Beijing and the Great Wall

Intersection in Dengshikou District downtown Beijing. Monumental LCD screens seen everywhere in busy areas of Beijing.

At background the mausoleum, the memorial hall of Chairman Mao Zedong. The Gate of Heavenly Peace, as it is called in English, was several times the scene of bloody protests, most recently the allegedly burnt-up by the government of five Falun Gong followers.

While the Forbidden City is often seen in the Western imagination of China as the palace of all that country's emperors going back thousands of years, in reality it has only stood since the 15th century C.E. Symbolically, Mao Zedong, leader of the victorious army, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in front of the south gate of the Forbidden City. He was the first ruler of a unified mainland China since the Qings had fallen. Although he did not take the title emperor, like them he held great power over China for much of the rest of his life, and the Communist Party he helped found has effectively been the new dynasty ever since, its elite living in the Zhongnanhai compound to the immediate west. His portrait remains on the gate overlooking Tian'anmen Square to the south, where all who enter must pass.

I was told that about 60.000 most Chinese tourists were visiting the Forbidden City in Beijing during our sightseeing tour in this amazing place. Everybody was controlled by personal scanner, x-ray and all have to open bags and other cases. So they know the exact amount of visitors staying in the Forbidden City. If more than 80.000 tourist coming entering the area will be closed.

The Hall of Supreme Harmon was the ceremonial throne room used for the grandest of state occasions. To preserve the fine paving stones, it is no longer possible to enter the halls, but you can admire the interiors from the front door. My picture shows the grand throne room - and crowds of tourists.

Northern side the Forbidden City of Beijing on the hill top of Jingshang Park is a destination for all tourists to take a snap shoot. The disputed smog over Beijing city on that day nearly was gone.

Its the gate we exit the Forbidden City in Beijing. A bird's eye view of Forbidden City and the gate. Rectangular in shape, inside the Forbidden City it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a 52-meter-wide moat and a 10-meter-high wall are more than 8,700 rooms. The wall has a gate on each side.

It is the largest and most representative existing masterpiece among China's ancient sacrificial buildings. First built in 1420, the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), it was enlarged and rebuilt during the reigns of the Ming emperor Jiajing and the Qing emperor Qianlong. In 1988, it was opened to the public as a park, showing ancient philosophy, history and religion. Its grand architectural style and profound cultural connotation give an insight into the practices of the ancient Eastern civilization.

A part of the acrobatic performance in Chaoang Theatre in Beijing, the theatre of the morning sun.. Backbending skills such as touching one's head to one's feet, or all the way to the buttocks (called a head-seat), while standing, lying on the floor, or in a handstand. A Marinelli bend is a backbend while supported only by a grip at the top of a short post that is held in the mouth.