site:
The Tiananmen square was designed and built in 1651, and has since enlarged four times its original size in the 1950s. In November 1958 a major expansion of Tian'anmen Square started, which was completed after only 11 months, in August 1959. This followed the vision of Mao Zedong to make the square the largest and most spectacular in the world, and intended to hold over 500,000 people.
Here are a few sights around the square........
Beyond those walls is: The Forbidden City!
It was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. (Thank you Wikipedia)
Come along...let's take a look!
http://youtu.be/kueRkdrJ-8A
or click on the picture to open the link to Youtube.
When I first entered this part of the city I was thinking "Wow, this is big" but I had not really seen just how big it was! It seemed to go on and on and on. Here is the map of the place.....
There were many gates that you pass through. They were raised so you had to climb steps to the upper level that housed a building. Some small, but most were large. Some you passed through, others were used for the Emperor's business. Here are some names of the gates and buildings: Gate of Glorious Harmony, Gate of Supreme Harmony, Gate of Manifest Virtue, Gate of Literary Brilliance, Gate of Loyal Obedience, etc, etc, etc.
Enjoy some of the pictures I took:
So if you ever go to Beijing, you have to go see this palace. Won't it be amazing to maybe meet the ones who lived here?
Hope you are all coping well. Take care and visit me again!
Love and hugs.....Cindy