China's Forbidden City

I'll be honest, until yourLDSNeighborhood decided to award a free Trip for Two to the lucky winner, I'd never though about the Forbidden City. But before we get into the details, you might be wondering how YOU could be that lucky winner. By subscribing to the Neighborhood Newsletter your hat is tossed into the ring and you become of the possible lucky ones. First, you get a newsletter which drops into your inbox four times a week filled with wonderful articles, products, services and interests from around the world. And second, you could win that trip to China where you'll get the chance to check out China's Forbidden City.

So, you might be asking yourself, just what is the Forbidden City? Well I'm not talking about the Hollywood version, but the real thing. I picked up some information from Wikipedia about this ancient place:

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms^[1] and covers 720,000 square metres. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture,^[2] and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987,^[2] and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. ~ Wikipedia

Imagine walking up those ancient steps into the Forbidden City and steeping yourself in ancient Chinese tradition and majesty. Simply drop by the Neighborhood and subscribe to the Neighborhood Newsletter and see if July 24th is your lucky day.