File:The Meridian Gate, Entrance To The Forbidden City, Peking China (1927) Herbert C. White (RESTORED) (4078832771).jpg

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Entitled: The Meridian Gate, Entrance to the Forbidden City, Peking China [1927] HC White [RESTORED] Spot and minor defect corrections, contrast and tonal adjustments were made to visually enhance image. The original (along with the rest of this small, but nonetheless impressive collection) can be seen at the NYPL Digital Gallery, linked here:

digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm...

Herbert Clarence White was one of a pair of missionary brothers that had visited and worked in China. While there, he produced a wonderful volume of photographs that were then published in a 1927 book collection entitled Peking the Beautiful. A copy of this rare volume is held by the New York Public Library collection.

This has always been one of my favorite Forbidden City photographs. To me, the gentle chiaroscuro in the image exemplifies the quiet grace of Chinese culture, but at the same time, testifies also to the formidable strength and endurance of the Chinese spirit; a truly timeless image.

Built in the early 1400's the Forbidden City served as the imperial palaces of both the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After the end of the Chinese monarchy and in the early years of republican China, the entire Forbidden City was declared a national museum. During the Chinese civil war, many of its treasures were removed by Chinese nationalists to Taiwan for safeguarding, where they remain to this day (National Palace Museum of Taipei). The Forbidden City has since been voted as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. It is probably one of the world's best known monuments and is a favorite destination for tourists, Chinese and foreign alike. Its intense popularity remains a double edged sword though, as the high volume of visitors and commercialization of the site unfortunately also endangers it. Several years ago, a Starbuck's Coffee franchise was removed from its grounds after public outcry.
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Source The Meridian Gate, Entrance To The Forbidden City, Peking China [1927] Herbert C. White [RESTORED]
Author ralph repo

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This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by ralphrepo at https://www.flickr.com/photos/34607376@N08/4078832771. It was reviewed on 16 June 2014 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

16 June 2014

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current01:49, 16 June 2014Thumbnail for version as of 01:49, 16 June 20141,871 × 1,114 (316 KB)Brainy J (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via Flickr2commons

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