Mao and the Forbidden City

Chairman Mao still hangs over the main entrance to the Forbidden City. For this shot I am standing with Tiananmen Square at my back. The Forbidden City is right in the heart of Beijing and was home to 24 emperors going back to the Ming Dynasty. We are lucky the Palace is still there with the Cultural Revolution almost sacking and tearing the structure down. Most of the walls surrounding the original city were destroyed. Zhou Enlai saved the Palace itself by stationing an army battalion inside.