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Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace,
the outer entrance to the Forbidden City. I took this picture from the
square outside the entrance, Tiananmen Square.
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One of many symbols of longevity in
the Forbidden City, it has the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle.
It's also an incense burner.
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This place is a maze. While quite linear
down the center, one could spend days wondering around the east and west
sides.
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See what I mean?
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Another view of the Forbidden City.
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One of several thrones.
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A very common symbol of strength, this
lion-dog can be found everywhere.
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Details like this are everywhere.
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An interesting detail. I wish I knew
what it means. Does anyone know?
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Incense burners are all over the Forbidden
City..
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Another longevity symbol and incense
burner.
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Here's a lion-dog at the Summer Palace.
Lion-dogs come in pairs. This is the male. You can tell because he is holding
down a ball, which symbolizes the Earth.
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Here's the female. She's holding
down her cub.
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A Buddha in the Summer Palace.
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The number of creatures indicates
rank or the relative importance of the buiding. The highest rank is nine,
an important number in Chinese cosmology.
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The lotus garden at the Summer Palace.
It was just about to start flowering when I took this picture.
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In the summer palace there is
a covered walk. These crossbeams depict scenes from Chinese history and
Chinese myths.
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The Empress Dowager Cixi nearly
bankrupted China with her restoration of the Summer Palace. The project
was not popular with the people, so she pretended she was building a naval
training facility. This is a ship, but it'll never float. It's solid marble.
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If you want to tour the lake at
the summer palace, this boat with a dragon bow will take you.
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A place to meditate at the Summer
Palace.
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