1. 紫禁城 The Forbidden City We started our visit raining, it wasn´t the tradicional bleu sky of most of the pictures we have seem before , it added a sense of sadness and mystery and we enjoy it , as i hope you all do.

15. Ten statuettes on the roof ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony 太和殿

17. Ceiling in the Hall of Supreme Harmony 太和殿

18. The Throne in the Hall of Preserving Harmony 保和殿

19. Above the throne hangs a tablet reading "Justice and Honour" 正大光明

24. Lion at the gate of Heavenly Purity 乾清宫

30. Gate of Divine Prowess 神武門 A tablet above the doorway reads "The Palace Museum" in Chinese.

33. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Quing Dynasty. Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 rooms and covers 720,000 square metres. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture. Music: Album “Chinese Bamboo Flute” by Chung Kuo Photos: May 2006 By Maria [email_address]