Forbidden Gardens

M38A1

This has been on our list of places to see for quite some time now. Well, circumstances pushed up the visitation schedule and here's a few I came away with. This was truly a wonderful experience to have seen this.

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Lesley Bray

This is something I've always wanted to see - I love the first one - thanks for sharing!
Lesley

Bman

Wonderful, I saw the show in Toronto, but as your photos show, nothing compare to seeing them at the source. Thank you

M38A1

Thank you for the comments!

Little secret here - these were shot in Katy, TX a couple weeks ago at a re-creation of The Forbidden City called Forbidden Garden. The entire 12 acres is 1:1, 1/3, 1/6 and 1/20th scale consisting of some 6,000 soldiers and horseman. Built in the Houston area circa 1996, as it reminded the owner of 'home' with all the rice paddies, each item is individually created and was hand painted. The "city" itself is to scale an an amazing re-creation - again all of it made in China and shipped over here for installation and display.

Time and the elements have taken their toll on the the paint and wooden armament they held. But the bigger 'toll' is the highway expansion expected to cut through the location in the very near future.

According to their website, they close for good Feb 14th and are looking for an alternative location or a museum to take over the artifacts.

M38A1

Here's a few more....

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rpcrowe

What a neat place
What a shame to lose this wonderful re-creation of one of the wonders of the world! I'd love to visit there. They do things BIG in Texas!

I was very impressed with the Terracotta Warriors near the City of Xi'an, China. Here are a few shots of those warriors for comparison sake. The pit is covered to protect the warriors and horses against the elements.







There is a neat gift shop at the Terracotta Warrior Museum selling all size replicas (up to 1:1) of the warriors. I'd love to have a life size warrior in my living room but my wife has other opinions on the decor.



BTW: I shot the images of the pit using 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses on a Canon 30D and 40D. Available light at ISO 400. I used a monopod for support along with the IS capabilities of these lenses. Flash is useless due to the immense size of the pit and leaning on the guard rail for camera support is worse than useless because there is always a crowd of people bouncing against the rails. However, despite what I have read on some travel sites, there is absolutely no regulation against photography. On the other hand, the area is just too darn crowded to be able to use a tripod effectively.

Bman

Love all the shots. Nice to know you can photography the actually objects. It was a no no at the ROM in Toronto

ruexp2

Very clean sharp shots. This ruler who had these all buried, died by taking mercury prescribed by his mystic to help him live longer.