Forbidden City

From here we entered the Forbidden City. Its a shame the beggars and traders aren't forbidden as it would be a whole lot more enjoyable without them around. Lots of large squares and entrance gates that went on as far as the eyes could see. (I'm not selling this very well at all, am I?).

The area is complex and it's so hard to believe that it's still not fully open to the public. Those bits that were were very busy though.

One of these "Rub for good luck" knobs!

Amazing! (is that better?)

Male and Female dragons. You can tell which one is female as that's the one crushing the baby dragon under it's foot. Throughout the complex there are pairs of things off setting each other e.g. male and female.

A mural of seven dragons, that I tried to take a pano of but was proving too popular with the locals to get a good shot of.

Some of the old crown jewels were put on display including stunning intricate crowns.

When we entered the Emperors Garden, wow what a change. It was so removed from the hustle and bustle and offered amazing respite from everything. Here we were fortunate enough to meet the Last Emperor's Nephew. Now in his 80s he's confined to a desk at which he does calligraphy for a price, which none of us were prepared to pay (which left a very uncomfortable air around the room). I hope they never make a sequel to The Last Emperor or they'll have to call it "The Last Sell Out".

For more money you can dress up in concubine costumes (this part of the complex was home to over 3,000 of them; all to serve the Emperor...Lucky SOB!

Another jade sculpture. Again very intricate.

This one is carved from a single piece. It's huge!

Following a disastrous gig by DJ Yoda, the authorities are now opposed to more like him from performing in the city.

At the north end of the complex looking south. The entrance is just over half a mile in the distance.

The Forbidden City is located to the north of Tiannamen Square and is busy all year round. You can spend all day walking around it if you're so inclined. We cleared it in half.