Up to Beijing - January 28th-30th 2010

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January 29th 2010: Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, Nearby Parks, and more


Page 1 of 4.
Click on images below to enlarge:
Breakfast at Hotel
Something like a poached egg, a pancake, banana bread, carrot bread, smoked salmon, smoked trout, an egg roll, raisin bran cereal, and orange juice.
Pan au chocolat (surprisingly good), eggs (mushy and nasty), sausage, cantaloupe, pineapple, and watermelon.
Something like a poached egg, a pancake, banana bread, carrot bread, smoked salmon, smoked trout, an egg roll, raisin bran cereal, and orange juice.
Pan au chocolat (surprisingly good), eggs (mushy and nasty), sausage, cantaloupe, pineapple, and watermelon.
Tian'anmen (Tiananmen) Square
A map of the square.
Monument to the People's Heroes.
Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. It had a long line (also, photography wasn't allowed); I decided to skip it.
Tian'anmen Gate.
A map of the square.
Monument to the People's Heroes.
Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. It had a long line (also, photography wasn't allowed); I decided to skip it.
Tian'anmen Gate.
A 360-degree low-quality panoramic movie of Tian'anmen Square, starting from the Monument to the People's Heroes and Mao's Memorial Hall, and passing Tian'anmen Gate two-thirds of the way through. One third of the way in is the Great Hall of the People, where the Chinese legislature meets.
A closer look at Tian'anmen Gate, the first gate on the way to the Forbidden City.
A panoramic view of Tian'anmen Gate and its many bridges.
By the gate, one of the Taiwanese memorial columns (built in 1420).
A 360-degree low-quality panoramic movie of Tian'anmen Square, starting from the Monument to the People's Heroes and Mao's Memorial Hall, and passing Tian'anmen Gate two-thirds of the way through. One third of the way in is the Great Hall of the People, where the Chinese legislature meets.
A closer look at Tian'anmen Gate, the first gate on the way to the Forbidden City.
A panoramic view of Tian'anmen Gate and its many bridges.
By the gate, one of the Taiwanese memorial columns (built in 1420).
Atop the column.
The frozen moat surround Tian'anmen Gate, the outer ring around the Forbidden City.
The guard looks so small. Excellent because it feels like something that could hang in a museum. One of the portals in Tian'anmen Gate.
An entrance portal in Tian'anmen Gate.
Atop the column.
The frozen moat surround Tian'anmen Gate, the outer ring around the Forbidden City.
The guard looks so small. Excellent because it feels like something that could hang in a museum.
One of the portals in Tian'anmen Gate.
An entrance portal in Tian'anmen Gate.
Inside Tian'anmen Gate
Within Duanmen, the plaza inside Tian'anmen Gate before the official entrance to the Forbidden City. This panoramic picture looks back toward the inside of Tian'anmen Gate. The bridges on this side mirror the portals and the bridges on the other side.
People have to manually dispose of snow in the Forbidden City. They shovel it onto a cart, then the bicycle rides away. I didn't get to see where it goes, nor did I get to take a picture of a bicycle in motion. (I spotted the bicycle in motion, but it stopped to be refilled with snow before I managed to pull out my camera.)
Approaching the Meridian Gate, the main entrance to the Forbidden City.
A movie (with sound) of military men parading.
Within Duanmen, the plaza inside Tian'anmen Gate before the official entrance to the Forbidden City. This panoramic picture looks back toward the inside of Tian'anmen Gate. The bridges on this side mirror the portals and the bridges on the other side.
People have to manually dispose of snow in the Forbidden City. They shovel it onto a cart, then the bicycle rides away. I didn't get to see where it goes, nor did I get to take a picture of a bicycle in motion. (I spotted the bicycle in motion, but it stopped to be refilled with snow before I managed to pull out my camera.)
Approaching the Meridian Gate, the main entrance to the Forbidden City.
A movie (with sound) of military men parading.
Forbidden City (a.k.a. the Imperial Palace)
One palatial building within the Forbidden City. (It's technically the Gate of Supreme Harmony.) The long fence in the foreground guards a curving moat.
A 300-degree panoramic movie of the plaza in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Meridian Gate is on the right.
Within the Gate of Supreme Harmony, look at the detailed paintings on the ceiling and cross-beams.
Looking through on the portals in the aforementioned gate toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
One palatial building within the Forbidden City. (It's technically the Gate of Supreme Harmony.) The long fence in the foreground guards a curving moat.
A 300-degree panoramic movie of the plaza in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Meridian Gate is on the right.
Within the Gate of Supreme Harmony, look at the detailed paintings on the ceiling and cross-beams.
Looking through on the portals in the aforementioned gate toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
A 180-degree panoramic movie of the plaza by the Hall of Supreme Harmony (seen midway through the recording).
Now in the plaza by the Hall of Supreme Harmony, I like the top of picture, in particular the way the roofs glow. If you look at the full-size image, you can see statues on the hip of the roof. (Yes, that is the correct term of that part of a roof--look it up.)
Giant bronze vats ringed the plaza. In old times they were kept full of water to help fight fires.
A line of ornamental bronzes on the series of landings between stairs leading up to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
A 180-degree panoramic movie of the plaza by the Hall of Supreme Harmony (seen midway through the recording).
Now in the plaza by the Hall of Supreme Harmony, I like the top of picture, in particular the way the roofs glow. If you look at the full-size image, you can see statues on the hip of the roof. (Yes, that is the correct term of that part of a roof--look it up.)
Giant bronze vats ringed the plaza. In old times they were kept full of water to help fight fires.
A line of ornamental bronzes on the series of landings between stairs leading up to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
A dragon-turtle! Excellent. :)
One of many lines of carved dragon heads on a tier on the way up to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. These are actually rain gutters. Awesome. :)
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This picture does a good job capturing an impression of the approach to the hall: the stairs, the pillars, the levels. This is actually a side stair by it.
A dragon-turtle! Excellent. :)
One of many lines of carved dragon heads on a tier on the way up to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. These are actually rain gutters. Awesome. :)
Dragons were the symbol of the emperor/power/the heavens, the image of nine dragons was especially significant for the emperor himself. I often saw reliefs of dragons in the palace. When I counted them, there were always nine.
This picture does a good job capturing an impression of the approach to the hall: the stairs, the pillars, the levels. This is actually a side stair by it.
Yet another scene: this busy photo is intended to show the quantity of carved pillars, rails, and stairs leading up the hall.
The small sculptures on the hall's eaves.
There's a lot of stuff going on in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Some roofs. (I think these are on the Hall of Middle Harmony.)
Yet another scene: this busy photo is intended to show the quantity of carved pillars, rails, and stairs leading up the hall.
The small sculptures on the hall's eaves.
There's a lot of stuff going on in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Some roofs. (I think these are on the Hall of Middle Harmony.)
A close-up of the statues on the clip of the roof in the previous picture. Excellent.
Inside the Hall of Middle Harmony, perhaps?
I like look of the overlapping roofs.
Inside the Hall of Preserving Harmony, I think. It's not my thing, but I thought I should take a picture inside two halls simply for the sake of having a picture.
A close-up of the statues on the clip of the roof in the previous picture. Excellent.
Inside the Hall of Middle Harmony, perhaps?
I like look of the overlapping roofs.
Inside the Hall of Preserving Harmony, I think. It's not my thing, but I thought I should take a picture inside two halls simply for the sake of having a picture.