The (Not So ) Forbidden City

The Forbidden City, once closed to all but members of the imperial family and court, is now a major tourist attraction.

This picture shows the imperial garden, near the north entrance. This is the only place in the nearly 180-acre compound where trees were allowed to grow. Everywhere else, as a protective measure for the emperor, the ground was covered over with seven layers of crossbeams, designed to keep any would-be assassin from tunneling into the emperor's palace.