It was like herding cattle

The Forbidden City is the world's largest surviving palace complex and covers 72 hectares. It was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Located in the Dongcheng District, in the middle of Beijing, China, it now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, the Forbidden City served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government (thank you, Wikipedia).

I'm a big fan of old-style Chinese architecture - with the grand doors, tall patterned ceilings and the old-styled roofing tiles. When I stepped through the Meridian Gate - the first gate of the palace - I was overwhelmed by royal elegance and history.

There are two major areas of the palace - the outer and inner court. It was quite the walk - like one of those boxes, where you opened a layer and there was another box beneath. Well, just when you thought you were done, you stepped through another gate and entered into another vast space.

The imperial garden at the back was the highlight. Just beautiful.

One of the things that has really overwhelmed me here in Beijing is just how many damn people there are. It is nauseating at times. As we gathered to see the inside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, people were literally shoulder to shoulder, pushing their way towards the small open door space to peek in (we weren't allowed inside the halls). Staff members yelled directions from their megaphone. It was like herding cattle.

But that was just an observation - not a gripe. The Forbidden City is definitely recommended. We ended up exiting through the back - and not knowing where the hell we ended up, we walked down the street and looked for the next destination of our very packed first day in Beijing.