Did the Forbidden City live up to expectations? 紫禁城有跟想像的一樣好嗎?

Growing up in a Chinese background, I have watched countless number of TV series and read countless number of novels about ancient China. A lot of the stories were set in the forbidden city, as they often involved emperors, empresses, concubines, eunuchs, imperial officials and guards. 我看過了許多關於中國古代的電視節目及小說。很多故事都是在紫禁城裡發生，有關於皇上，皇后，妃子，太監，文武百官及侍衛。

Some most memorable characters include emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty, who made China the biggest super power in the world in his time (1654-1722), as well as empress Cixi (1861-1908) who some say led to the fall of the Qing dynasty. Both of them resided in the Forbidden City. 最讓人印象深刻的是康熙皇帝，把中國治理到最強盛時期，還有慈禧太后，把清朝帶到末路上。他們都是住在紫禁城裡的人。

The forbidden city is known for its size, which spans for 72 hectares (178 acres). If you live in a normal suburban house in Australia, you would probably be on about 400 square meters of land. The forbidden city is 720340 square meters, so it is about 1800 times the size the land of of your house. 紫禁城的面積有720340平方米，大概是澳洲普通住家占地的一千八百倍。

While the appearance of the palaces can be repetitive, there is no doubt about its elegance and magnificence . Every detail is also built with good Feng shui in mind to bring good luck. 雖然每個宮廷的外表看起來千篇一律，但都非常優雅宏偉，而且都有風水的考量。

Different palaces are built for different purposes. There are palaces for where the emperor studies, where the emperor meets its officials and holds ceremonies (e.g. Hall of supreme harmony, picture below), where the empresses reside, etc. 每個建築物都有它的意義, 比如太和殿(看下圖) 是舉行朝會的地方，御書房，還有后宮。

And who wouldn't want to sit on the emperor's seat? Unfortunately, they won't let you in the building, but you can take photos from the outside. 龍椅每個人都想坐，可惜不能進去，只能在外拍照。

You will also see some very unique rockery in the imperial garden. 在御花園裡有許多稀奇的石頭。

Overall I'm very glad I came here. I hope you have enjoyed these photos. And I do hope the weather is good when you come here one day, as you can see, the day I was here, I had pure blue skies. 我非常高興來到這。希望你有一天來到這時，天氣能跟我來時一樣好。

Here's a video of my trip if you would like to see the sceneries on video :) 在這可以看到我在紫禁城錄的影片。