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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

July 14 B


...are we there yet?  :)  Yep, the Forbidden City.



This "stone lion" known as "the Phoenix," represented the Empress,
 and had a lion cub under her foot.
Her mate, on the other side, was known as "the Dragon,"
represented the Emperor, and had a ball (representing power) under his foot.

The original pavers are up top.




The pots were to hold water to fight fires.





K-Man got the biggest kick out of this dragon with the turtle shell.

Good luck to rub the pot.

I just thought that this "moat" inside the compound was too cool.


This baby had on split pants (or, no pants?) and, although we saw them often, this was the best picture I could get. Split pants are what they sound like - pants with a split down the middle so the cute little bare butt just hangs out.  Diapers are beginning to make an entrance but have not really caught on.  I know this for a fact, as we had a really hard time finding them later on.


When it comes to the sun, I agree with the Chinese but I'd rather buy 
the big, ugly hat as tote the umbrella.


As we got closer to the actual living quarters of the Emperor, the gold coloring on the roof and walls had been redone with real gold. It was incredible.  (I'm planning on watching “The Last Emperor” as Nancy said that they made an exact replica of the Forbidden City to film it.)








I just love the textures of these next few:














Finally, the actual living quarters of the Emperor and the Empress and whichever concubine was chosen for the night:






But wait! Where do the Emperor and the concubines and the eunuchs and etc go if they can't go outside the palace walls?  The garden of course!  (This place was unbelievable!)


The Imperial Garden:


Oh, my! There's an artist in the garden.
(Check out his shoes!)

If you know me at all, then you know I had to buy one.


This is the actual building in my painting.


























Finally, the end and we head out.

Okay, so I wasn't exactly 6 feet away but I was quick and I was sly.
 I never held the camera up to my face and I never stopped walking.








Here's what it looked like from the street:







Here's what I noticed in China:  At every site of significance or beauty were women
in lovely outfits having their pictures taken.
Nancy explained that they were brides
(not necessarily IN the wedding dresses)
and that they'd use the pictures in their announcements
or their wedding reception, etc.  



Shew!!! What a day! I'm tired, already.

Except that it's only lunch time.


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