THE HILLMAN 2013 ASIAN ADVENTURE
100s of Photos Documenting a 6-week tour of
Malaysia ~ Singapore ~ Thailand ~ China
Section II: China
www.hillmanweb.com/china2013/china14.html
Photos by Bill and Sue-On
Captions by Sue-On (expanded from our FaceBook pages)
.
Gallery 14: Forbidden City ~ Part II


.

We were trying to get organized for a group picture. Guess who's not in it!

Jerry, our entertaining tour guide for Beijing.

At the centre of the ramps leading up to the terraces  from the northern and southern sides are ceremonial ramps, part of the Imperial Way, featuring elaborate and symbolic bas-relief carvings.

Bronze lion at the Gate of Supreme Harmony - - with our friends Kerry and Shaheda Morris.

Bill thought this pillar was a bit off centred.

Looking back towards the outer courtyard and square.

It was an amazing sight to see workers doing repairs to the roof.

There are several buildings in the outer court:  The Hall of Supreme Harmony The Hall of Central Harmony The Hall of Preserving Harmony.  The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the ceremonial centre of imperial power,  and the largest surviving wooden structure in China.

The Hall of Central Peace is a smaller, square hall,  used by the Emperor to prepare and rest before and during ceremonies.

The Palace of Earthly Tranquility - - an unusual location for an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan  who longs to be Jeddak of Mars!

This building is used as exhibition rooms,  preserving artifacts of historical significance.

I AM a treasure but not of THAT vintage.

Access paths from the outer court to the inner court  where some of the emperor's private residences are located.

One of the several display rooms.

A representation of the heavenly constellations.

Could this be an early model of our solar system?

Game Board

Saddle and Weapons

At first, we thought these were actors roaming about  to add authenticity to the tour.  So, I wedged myself in to have my picture taken. There were two little kids had also sneaked in, but they left. And we were too cheap to rent the costumes ourselves ;-)

Then, we realized that they were a family  who rented the costumes to have THEIR picture taken!  Bill snuck in just as they were trying to get away from the crazy tourists...

This was our Beijing tour photographer, Miao.  She helped Jerry, our tour guide, to keep track of all 31 of us.

This is one of the many urns located all around the wooden buildings. These are not only decorative but are also essential firefighting equipment.  The urns are always filled with water. There is an opening in the bottom platform so hot coals can be placed under the urn  to keep the water from freezing in the winter.

No comment required!

.

BACK TO CHINA CONTENTS

Hundreds of Photos with Captions

CHINA	MALAYSIA / SINGAPORE

....



.
Web Design:  Bill Hillman
Bill and Sue-On Hillman Eclectic Studio
hillmanweb.com
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada