[NOTE: I leave for China in ten days. This post from the archive helps set the stage for the upcoming adventure. Back to Beijing, then Guizhou and all things Miao].
Sprawling over 72 hectares in the middle of Beijing, China, the Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world. This awe-inspiring collection of over 980 wooden structures from the Ming Dynasty was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is easy to spend an entire day exploring the buildings and courtyards of the Forbidden City and fantasizing about the life and times of the Chinese Emperor. It is not so easy to exit the complex at closing time on a Saturday afternoon (thx, Zhang).