故宫导游词

北京故宫导游词

各位朋友，过一会儿我们将参观故宫博物院，现在我先为大家作个简单介绍。故宫是世界上现存规模最大的古代皇家宫殿建筑群，故宫又叫紫禁城。“紫”是天上君王居住宫殿的颜色，那么人间的帝王当然要与紫字沾边。“禁”是指当时那里守卫森严，不要说是普通老百姓，即使是高官大员没有皇帝的召见也不能私自入城，否则就会引来杀身之祸，是皇家“禁”地，所以又称紫禁城，整座城池建成于公元1420年，位于天安门广场北侧。

故宫平面呈长方形，南北长960米，东西宽750米，全面积72万平方米。整座紫禁城被宽52米的护城河所环绕，城墙高10米，可谓是“城高池宽”。在故宫城楼的四周各有一座被称为九梁十八柱七十二条脊的精美角楼。故宫开四门，座北朝南，南门为午门，即正门，北门为神武门，东为东华门，西为西华门。

各位朋友，这里是故宫的正门，叫午门，意思是正午的太阳光芒四射。各位请看！在10米高的城墙上耸立着五座崇楼，楼顶飞檐翅起，从上面看就象五只展翅欲飞的凤凰，故午门又称五凤楼。它建成于公元1420年，位于端门之北，雄伟壮观。

午门的平面呈“U”字型，正楼高35.6米，门额上有“午门”二字。两厢尽头为钟、鼓楼。城门正面开三个门洞，中路供皇帝出入，东西两侧供皇室成员及文武大臣通行。在两侧的墙上，还开有两个掖门，即侧门，平时不开，唯有举行皇家考试时才开放。

各位朋友，现在我们已经进入故宫。此处是故宫第一进院落，首先出现在我们面前的是五座汉白玉石桥，它们象征五德，即仁、义、礼、智、信，是皇帝集美好的品质为一身的意思。金水桥下是内金水河，跨过金水桥就来到了太和门广场，这里即是明代皇帝御门听政时百官待驾的地方。

何谓“御门听政”呢？这“御门”即指太和门，“听政”是指听取政事。您可能觉得新鲜，这堂堂的皇帝放着那么多的宫殿不用，偏偏跑到这里来处理朝政，是不是有点做作呀？其实这并不是皇帝故弄玄虚，而是出于无奈。怎么回事呢？原来呀，在永乐皇帝自南京迁都北京以后，不到一百天，崭新的三大殿就着了一把无名火，望着三大殿的一片焦土，永乐皇帝想，是不是我迁都劳民伤财，上天要惩罚我？怎么办？只能用自己的实际行动来感动上苍。因为三大殿被烧毁，无处可去，又要对上天表现出“勤政”，故每天黎明，在太和门办公，也真是够辛苦的。到了清朝，虽然也有御门听政的做法，但听政处自康熙以后改在了乾清门。自清朝咸丰皇帝以后就再也没有皇帝御门听政了。但同治皇帝上台后，又有了听政，不过不再是“御门听政”，而是变成两宫皇太后“垂帘听政”了。末代皇帝溥仪登基后，未出三年，大清国就灭亡了。好，下面请各位去参观末代皇帝溥仪举行登基大典礼的太和殿。

现在我们来到的是太和殿，大家可以看到蓝色金字的大匾，上面刻着“太和殿”三个字。太和殿是故宫的一个较大的殿，太和殿、中和殿以及保和殿都是从清朝“改名换姓”来的，具有很大的历史价值，不乏古味。大家可以看见中和殿和太和殿的通道栏杆上有好些石头雕刻的小狮子，你们知道这是干什么用的吗？告诉你们吧，是用来排水的。雨流到城墙顶上的低洼处，流进地上的小孔，经过管道的疏导，就能运到排水口处。其实中和殿和太和殿的整体结构差不多，只不过小了点.

现在出现在我们眼前的是保和殿，谁知道它是干什么的？哦，这位外国游客真聪明，连中国的名胜古迹都了解的清清楚楚。对了，这就是皇帝用来朝拜神灵的地方，门口的丹顶鹤和大香炉也是干这个用的。说到这里，我要提两个小问题：丹顶鹤是用什么铸成的，大香炉又是用什么做成的，请大家好好思考一下。好了，我就不再卖关子了，丹顶鹤是用铁铸成的，而大香炉则是用铜做成的。大家可千万不要摸它们，本来它们就已经老化了，您要是再动它们，它们就会被损坏了。

最后我将给大家介绍御花园。坤宁门是御花园的入口。到了这里，古柏老槐扑面而来，有一种神清气爽的感觉。御花园的面积并不大，它东西长130多米，南北宽90米，总面积不超过12000平方米。但古代的工匠们就利用这一方小小得天地，安排了各类建筑20多座、古树160株，还有两座假山、两方水池及散布其间的大量奇花异石，使御花园显得格外典雅、幽静，幽赏起来，美不胜收。御花园里有钦安殿、养性斋、堆秀山、絳雪轩和延晖阁，我就不给大家一一介绍了。大家参观完就在坤宁门集合。最后祝大家故宫一日游旅途愉快！

沈阳故宫导游词

各位朋友，在繁华的沈阳古城中心，有一座巍峨庄严的清代宫殿建筑群。这里就是我们今天的目的地——沈阳故宫。

依建筑时间和布局，沈阳故宫的建筑可分为三部分，它们分别是东路、中路、西路。今天，我们就按这个顺序。首先参观东路建筑。

沈阳故宫以其独特的建筑艺术和特殊的历史而闻名中外，在这片绚丽多彩，雄伟多姿的建筑群中，最古老，最具特色的就是我们面前的大政殿。

大政殿草创于1625年，是处理国家政务和举行庆典活动的主要场所之一。大政殿为八角重檐攒尖式建筑，外形近似满族早期在山林中狩猎时所搭的帐篷。在大政殿的房脊上，还饰有八个蒙古力士，牵引着八条铁链，象征着“八方归一”。正门前的大柱上，盘旋着两条翘首扬爪的金龙，是受汉族敬天畏龙思想的影响，以龙代表天子的至尊无上。大政殿建筑特点的多样性，体现了多民族文化的融合。金龙盘柱，尽显中原之风；八位力士又流露了浓郁的蒙古色彩；而亭帐式的风貌，则是满族古老文化的延续。

作为最早使用和最为重要的宫殿之一。许多重大历史事件都以大政殿为舞台上演。1643年，六岁的顺治皇帝在大政殿继承帝位，并于次年在此颁布了出兵令，命摄政王多尔哀兵入山海关直捣中原，最终完成了满清一代的一统大业。

大政殿两侧南向，十王亭呈燕翅排列。错落有致，如众星拱月，南宽北狭，似无穷无尽，象征兵多将广，万世绵延。十王亭是清朝入关前左右翼王和八旗旗主在皇宫内办公的地方。它们与大政殿构成了一组亭子式的院落建筑，反映了满族独特的军政体制——八旗制度，这在中国的历史上堪称独步天下。远在努尔哈赤立国之初，凡遇军国大事都由汗王与八旗贝勒大臣共同讨论决定。努尔哈赤定都沈阳后，在修建宫殿时便将这种“君臣合署办公”的制度固定化。以建筑的形式表现了八旗制度和“八和硕贝勒共治国政”的政体及军事民主的思想。因而形成了大政殿、十五亭这组独特的建筑，为中国宫殿建筑史写下了空前的一页。

各位朋友，现在我们来到了中路。从1626年皇太极继承汗位，即续建皇宫，形成沈阳故宫的中路建筑。中路建筑前起大清门，后至清宁宫，院落三进，独成一体。

大清门是沈阳故宫的正门，为皇帝临朝前，文武百官候朝的地方。它便是演义小说中俗称的“午朝门”。大清门的屋顶满铺黄琉璃瓦并衬以绿色剪边，既保留了以黄为尊的传统观念，又体现了满族对故乡山林的深厚眷念。从而形成了区别北京故宫的一个特点——宫殿顶覆以黄琉璃瓦镶以绿色剪边。

穿过大清门，北望便是崇政殿。崇政殿俗称“金銮殿”，是清太宗皇太极举行日常朝会的地方。

1635年，皇太极下令将族名„女真”改为“满洲”。1636年皇太极在崇政殿登基称帝，上尊号“宽温仁圣”，将国号“金”改为“清”年号“天聪”改为“崇德”。

各位朋友，古代宫殿建筑布局讲究“前朝后寝”。看过了皇帝上朝的金銮殿，请大家随我去参观帝后的寝宫。

穿过崇政殿两侧的左右翊门，举目可见位于3．8米高台之上的凤凰楼。楼后为帝后寝居的后宫——台上五宫。与崇政殿对比又形成了沈阳故宫不同于北京故宫的特点——“宫高殿低”。而北京故宫则恰恰相反，是“殿高官低”。

凤凰楼为宴饮、议事之所，是当年沈阳城的最高建筑，诗称“欲穷千里目，更上一层楼”可谓十分贴切。登上凤凰楼俯瞰四周，万般景物尽收眼底，可饱览盛京全景，也可观赏日出。“凤楼晓日”是当年著名的盛京八景之一。凤凰楼门洞上方悬有“紫气东来”匾，为乾隆皇帝御笔。而乾隆皇帝则是借用这个典故寓意大清的国运兴起于东方。

各位朋友，穿过凤凰楼底层的通道后，我们就进入了后妃居住的台上五官。

台上五官是清宁宫、关雎宫、麟趾宫、衍庆宫、永福宫。现在请大家随我参观皇太极和皇后的寝宫——清宁宫。清宁宫东梢门称“暖阁”，是帝后的卧室。暖阁内分南北二室，二室均设火炕。1643年八月初九，皇太极在暖阁内驾崩，终年52岁，后葬于沈阳昭陵，即北陵。清宁东次间开门，是典型的满族民居——口袋房，西四门南西北三面都设火炕，称“万字炕”。与汉族有所不同的是，满族人将烟囱建在屋后，而且从地面向上垒起。这种“口袋房，万字炕、烟囱竖在地面上”的建筑特点具有浓郁的满族风格了。

各位朋友，现在请随我去参观西路建筑。西路建于1782年至1783年，主要包括：戏台、嘉荫堂、文溯阁等。

说起文溯阁，我们不能不提到乾隆皇帝和《四库全书》。出于加强文化统治的需要，乾隆皇帝于1772年下诏访求天下藏书，历经十余年时间编成一部大型丛书。该书分经、史、子、集四部，所以称为《四库全书》。书修成后，抄录七部，在全国建七座藏书阁分别收藏，沈阳故宫的文溯阁便是其中之一。

提起宫殿建筑，我们很容易想起“红墙绿瓦”、“金壁辉煌‟这类词汇。而文溯阁却与众不同，屋顶用黑琉璃瓦镶绿剪边，整个建筑以黑绿两色为主色调，这与它的用途是分不开的。文溯阁藏书忌火，依据五行字说立色配饰，装修取《易经》“北方壬癸水”其色属黑，因此屋顶用黑色琉璃瓦，寓意水从天降，消灭火灾。

文溯阁外观为两层，内部实为三层，书架上的木盒称函匣，用于收藏书籍。目前文溯阁的《四库全书》保存在甘肃省图书馆。

看到这里，我们今天的参观已经接近尾声。沈阳故宫的三路建筑是分期建造的，布局却是一气呵成，完整和谐。特别是三路建筑分别代表了“八和硕贝勒共治国政”、“皇太极南面独尊”、“康乾盛世”三个时期社会发展的基本特征。“建筑是凝固的历史”，从总体来看，沈阳故宫以建筑的方式反映了满族政权和满族社会由崛起——兴盛一高度发展的历史进程。

各位朋友，我们的参观就要结束了，希望故宫之行能给您留下美好的回忆。

故宫导游词（中英文版）

紫禁城是皇帝的住所，所以又名皇家的宫殿。在封建社会，皇帝的住所是禁止普通人进入的，故名紫禁城。

故宫为长方形，面积为72公顷，52米宽的护城河和10米高的城墙环绕着，四个角各有一个角楼，在古代为重兵所把守。

故宫始建于明朝初年，也就是1420年。当时建成故宫后，明朝的首都马上就从南京移动到了北京。从明朝初年到清朝末年，一共有24位皇帝住在这里，其中14个在明朝，10个在清朝。在600年的时光中，故宫见证了许多的变化在明清时期。1911革命之后，清朝被推翻，末代皇帝浦仪也被赶出了故宫。1925年，故宫作为博物馆向公众开放，后来被称为故宫博物馆。

午门是故宫的正门，在中国古代时期，一般的建筑正门都是南门，午门是专门为皇帝通过的门，主要用于皇帝去天坛祭天等。午门的命名是皇帝认为它的宫殿建在子午线上，是宇宙的中心。门前的小广场是皇帝颁布新年历法的地方在每年的十月初一，当将军从战场回来时候，献俘大典也在这里举行。 走进午门就进入了故宫，故宫是世界上最大的皇家宫殿建筑群。据民间的传说，故宫有9999.5间房子，它分为外朝和内廷两大部分，外朝为政务区，内廷为皇帝的生活区。太和门是外朝的入口，门前内金水河流过，它的主要功能是防火，而五座石桥跨于内金水河之上，代表着孔子所提倡的五德：仁、义、礼、智、信。孔子就是中国最著名的哲学家，生于春秋时期，也就是公元前7世纪。五座石桥中，中间的是皇帝专用的。它的栏杆雕刻是龙，而其他的石桥的栏杆雕刻是荷花。龙是一种想象中的动物，说到龙这个词，中国人马上就可以想到一个巨大的牛头，鹿角，虾眼，鹰爪，蛇身和狮尾，整个身子被鱼鳞覆盖的动物。在中国的传统中，龙被认为是权力的象征，凤凰被认为是幸运的象征。在封建社会，皇帝就是龙的化身，而皇后则是凤凰的化身。因为龙生活在水中，龙可以控制水，所以在中国有水的地方，人们都会修建一座龙王庙来祈求平安。在故宫中你可以看到数百万只龙，它们分布在彩绘、雕刻、服装、装饰中，你可以自己去寻找它们在故宫内。

进了太和门，这里可以看到游览图，在古代中国，所有的建筑都有中轴线，最好最重要的建筑都是沿着中轴线而建的。今天我们的主要游览也是沿着中轴线来参观的，我们将参观皇帝的典礼所、办公室、卧室和花园等。

穿过太和门，你将看到中国最大的宫殿，它叫太和殿，它是用来举行大的仪式的地方。例如，皇帝生日、皇帝大婚，战争胜利，召见外国使节等。当仪式开始后，所有的文武百官都要跪在地上扮演三拜九叩。

另外，你可以看到屋顶的琉璃瓦都是黄颜色的，在中国，屋顶的颜色有三个等级，最高的为蓝色，象征蓝天，只有在天坛才可以看到；第二等是黄色，象征皇帝，这可以在一些皇家建筑中看到，比如故宫或明陵等；第三等是绿色，象征大臣，是大臣家允许用的颜色。而普通人家的屋顶只允许用灰色瓦，如果使用其他颜色，就是犯罪，会被杀死的。

在太和殿下面的石台基，我们把它叫做须弥山。这名字来源于佛教，在佛经里说，须弥山是宇宙最高的山。所以这里叫须弥山是为了说明上面的太和殿的至高无上的地位。在台基上拜摆放的是香炉，当大典开始时候，会烧一些松柏，制造出烟雾，下面的人看到太和殿在云雾之中，好象天上的宫殿，给人以庄严的感觉。

在台基上可以看到东边摆着的是日晷，西边的是嘉粮，它们放 这里是象征着皇帝的公正与无私。铜龟和铜鹤象征着长寿，它们实际上也是香炉。

大殿就是太和殿，为木结构建筑，所有的木材都是运自于西南中国的，所有的柱子都是单根的木头。你可以去看看大殿内的布局和摆设，在正中央有个木台子，上面是龙椅，后面有屏风，前面几个是景泰蓝的香炉，地上铺着一张有龙图案的真丝地毯。门口那里很拥挤，我会在铜龟那里等你们。 由于故宫大多数建筑都是木结构的，很容易着火，因此，故宫内有很多大缸，功能是储水防火，其中有18个为镏金的，但在1860年英法联军侵入北京，他们在故宫里抢走了很多的珍宝，最后士兵发现了这

水缸上的金子，他们用刺刀把缸表面的金子全部刮掉了，现在你还可以看到刺刀留下的痕迹。 中和殿的作用是作为休息室。当皇帝举行大典之前，皇帝要在这里休息。在皇帝去天坛祭祀天神之前，他要在这里读祭祀的文章。里面的摆设和前面差不多，也都是龙椅、香炉和地毯等。

在古代，保和殿就是人民大会堂的宴会厅，在每年春节的时候，皇帝要在这里举行宴会，宴请蒙古王公和外国使节。在清朝，保和殿也作为皇家考试的场所。在封建社会里，国家的考试分为四等，童试、乡试、会试和殿试。殿试是当时等级最高的考试，当通过了这种考试，你就可以成为大官了。 在保和殿的后面有一块石雕，长16米，宽3米，雕有云和龙，是故宫内最大的单块石雕。

下面我要带你去参观皇帝的卧室，外红墙的外面有两个长方形的房子，在古代，这里是军事大臣商议军务的地方，现在呢，西边这个是纪念品商店，而东边那个是星巴克咖啡。

皇帝的卧室叫做养心殿，在门口你会看到一件玉雕，这是由一整块玉雕刻而成的，外面罩有一个非常精致的龙雕刻的青铜罩，玉是方形的，中间有一个圆孔。在古代中国的意识里，天空是圆形的，而地是方形的。这个东西摆在这里是根据中国的泥土占卜学而定的，而且玉是自古的权力象征，可以辟邪，我们中国把这种学问叫做风水学。另外，比如我们要建房子、陵墓等建筑前，都要请一个风水家来看看这块土地是否可以来建设，如果不好的话，那么还要重新选择。即使房子建成了还要请风水家来看，哪里位置不吉利还要再摆放一些东西以辟邪，玉器是最常用的东西，因为它本身具有磁场，可以转变人的运气。养心殿这个小院子，在故宫中不是最大的，但却是最有名的，因为这里集中了皇帝的办公室、卧室和皇后的卧室等。左边的房子四皇帝和军事大臣商议军务大事的地方，你也知道，军务对一个国家来讲非常重要，所以在窗外有特别建设了一道墙来防止外人的偷听。里面那间房子是皇帝专门收藏书法作品的地方，因为中国的书法是一门艺术，古代中国的一些书法家留下的书法非常珍贵，一个字超过百万美圆。不知道你对中国的电影有多少了解，可能你会看过末代皇帝、卧虎藏龙、英雄等影片，还有一部中国电影同样非常有名，叫做垂帘听政。电影讲述了在清朝末年的一个非常有权力的女人，叫慈禧太后，她控制着儿童皇帝，处理国家的事务，电影里描述的这些事件就发生在东房间。这里有一丝帘子，帘子后是一张大椅子，为慈禧太后的座位，前面的小椅子是儿童皇帝坐的地方。看起来是皇帝上朝，实际上，真正的权力是在帘子的后面。

后院是皇帝和皇后居住的地方。院子中央放着一块水晶，象征洁白无暇。在里院是皇帝的卧室，而外院的这排房子是皇后的卧室，屋内的摆设维持原来的模样，你可以看到当时皇帝的喜好，包括钟表、玉雕、丝绸、金银器、珍珠等，有一种蓝色的工艺品叫景泰蓝，是北京的独有的手工艺品，过去仅仅为皇家专用。院子东边有一排房子，我们把它叫做等候室，在古代，每天晚上会在这里有五个妃子等候皇帝的挑选，每个房子里有一个。为了安全问题，所有的妃子都不许穿衣服，全身赤裸，然后用一条丝毯裹着被送到这里。到傍晚时，皇帝会慢慢走过这条走廊，看见哪个妃子满意就在窗前放一个玉雕，那么当天晚上这个妃子就可以跟着皇帝就寝了。在明清时期，皇帝只有一个皇后，但却有很多妃子，数量最大的时候超过了三千人。

她们通常用耳朵上的珍珠来区分大小，最大的珍珠我们叫做珠王，是专门供皇后佩带的。 参观完养心殿后，我们就要去故宫的最后一个景点御花园了。这个花园规模比较小，皇帝每天都有大量的日常事务需要处理，非常繁忙。如果他有一天的自由活动时间，他会去颐和园度假；如果他有半天的时间，他会去北海或者景山散步；如果他仅仅有两个小时的空闲时间的话，他就只能这里活动了，一般就是和妃子聊天、下棋等。这里有许多的山石，都是人工的。这种奇怪的树我们叫它龙爪槐，是中国特有的品种。另外有一些古树，年龄都超过了500年。

好了，我们要走出故宫了，出去的时候记住留神那些私人商贩，我们要走大约5分钟到达停车区域，跟我来。

【英文版】

The Forbidden City was the living place of the emperor, so it was also called the imperial palace. In the feudal society, the common people were forbidden enter the city, hence the name, Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is rectangular in shape, covers an area of 72 hectares, with 52 meters wide moat and 10 meters high city wall surrounded, each corner of the city wall built a watch tower, which was heavily guarded in the old days.

The Forbidden City was first built in early Ming dynasty that was 1420. When the construction of the Forbidden City was completed, the capital of the Ming dynasty moved from Nanjing to Beijing. From the early Ming dynasty to the end of Qing dynasty, altogether 24 emperors lived in here, 14 emperors in Ming dynasty and 10 emperors in Qing dynasty. In 600 years, the Forbidden City witnessed many changes in the Ming and Qing dynasties. After the 1911 Revolution, the Qing dynasty was overthrown. In 1925, the Forbidden City became the historical museum and opened to the public, so it was also called the palace museum. And in 1987, the Forbidden City listed in World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO.

The Meridian Gate is the main entrance and the front gate of the Forbidden City. In ancient China, the front gate of the large-scale constructions usually is the south gate. The Meridian Gate mainly served as the passage for the emperor only, which want to go to the Temple of Heaven to worship the god of heaven. It was called Meridian Gate because the emperor believe that the Meridian Line went through the Forbidden City and his residence was the cosmic center. A small square located in front of the gate, it was the place to announce the new lunar calendar on the first day of 10th lunar month every year. When a general returned from the battle, his captives would be offered on a ceremony here.

Enter the Meridian Gate; you have come into the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is the largest imperial construction in the world. According to the common people saying, the Forbidden City has 9999.5 rooms. It consists of two parts, which are the outer court and the inner court. The outer court is the political quarter and the inner court is the living quarter.

The Gate of Supreme Harmony is the entrance of the outer court. The inner golden river comes across here, with five marble bridges spinning over it. They were symbolizing the five virtues by Confucius, benevolence, righteousness, rites, intelligence and fidelity. Confucius is the most famous philosopher in China. He born in 7th century BC, at that time it was also called the spring and autumn period. In the five marble bridges, the middle bridge used for emperor only. Its railing carving is dragon, and the other bridges’ railing carvings are lotus. The dragon is an imaginary animal. Saying about the word of the dragon, Chinese people definitely think of a gigantic best with the head of ox, the horns of deer, the eyes of shrimp, the claws of hawk, the body of snake and the tail of lion, whose whole body is covered by fish scales. In Chinese tradition, the dragon was the symbol of power, and the phoenix was the symbol of lucky. In the feudal society, the emperor symbolized dragon, and the empress symbolized phoenix. Because the dragon live in the water, can control the flood, so you can see lots of the dragon temple built the place nearby rivers or lakes. Therefore more than one million dragons in the Forbidden City, they are appearing in paintings, carvings, clothing and decorations. You can look for the dragon pattern by yourself in the Forbidden City.

Entering the Gate of Supreme Harmony, there is a sketch map. In ancient China, all of the constructions have central axis. The most beautiful and important buildings are built along the central axis. Today, we will visit along

the central axis, including the emperor’s hall, office, bedroom and garden.

Go through the Gate of Supreme Harmony, you will see the largest hall in China. It named the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was the place where hold some important ceremonies, like the ceremony of emperor birthday, the emperor marriage, ceremony about success war, receive foreign country’s envoy. When the ceremony began, the civil and military officials all performed the three kowtows and nine prostrations on the square.

In addition, you can see the color of the glazed tiles on the roofs of all buildings is yellow. Saying about the colors of the roof, they can be divided into three rankings: the highest ranking is blue, symbolize sky, you can see

it only in the Temple of Heaven; the second ranking is yellow, symbolize power, it used in some imperial constructions, such as the Forbidden City or Ming Tombs; the third ranking is green, symbolize official, the families of high ranking official can be allowed used this color. The common people only allowed use the grayer tiles. If you use another colors of the tiles, you would commit a crime, will be killed.

A large marble terrace beneath the Hall of Supreme Harmony, we called it Xumi Mountain. The name comes from Buddhist scripture. According to scripture, Xumi Mountain is the highest mountain in the cosmic. So, here we called it Xumi Mountain in order to show that the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the place having the highest power. There are 18 incense burners placed on the triple marble terrace. When ceremony began, burning some pine and cypress, to make smoke. The officials on the square find the hall was in the cloud. It can make state atmosphere.

On the marble terrace, you can see the sundial on the eastside, and the imperial grain measure on the west. They placed here to symbolize the emperor’s justice and rectitude. The copper tortoise and stork symbolize longevity. In fact, they are all of incense burners.

This is the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The wood materials of the building come from the southwest China. Each pillar is single branch. In front of the hall, you can see inside decoration. In the hall, a sandal wood terrace built in the center; the dragon chair on it, some cloisonné incense burners placed front side, a big carpet with dragon pattern in front. So many people jam are there. I will wait for you near the copper tortoise. Because there are lots of wooden buildings in the Forbidden City, catch fire easily. Therefore, many big vats in the city in order to store water against fire. Some of them were gilded, but in 1860, when the Anglo France allied forces invaded Beijing, they break into the Forbidden City and robbed a lot of treasures. Lastly, some soldiers discovered the gilded vats; they scrape off the gold from the surface of the vats by their bayonets. The function of the Hall of Complete Harmony actually is the retiring room. Before the emperor held big ceremony, he had a rest in there. And it was also the place where the emperor read the sacrificial scripture before he went to the Temple of Heaven to worship the god and his ancestors. The layout inside of the hall same to that

hall, also has dragon chair, incense burners and carpet. You can have a look and take some pictures. In early time, the function of the Hall of Preserving Harmony likes the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People in nowadays. Traditionally, the emperor would hold a banquet to the Mongolian nobles and envoys in the spring festival. In the Qing dynasty, there also served as the place to hold the imperial examination. In feudal society, the national exam can be divided into four rankings, which are the county exam, province exam, capital exam and imperial exam. The imperial exam is the highest-ranking examination. If you can pass it, you could be a high-ranking official.

There are big stone carving behind of the hall. It is the largest stone carving in the Forbidden City, with 16 meters long and 3 meters wide, 1.7 meters thick, more than 250 tons. The stores were transported from the southwest Beijing, about 70 kilometers. In early time, we transported the big stone very hardly. Winter is the good time to transportation because we must dig out a well every 500 meters and took the water throw to earth to make it slippery. Used the rolling wood beneath the stone, many people pull and push. So, it is really a very difficult work.

There are two buildings out of the red wall. They used to be the military office. The military officials discussed the military affairs in there before they met emperor. Now, the two buildings have changed another functions, the west one become a souvenir shop, and the east one become the Star Buck coffee.

Ok, later I will guide you to visit the bedroom of the emperor, which called the Hall of Mantel Cultivation. Firstly, everybody look here. Here is a big jade carving placed in front of the gate. This is a single piece jade that comes from the western China, square in shaped with an around hole in the center. In Chinese ancient people’s mind, heaven is around and the earth is square. The carving placed here is according to Chinese geomancy. And the jade is also considered can ward off the evil spirits. In China, we called the knowledge is Fengshui, the science of the wind of water in English. This courtyard is not the largest one, but it is really the most important one. The front building is the office of emperor, and the rear yard is the bedrooms of emperor and empress. The west chamber of the front building is the military office; emperor and military officials discussed military affairs in there. Because the military affair is very important in a whole country, built two special walls ward off overhear. The inner chamber is the special room for emperor collected the art about calligraphy, because it very valuable in China. We often called it one-character costs one million dollars. Sir, have you seen any Chinese movie? Maybe you tell me yes, like Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, the Last Emperor, Hero, etc. But what I want to point out is another movie named Power Behind Hinging; it’s also very famous in the world. The movie describe that a very powerful woman, Empress Dowager Cixi, she controlled the child emperor and controlled the whole country. Some cases in that movie were took place in the east chamber. Here, you can see the silk hanging. There’s a big chair for the Empress Dowager Cixi behind the hanging, and a small chair for the child emperor in front of it. In the chamber, seem as the emperor handle state affairs. But it is really power behind hinging. The rear yard is the living quarter of emperor and empress. A big crystal placed in the center of the yard, symbolize chastity. The inner yard is the bedroom of emperor, and the north chamber is the bedroom of empress. Today we preserved the inside layout of these chambers from late Qing dynasty. You can see what is emperor’s favor, such as clocks, jade carvings, silk, pearl and so on. One of them is special thing that we called it cloisonné, which is beautiful handicraft that is imperial ware only in Beijing. There are five chambers located on the east side; we called them the waiting chambers that each chamber has a concubine wait for emperor in everyday evening. Because of the security problem, all concubines must bare and no clothing on their bodies, a silk carpet around their bodies and sit in the waiting chambers. When the emperor finished his daily affairs, he would like to walk along the corridor and select a concubine. If he find the best one, he would place a jade carving in front of the window of the chamber, which the best one sit inside. This concubine has the right to sleep with the emperor. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, emperor has only on empress, but he has abundance of the concubines. The largest number is more than 3000 concubines; even some concubines haven’t one chance to met emperor in their whole life. In early time, you can differentiate the ranking from the small concubine to empress by their pearl earring.

The empress has the largest one; we called it the Queen of the Pearl.

After we visited the Hall of Mantel Cultivation, we will go to visit the last attraction, which is the Imperial Garden. The scale of the garden is so small. In early time, the emperor is very busy, which has lots of state affairs to handle. If he has over one day to relax, he would like to go to the summer to enjoy holiday. If he has half day for rest, maybe he would to go to the Beihai imperial garden or the Coal Hill garden to walk. If he has only 2 hours, he hasn’t enough time to go out of the Forbidden City, can but go here to play Chinese chess or chat with concubines. There are some rockeries built in the garden that all be man-made. And some fantastic trees in the garden, their

name is Dragon Claw Tree. Some cypresses are very longevity, aged over 500 years.

OK, we will go out of the Forbidden City. Please pay attention to the private dealers. We will spend about 5 minutes to arrive the parking lot.