米歇爾中國旅游日志：游覽故宮
The First Lady’s Travel Journal: Touring the Forbidden City
第一夫人旅行日志：游覽故宮
March 21, 2014
2014年3月21日
After visiting the Beijing Normal School, Madame Peng took Sasha and Malia, my mother, and me to the Forbidden City, which is located right in the heart of Beijing.
在訪問北京師范大學第二附屬中學后，彭女士帶著Sasha、Malia、我的母親和我去位于北京中心位置的故宮。
For more than 2,000 years (up until 1912), China was ruled by emperors who descended from many different dynasties, or families, who passed ruling positions on from generation to generation – and for nearly 500 years, the Forbidden City served as the emperor’s home.
2000多年來(直到1912年)，中國由許多不同朝代或家族的皇帝統治，一代代地傳遞統治地位。在將近500年的時間里，故宮就是皇帝的家。
Like the name suggests, the Forbidden City is large enough to be a city of its own – it includes nearly 1,000 buildings and nearly 10,000 rooms.
正如其名字所示，故宮(紫禁城)大到足以成為一座城市—它包括了近1,000棟建筑和近10,000間房屋。
In 1925, the new Chinese government turned the Forbidden City into a museum so that visitors like us from all over the world can stroll through many of the beautiful rooms and outdoor spaces.
1925年，中國新政府將故宮改為博物館，這讓像我們一樣來自全世界的游客都有機會在這些美倫美奐的房間內外漫步。
Despite its size, some of the most interesting aspects of the Forbidden City are actually very small. Intricate carvings in jade and marble and glazed colored tiles fill the rooms and tell stories about ancient Chinese history. The ceilings are covered with detailed, carved designs. And miniature sculptures sit on the buildings’ roofs, where they watched over the emperors centuries ago.
盡管規模宏大，但故宮最有趣的一些部分實際上很小。雕刻精致復雜的玉石和大理石，色彩斑斕的琉璃瓦充滿了這些房間，講述關于古代中國歷史的故事。天花板上覆蓋著精致的雕刻圖案。建筑物的屋頂上立著微型雕塑，數個世紀前它們就在那里注視著歷屆帝王。
The Forbidden City is far too large to fully experience in a single visit, but highlights include the following: The Hall of Union and Peace has almost 14,000 ornamental dragons. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is where the emperor viewed birthday celebrations and coronation ceremonies from his Dragon Throne. And then there are the Imperial Gardens, where you can walk along the paths and pavilions, admiring the beautiful rock arrangements, flowers and cypress trees.
故宮太大了，一次參觀不可能看完，不過亮點有以下這些：交泰殿裝飾的龍有近14,000條。太和殿是皇帝坐在龍椅上觀看壽辰慶典和舉行登基及冊封等儀式的地方。然后是御花園，在那里你可以沿著小路和亭臺漫步，欣賞美麗的假山，鮮花和柏樹。
While we loved our visit to the Forbidden City, we only wish we had more time to see everything. But then again, I’m not sure there could ever be enough time to fully appreciate all of the art and history within this extraordinary place.
我們非常喜歡我們的故宮之行，只希望有更多的時間來看遍所有景點。但是話說回來，我不確定，真的能有足夠時間來充分地欣賞這個非同尋常的地方所有的藝術和歷史。
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