t might be
better to do
the Forbidden
City before
the Great
Wall. The FC
is an
impressive set
of buildings
on a grand
scale but it
is crowded and
doesn't have
quite the
wowness of the
awsome wall.
There are
massive
courtyards
surrounded by
smaller
courtyards and
the
architecture
is consistent
throughout.
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These
workers were
applying
natural
(jute?) fibre
in resin to
the timbers
-presumably to
preserve them.
I can't
imagine that
would be a
conservation
tehnique that
would be
approved at
home. There
are no signs
of decay
anywhere -
presumably the
site gets
continuously
maintained so
the sense of
age is lost.
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Dragons, lions
and elephants
recur
throughout
with the
occasional
crane thrown
in. It seems
to me that the
chinese were
not given to
fantacism much
so perhaps the
dragons are
based on a
real
creature.
They certainly
are consistent
in shape.
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The
Summer Palace
is a trek out
to the
outskirts and
we were
struggling to
find a metro
station when a
taxi driver
assured us
that the tube
was shut on
account of a
presidential
visit. Our
feet believed
him more than
our heads so
we fell in to
the car for a
comfy ride.
The isn't a
Palace as we
would imagine
but several
temples dotted
around a large
lake. The
number of
animals on the
ridge tiles
denotes the
importance of
the building.
I think 7 is
the most you
can have.
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We took a ride
back into town
and got the
driver to drop
us at Tianamen
square for a
final site see
must tick off
in Beijing.
Noodles for
supper.
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