“Below me, … was more than 600 years of history – the Forbidden City, where the emperors had lived from 1368 until the early 1900s when the monarchy was overthrown. It’s a city in its own right, sitting quietly in the middle of modern, busy Beijing, surrounded by a high wall and a moat. Inside the thick walls are courtyards and wide, low buildings with gracefully sweeping roofs covered with orange tiles. There are even pine trees and gardens, alleys and parks.

The wall of the Forbidden City’s southern border faces Chang An Avenue across a moat that’s spanned by three marble bridges. In the centre of the wall is the Tian An Men, The Gate of Heavenly Peace, looking out on Tian An Men Square…..”

Alex, April 1 (pp. 27-28)

•Is the world’s largest palace complex that has 9, 999 buildings•Located in the center of Beijing•Used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties•Known as Palace Museum now•Located approx. 1 km from Tiananmen Square

The Forbidden City is located in Beijing.It is the enclosed city in which Chinese emperorsresided from 1368 to the 1900's.

is a very large plaza at the center of Beijing, named after the TianAnMen Gate ('Gate of Heavenly Peace') which sits to its north, separating it from, and connecting it to, the Forbidden City.

Until 1924 the Forbidden City was occupied by the royal families. Ming Dynasty – 14 emperors reigned thereQing Dynasty – 10 emperors reigned there.

This is one of the watchtowers on the four corners of the wall surrounding the Forbidden City. Each watchtower is supported by nine beams and 18 Pillars and has three layers of eaves. There are 72 ridges on the roof with a gilded spire in the centre.

The Hall of Medium Harmony is where the emperors rested before major ceremonies or receiving officials.

Alex's experiences in the novel

City of Beijing is VERY different from Toronto...

Lao Xu -

People's Daily – Chinese Newspaper

Deng Xiao-ping – current leader of China

Demonstrations -

Youtube – Tiananmen Square Youtube.com –

BBC coverage of event

To Do List...U2L2 – write Background to China quiz (open book)U3L3 – chapter questions and predictionsU4L3 – read to page 102. Then complete ‘making predictions’ assignment U4L4 – News story....

Forbidden City News Story Write a news story concerning Alex's "escape" from China,

as it might have appeared on the Canadian Press wire service.

Your story must be as detailed as possible, so that Canadians are able to understand exactly what Alex experienced in his final hours in China.

Include at least one photo to illustrate the story. Use photos you have found on any of the Tiananmen Square-related web sites, or return to the Microsoft Clip Art site.