Forbidden City: The Approach from Tiananmen Square

	Chairman Mao & the Tiananmen Gates The massive gate from Tiananmen Square leads into the Forbidden City from the south.		The Gates A massive gate between the Tiananmen Gates and the gates that lead into the Forbidden City itself.
	What I Like To Call the Cameron Wing Part of the massive gate structure that leads directly to the Forbidden City. The sheer size of these structures and the endless array of buildings was astounding, particularly since they were first built six hundred years ago.		Curves One of my favorite pictures from the Forbidden City.

Not Your Average Gate The height and depth of the gates is astounding, certainly not what comes to my mind when I think of a gate. I had been expecting something more like an entrance to a castle or palace in Europe.

Centuries I would have loved to see these intricately colored buildings before the ravages of six centuries of weather had dulled them, but they were impressive even as they were.