Forbidden City in Beijing - 2008

Hongyi Pavilion - 21

Construction lasted 15 years, and required more than a million workers. Materials used include whole logs of precious wood (pinyin: nanmu) found in the jungles of southwestern China, and large blocks of marble from quarries near Beijing. The floors of major halls were paved with "golden bricks" (pinyin: jinzhuan), specially baked paving bricks from Suzhou.