We saw the Emperor's collection of Clocks, from the enormous one powered by water to the bejeweled one for the mantel.
I saw the biggest chunk of carved jade in my life. It must be five feet tall and almost as wide.
Can you see the thousands of soldiers in the huge courtyard, kowtowing to the Emperor?
The miles of marble walkways and balustrades!

Did you see the movie The Last Emperor? It was filmed in part of the palace.

At the time we were there, we could go into the throne room and even touch the throne and feel the tapestry.
When I went back to Beijing in 2001, they had roped off many of the areas. The tourists could only view the many treasures at a distance.

Then, we visited the Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor went to pray for good harvest and worship God. 
This gigantic place of worship sits on top of a hill. When you are approaching it, you have no idea how massive the building actually is.

That Lapis Blue tiled roof took my breath away.
They say that there were no nails used for this round building. I saw intricate carvings on the gigantic columns and the huge carved golden dragon with five toed feet on the ceiling. The Temple made me feel insignificant. You have the feeling that there is a power larger than you are in this world. 
How did the architect do this?
The temple of Heaven was built in the 15th century.