故宫英文版导游词.docVIP

Ladies and gentlemen, Here we are at the former Imperial Palace! This was the center of the ancient city of Beijing, and once home to 24 emperors from the Ming dynasties and the Qing dynasties. It is now known as the Palace Museum, the largest palace complex(建筑群) in the world. It covers about 72 hectares (720,000 square meters). It is surrounded by a 6-meter-deep moat(护城河) and 10-meter-high walls. Inside the walls, there are many halls and 9999 rooms. Each wall has a gate. It is 750 meters between the gates of the eastern wall and western wall. There are unique and beautiful towers on the four corners of the palace.These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. (From there you can have a good look/bird’s eye view of the palace and the city). It was used as an imperial palace for about five centuries, and it still preservers many rare treasures and curiosities (古董) (many precious things).Today, the former Imperial Palace is a public museum, listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1987. When we enter through the gate, we may go up one of the four towers and then we can see the overall layout.Rectangular(长方形) in shape, it is divided into two parts, the Outer Court and the Inner Court. We are now standing in the southernmost part of the Outer Court. In front of us stands the Gate of Superme Harmony.The gate is guarded by a pair of bronze lions, symbolizing imperial power and dignity. (尊严). These lion statues (雕像) are the best and the largest of their type. The one to the east is male, playing with a ball. That represents unity of the state.The other is female, having a young lion beside her. That is a symbol of lasting(永久的) imperial succession(延续). The Outer Court includes the Hall of Supreme Harmony(太和殿), and the Hall of Central Harmony(中和殿), and the Hall of Preserving Harmony(保和殿).In the Outer Court the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the grandest and most important hall in the pal