6/13/2014 Nanjing, Ming Dynasty’s Forbidden City (明故宫)
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| entrance, wu gate |
Aaron:
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traffic run through
ancient city wall gate |
We first started in Nanjing at the Ming Dynasty’s Forbidden City. We climbed up the City Wall. The only things left were stones. It wasn’t well preserved because an army set up a huge fire that destroyed most of it.
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| Nine Dragon Screen |
We saw a Nine Dragon Screen but there’s only 4 dragons left and there’s no color. There are only 4 Nine Dragon Screen （九龙壁) in the world. One is in Beihai (北海), another one is the one we saw at Nanjing.
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| bloodlike lines on granite |
We found bloodlike lines on some granite stones. There’s a legend of it. Zhu Li (朱棣) killed his nephew, Zhu Yuwen (朱允炆), the emperor and asked the prime minister Fang Xiaoru (方孝孺) to announce he was the new emperor. Fang refused so he was also slain. People say that Fang’s blood dyed the stones red. The Ming Forbidden City has great stories and a long history.
Gordon:
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| steep stairs of ancient city wall |
Ming Forbidden City is more than 600 years old. You may go up to the City Wall, but the stairs are steep. I had to pull mommy up because she was too tired. On the floor there are bloody granite. The blood is fake. The stone is smooth with red lines. Nine Dragon Screen was burnt in half, and only four dragon left there. But you can touch it. It was very fun!
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