To-do list
1 Watch a video about famous buildings around the world.
2 Talk about buildings around us.
3 Read an introduction about a famous building.
4 Write an online post about your preferred place to live in.
5 Prepare a proposal for a new school building.
Lin Dong: Look! The CBD (Central Business District) office buildings in this picture are tall and so cool.
They are located in the city centre.
We can see them from miles away.
Lu Yao: Tall buildings show our progress in technology and design.
They are built of steel and new materials.
I know you are a fan of tall buildings.
Do you think taller buildings are better?
Lin Dong: Well, maybe.
Every few years, the record for the highest building in the world is broken.
But it is a pity that buildings cannot be as high as we'd like.
There must be a limit.
Lu Yao: Tall buildings have pros and cons.
But in the past, low buildings were also wonderful for living and working in.
Some were constructed in very unique ways, and they looked so beautiful!
Also it was easy to get in and out.
Lin Dong: Yes, you're right.
But I'm sorry to say some of them were put down or not well kept.
The Palace Museum was China's great palace and is one of the largest and best-kept ancient buildings in the world.
It started to be built in 1406, and was completed in 1420 during the Ming dynasty.
In 1925, it was turned into a public museum.
The Palace Museum has a central axis, with halls, palaces, gates and gardens on both sides.
The northern part is the Inner Court with gardens and smaller palaces.
The southern area contains the Outer Court with larger halls and palaces such as the Taihe Hall (meaning "supreme harmony"), which is also the tallest and largest building in the Palace Museum.
The main colours of the Palace Museum are yellow and red.
Yellow was a symbol of power, used only by the emperors.
The walls, pillars, doors and windows were mostly in red, a symbol of good luck and happiness.
The buildings have special roof designs.
The corners of the roofs turn up and different tile shapes let water run off easily, so people under the roof do not get wet.
Also, the roof tiles are clean and slippery, making it impossible for birds to land on them.
In Chinese architecture, the wooden structures are smartly constructed, without any nails!
Yet, the buildings in the Palace Museum even stood up to the force of earthquakes.
This is because the upturned umbrella-like blocks under the roofs have been designed to act like springs.
In Chinese culture, the dragon is a symbol of power and pride.
The stone steps are made of jade, carved with dragons.
The floors reflect light and are like "golden bricks".
The Palace Museum shows the great construction craftsmanship of Chinese people.
Together with its collections, it displays the wealth of Chinese culture and records Chinese history over thousands of years.