The Forbidden City in Beijing, a magnificent Imperial Palace that spanned five centuries across the Ming and Qing dynasties, is not only the world’s most completely preserved palace complex but also a grand Chinese epic cast in stone. Yet, its grandeur is often overwhelmed by the tide of crowds, frequently forcing me to abandon my photographic intentions despite my initial excitement.
This time, I was granted a rare stroke of luck. Thanks to a friend working at the Palace Museum, I was escorted through a side gate early in the morning. During the long period before the official tourist flow began, I was able to avoid the main crowds and enjoy the vast expanse of red walls and yellow roofs in solitude, bathed in the soft light of dawn.
The weather that day was also exceptionally generous: the sky was pristine, the blue washed clean, and the white clouds billowed softly, providing the purest and sharpest backdrop for the crimson palace walls. It was this rare silence and clarity that allowed me to fully immerse myself in the solemn majesty of the Forbidden City, capturing through the lens an imperial atmosphere that truly transcends history and remains untouched by the secular world.
