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addPhoto('images/fc_42.jpg',"Looking from the main entrance to the Forbidden City across a bridge towards Tianamen Square, which is right across the street.");
addPhoto('images/fc_ent1.jpg',"Tianamen Gate, the main entrance to the Forbidden City, just north of Tianamen Square. Since the 1949 revolution Tiananmen Gate has had a picture of Mao Zedong and two placards. The left one reads zhong huá rén mín gòng hé guó wàn suì, Long Live the People's Republic of China, while the right placard reads quán shì jiè rén mín dà tuán jié wàn suì, Long live the Great Unity of the World's Peoples.");
addPhoto('images/fc_1.jpg',"Inside the main entrance. From its completion in 1422 to 1644, when a peasant revolt invaded it, the Forbidden City served as the seat of the Ming Dynasty. The following Qing Dynasty also occupied the Forbidden City. After being the home of 24 emperors—fourteen of the Ming dynasty and ten of the Qing—the Forbidden City ceased being the political center of China in 1912 with the abdication of Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China. He was, however, allowed and in fact required to live within the walls of the Forbidden City, until a coup launched by a local warlord in 1924.");
addPhoto('images/fc_41.jpg',"The main entrance. The booths on bottom right are where we got our audio tours.");
addPhoto('images/fc_40.jpg',"Looking from the entrance near Tianamen square towards Meridien Gate.");
addPhoto('images/fc_2.jpg',"Walkway between main entrance and next gate");
addPhoto('images/fc_3.jpg',"Meridian Gate");
addPhoto('images/fc_4.jpg',"Jeff at the main entrance");
addPhoto('images/fc_map.jpg',"Map of the complex at the main gate");
addPhoto('images/fc_5.jpg',"Bridge over a river inside the main courtyard. The river was used as a reservoir for fire extinguishing.");
addPhoto('images/fc_6.jpg',"Chinese women in pink, preparing a dance. We're in the main courtyard, which is over 10,000 sq. meters.");
addPhoto('images/fc_7.jpg',"View from the main courtyard looking up at the main temple, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most important and highest in elevation of the 9,999 buildings in the Forbidden City. It's where the Emperor received visiting dignitaries, sent off his military commanders to war, and held the highest of ceremonies, like weddings and emporer birthdays.");
addPhoto('images/fc_9.jpg',"Looking back at the main entrance, the Meridian Gate. The construction of the Forbidden City started in 1406 and took 14 years and an estimated 200,000 men.");
addPhoto('images/fc_39.jpg',"Tourists in the courtyard.");
addPhoto('images/fc_10.jpg',"Wider view of the main courtyard from the bridges over the river.");
addPhoto('images/fc_38.jpg',"View of the three tiers in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony looking back toward Meridian Gate across the courtyard.");
addPhoto('images/fc_16.jpg',"One of the 18 bronze Dings, or vessels, which represented the 18 provinces, located on the levels in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.");
addPhoto('images/fc_kim.jpg',"Kim in front of one of the large Dings in the main courtyard.");
addPhoto('images/fc_11.jpg',"Closeup of the female lion guarding the entrance to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. There are lions guarding all Imperial family buildings. This is the female, and she is holding down a lion cub under her paw. The male lion, which appears on the opposite side of the entrance to the building, has a globe under his paw, which represents the global power of the Imperial family. These lions are found all over Beijing.");
addPhoto('images/fc_13.jpg',"The Hall of Supreme Harmony.");
addPhoto('images/fc_14.jpg',"The Hall of Central Harmony, just past Supreme Harmony, where the Emperor rested before ceremonies. The Hall of Protective Harmony is behind it, where the emperor's throne was, and where he gave banquets.");
addPhoto('images/fc_15.jpg',"Close up of the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. You'll notice the small carved dragons on the corners of the roof. The number of dragons determined the importance of a particular building--the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most important ceremonial building in the Forbidden City, has 12.");
addPhoto('images/fc_36.jpg',"One of the fire extinguishers near the Hall of Preserved Harmony. The Hall of Central Harmony, the smaller square bldg, and Hall of Supreme Harmony are in the background.");
addPhoto('images/fc_37.jpg',"The Hall of Preserved Harmony.");
addPhoto('images/fc_12.jpg',"View of the Gate of Celestial Purity, behind the Hall of Protective Harmony. This is also the location of the large marble carving you'll see shortly. This gate divides the inner and outer courts.");
addPhoto('images/fc_34.jpg',"Back of the Hall of Preserved Harmony. The carved marble stone is on the staircase.");
addPhoto('images/fc_marble1.jpg',"From chinatravelguide.com: Behind the Hall of Preserved Harmony, in the centre of the stairway, is a huge marble relief of nine dragons playing with pearls. It is the largest stone sculpture in the Forbidden City. Sculpted originally in the Ming dynasty, it was re-sculpted in the Qing dynasty. During these dynasties, anyone who was caught touching this holy stone would receive the death penalty! The huge stone was hauled into the palace all the way from Fangshan, a distance of some 70 kilometers from Beijing. This difficult task took about a month employing twenty thousand men and thousands of mules and horses. Weighing about 250 tons, the marble slab is 16.57 meters long, 3.07 meters wide and 1.7 meters thick. It had to be dragged along the ground and it is said that a well was dug every 500 meters so that water could be pumped onto the road to facilitate transportation!");
addPhoto('images/fc_marble2.jpg',"A closeup of the carving on the marble slab. The carving depicts dragons flying through the clouds, over the sea.");
addPhoto('images/fc_17.jpg',"The male lion outside the Gate of Celestial Purity.");
addPhoto('images/fc_18.jpg',"Another closeup of the lion. The globe under the male paw represented the Imperial Family's authority being global.");
addPhoto('images/fc_35.jpg',"Back view of the Gate of Celestial Purity. You can see the gold dragons guarding the front.");
addPhoto('images/fc_19.jpg',"From chinatravelguide.com: In the centre of the palace, the throne is on a raised dais, surrounded by incense burners, long red candles, and large mirrors, which were placed beside the throne to ward off evil spirits. On the surrounding columns, there are two pairs of couplets written by Qing emperors. Over the throne hangs a plaque engraved with four Chinese characters, written by Emperor Yongzheng and which mean Justice and Brightness. From the time of Emperor Yongzheng, the name of each crown prince would be written on duplicate documents and a copy would be placed in a box behind this plaque. The other copy would be retained by the emperor. Only if the name on each document was the same would the designated prince take the crown upon the death of the emperor. ");
addPhoto('images/fc_20.jpg',"Interior of the roof of the Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union.");
addPhoto('images/fc_21.jpg',"Gate near the entrance to the Imperial Garden.");
addPhoto('images/fc_23.jpg',"Buildings in the inner court.");
addPhoto('images/fc_24.jpg',"Yan Hui Ge - the building where the Emperor chose all his female companions.");
addPhoto('images/fc_25.jpg',"Another shot of Yan Hui Ge.");
addPhoto('images/fc_26.jpg',"Temple inside the Imperial Garden");
addPhoto('images/fc_27.jpg',"Gate leading to some of the residence buildings on the South side.");
addPhoto('images/fc_28.jpg',"Walkway in the South side area.");
addPhoto('images/fc_29.jpg',"Gate.");
addPhoto('images/fc_30.jpg',"Closeup of the detail on the gate.");
addPhoto('images/fc_31.jpg',"The Palace of Terrestrial Tranquility, residence and palace of the Empress.");
addPhoto('images/fc_32.jpg',"The Hall of Mental Cultivation, where Emperors lived, and ruled. The large pot is a container to hold water in case of fires.");
addPhoto('images/fc_fireext.jpg',"Closeup view of one of the large pots that served as fire extinguishers. Although these are decorative, their prime function was to contain the vast amounts of water necessary to fight any outbreak of fire in the many timber buildings. Each of these vats weighs four tons and would contain over two hundred gallons of water. There is a total of three hundred and eight vats spread around the Forbidden City");
addPhoto('images/fc_33.jpg',"Palace of Gathering Elegance is where the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi lived. When hierarch Cixi was in power, although she was behind the throne, she spent huge amount of money to decorate the palace, making it the most luxurious one to celebrate her 50th birthday.");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_1.jpg',"From chinatravelguide.com: Outside of the Gate of Terrestrial Tranquility is Yuhuayuan, the Imperial Garden. Constructed during the Ming dynasty in 1417, it is rectangular in shape and covers approximately 12,000 square meters. This was a private retreat for the imperial family and is the most typical of the Chinese imperial garden design. There are some twenty structures, each of a different style, and the ways in which they harmonise with the trees, rockeries, flower beds and sculptural objects such as the bronze incense burners both delight and astonish visitors.");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_2.jpg',"Large brazier in the Imperal Garden");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_3.jpg',"Dragon guarding the garden");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_4.jpg',"More stone and wood carvings and natural formations");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_5.jpg',"This is actually a wood formation in the Imperial Garden");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_6.jpg',"Located in the north-east is Duixiushan, Gathering Beauty Hill is a little artificial mountain with a cave. Yujingyuan, Pavilion of Imperial View, sits on top of the mountain. Emperors would climb up to the pavilion on the Double Ninth Festival to enjoy the scenery with the royal family. ");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_7.jpg',"Close up of the Pavilion of Imperial view");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_8.jpg',"One of four pavilions, these symbolise the four seasons. The Pavilion of Myriad Springs is the most famous and occupies the eastern corner. Built in 1535 and restored during the Qing dynasty, as its name implies, it is this pavilion that symbolizes spring.");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_9.jpg',"Rock formation in the Imperial Garden");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_10.jpg',"Another pavilion in the Imperial Garden");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_11.jpg',"Pavilion above more rock formations");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_12.jpg',"Amazing trees and rock formations are all over the Imperial Garden");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_13.jpg',"Another close up of the Pavilion of Imperial View, on top of the rock mountain");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_14.jpg',"Pavilion behind a tree");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_15.jpg',"Renee, Chuck's interpreter, in yellow, walking through the Imperial Garden. When the breeze blows, tons of little flowers float through the air making it seem like it is snowing, and it's beautiful. We were lucky enough to see this, since it was Spring when we visited.");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_jk2.jpg',"Growing in front of the hall is a four hundred year old pine tree. Known as the Consort Pine, it symbolises the harmony between the Emperor and Empress.");
addPhoto('images/fc_ig_jk.jpg',"Jeff and Kim in front of the Consort Pine, otherwise known as the Wedding tree.");
addPhoto('images/fc_door.jpg',"A door to one of the buildings in the Forbidden City. Roofs, doors, windows, and ceilings were developed to suit the different ranks of imperial buildings.");
addPhoto('images/fc_roof.jpg',"Closeup of the figures that are found on all the major buildings in the city. These are on the most important building, the Hall of Supreme Harmony. At the tail of the procession is an imperial dragon, representing the authority of the state. At the head of the procession is a man riding a chicken, one legend suggests that this represents a minon of the emperor who grew greedy for power and was hanged from the roof gable for treason. Another version of this figurine is an immortal riding a fenghuang-bird or qilin. In between will be mythical beasts, always an odd number of them. The mythical beasts are set to pounce upon the man and devour him should he stray from performing his duties with faithfulness and rectitude. The number of beasts indicates the importance of the duties performed within the building or within the courtyard protected by a gate. The maximum number of beasts is nine, including an evil-dispelling bull, courageous goat-bull, wind and storm-summoning fish, mythical lion, auspicious seahorse, heavenly horse, lion, and chiwen, a son of dragon.  Note the addition of a immortal guardian, xingshe, in front of the dragon holding to a sword like a cane. In addition, you can make out the amazing detail of the carved dragons in the circle end of each and every tile at the edge of the roof. There were hundreds, if not thousands of these.");
addPhoto('images/fc_roof2.jpg',"Chinese imperial roof decoration or roof-figures, was only allowed on official buildings of the empire. Along the unions between the roof panels, near the corner, a row of small figures is placed. These are often made of glazed ceramic and form an outward marching procession. The imperial yellow glaze reserved for the emperor.");
addPhoto('images/fc_sign.jpg',"One of the many great signs we came across in China. Obviously, Chinese does not translate perfectly into English.");