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<\/a><\/p>\nOnce you enter the Forbidden City, you must pass through many large buildings and gateways to go through the area and exit.\u00a0 We were told that the Chinese believed God lived in a heaven with 1,000 rooms.\u00a0 Since the Chinese emperor was directly below God, he wanted to live in a city with 9,999 1\/2 rooms.\u00a0 Fun Fact: Even though the emperor wanted 9,999 1\/2 rooms, there are actually only 8,700 something rooms.\u00a0 Guess they were a little off!<\/p>\n
As we passed through another gate, we saw the beautiful Gate of Supreme Harmony (which is the building ahead).\u00a0 Every single building had intricate, colorful paintings on the walls and ceilings. Sometimes I didn’t know where to look first!<\/p>\n We saw these huge outdoor vases everywhere!\u00a0 I learned they used to be filled to the brim with water.\u00a0 These were some of the first fire hydrants in China.\u00a0 If ever a fire broke out (since most of these buildings are made of wood), there was always easy access to water. I also learned that the brick flooring was actually 15 layers deep.\u00a0 This ensured that if any invaders or enemies wanted to penetrate the Forbidden City from below and attempt to kill the emperor…well, it would be really, really difficult.<\/p>\n The Forbidden City was massive and it took us a few hours to explore just a small section of it.<\/p>\n I found the Imperial Garden!<\/p>\n …and the Imperial Toilets!<\/p>\n I even played with the Imperial shadows!<\/p>\n And then came the best part of all! We were slowing making our way through the Forbidden City, even stopping for a \u51b0\u6fc0\u51cc (ice cream) break.\u00a0 We seemed to be exiting the city but up in the hills I saw one more building structure.\u00a0 It looked absolutely awesome and I wanted to hike up the hill to get a better look.\u00a0 Thankfully, exploring this last building was already on the itinerary.\u00a0<\/p>\n This last building was located in Jingshan Park. I was so excited I was jumping up and down. I kept asking other people if they were excited too but no one seemed quite as enthusiastic as me.\u00a0 The hike up involved many stone steps and steep walkways but I nearly ran all the way up.\u00a0 And guess what? The view was unbelievable.<\/p>\n Here is the Forbidden City from above! Enjoy!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n