"Such a divine place was certainly forbidden to ordinary people and that is why the Forbidden City is so named." ~ Chinahighlights.com

Disclaimer:  

After lovely cool-ish days,

we blame the hot day for our decision...

 to have no guide when we visited what is today known as Gugong, Former/Old Palace...

and walked amongst the crowds through the 90 palaces and courtyards...

as quickly as possible.

Sweating affects my listening skills.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony has 10 statuettes representing its status

photo:  Chinahighlights.com

Ren Man kept searching for Hollywood's version of this city on...

Although, there were enough tourist to make this work

 with a little organization.  Ha!

So, please do not let my lack of inspirational photos...

deter you from exploring this past home of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty.

The Imperial Garden with its ancient trees...

and rock formations were a private retreat...

for the imperial family.

After being stuck on a bus earlier that morning...

we walked along the moat surrounding the Forbidden City...

under the shade of the weeping willows...

and the eye candy of Spring...

and stumbled across a wedding photo shoot.

A stroll through Beihai Park is a good idea...

and a lovely path to the equally quaint Houhai Lakes area...

where ample choices for food abound.

Sweet potato anyone?