The First Lady's Travel Journal: Touring the Forbidden City March 21, 2014 After visiting the Beijing Normal School, Madame Peng took Sasha and Malia, my mother, and me to the Forbidden City, which is right in the heart of Beijing. 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 used as the emperor's home. 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. 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. The Forbidden City is too large to fully experience in a single visit, but the following: The Hall of Union and Peace has almost 14,000 ornamental dragons. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is where the emperor   [:]watched 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. 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 enjoy all of the art and history in this wonderful place. The writer visited The Forbidden City with   _  .
her daughters her husband her mother her mother and two daughters