The Forbidden City (故宮)

My photograph of the Forbidden City in 2011.

The Forbidden City in 1900.
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The Forbidden City or gugong （故宮）was crowned a UNESCO World Heritage site as it is considered the best preserved set of wooden structures in the world. It served as the imperial palace for emperors beginning in the Ming Dynasty until the end of the Qing Era, the last of China's dynasty periods. Construction began on the Forbidden City in 1406 under the charge of the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, and it was completed in 1420. The city is about 180 acres and includes nearly 1,000 buildings.

As the Forbidden City is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Beijing—if not China—the area was completely crowded on the summer weekend my class visited. In addition, several local visitors wanted to take pictures of us. It was almost like we were a free attraction, especially for the family that had their hands in my braids at the entrance—strangely amusing!

Despite the occasional unwanted attention, I was happy to visit the Forbidden City as it is so well preserved. However, our class schedule was tight and we were only given two hours to explore, not nearly enough time to see everything. At least, I think a person would need half a day to thoroughly enjoy the Forbidden City. 

參觀故宮

2011年的故宮

大家知道，故宮（也叫紫禁城）是在北京最有名的名勝古跡之一。我和我同學一起去故宮，是一日遊（我們先去了天安們廣場）。夏天的時候，是很熱鬧的地方，人太多。也有很多想拍我的照片的人。按我的經驗在北京沒有辦法避免那种人。

1900年的故宮
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固然故宮是很漂亮的地方，不過對我一點難享受因為人很多，所以看每座大廳不太方便。只要忍耐就行了哈哈。

我們班只有了兩個小時在故宮，時間太少了，沒辦法什麼都看到。最多我之看到差不多三分之一故宮。參觀每地方在故宮裡需要四個鐘頭多，我覺得。