Dome

East tower as seen from the east canal; The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. The palace precinct is entered through the inverted U-shaped Meridian Gate (Wu men), the largest and most imposing walled gate in the Forbidden City. Above the tall brick base with its five tunnel entrances (the gate is also known as the Five-Phoenix Gate), rises the nine-bay central hall with its double-eaved, hipped roof; four square pavilions stand at the ends of the central hall and at each end of the arms extending south. To the north of the Meridian Gate a vast courtyard is crossed by the River of Golden Water (Jinshui he), a stream with five curving marble bridges representing the Confucian virtues: humanity, duty, wisdom, trustworthiness and ritual correctness. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 5/10/2011)