Wall tower
Forbidden City, Beijing.
The walls surrounding the Forbidden City are 7.9 metres (26 ft) high. They are 8.62 metres (28.3 ft) wide at the base, tapering to 6.66 metres (21.9 ft) at the top. These walls served defensive walls and also retaining walls for the palace.
At the four corners of the wall are towers with intricate roofs. These towers are the most visible parts of the palace to commoners outside the walls, and much folklore is attached to them. According to one legend, artisans could not put a corner tower back together after it was dismantled for renovations in the early Qing dynasty, and it was only rebuilt after the intervention of a carpenter-legend Lu Ban.
Wall tower
Forbidden City, Beijing.
The walls surrounding the Forbidden City are 7.9 metres (26 ft) high. They are 8.62 metres (28.3 ft) wide at the base, tapering to 6.66 metres (21.9 ft) at the top. These walls served defensive walls and also retaining walls for the palace.
At the four corners of the wall are towers with intricate roofs. These towers are the most visible parts of the palace to commoners outside the walls, and much folklore is attached to them. According to one legend, artisans could not put a corner tower back together after it was dismantled for renovations in the early Qing dynasty, and it was only rebuilt after the intervention of a carpenter-legend Lu Ban.