Forbidden City, China (Palace Museum)

The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, lies in the city center of Beijing, and was once the Chinese imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911). It was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is the largest, best-preserved ancient timber-built palace complex in the world.

Constructed between 1406 and 1420 during the reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors and their families and acted as the ceremonial and political center of ancient Chinese government throughout 500 years. After the Last Emperor of China left the palace, it later became a museum open to the public in 1925. Since then, the Forbidden City is no longer ‘forbidden’, and now ordinary people are able to take a virtual trip in time to see the secrets and luxury of imperial life.

Rectangular in shape, the Forbidden City is enormous, covering an area of 72 hectares, and boasting more than 9,000 bays of rooms. It is divided into two parts – the Outer Court for national affairs in the south and the Inner Court as living quarters in the north. It is not only an immense architectural masterpiece, but also a treasury housing a unique collection of 1.8 million pieces of art, including ancient calligraphy and painting, imperial artifacts, ancient books and archives. A must-see in Beijing and the world’s most visited museum, it is worth spending half to one day to visit the Forbidden City and appreciate the precious cultural heritage of China.

Located to the north of the Tiananmen Square, the rectangular Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10 meters (33 feet) high outer wall and surrounded by a 52 meters (57 yards) wide moat. It has four gates: the Meridian Gate (Wumen) in the south, the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north, the West Prosperity Gate (Xihuamen) and the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen). On each of the four corners of the outer wall, there is a delicately structured corner tower.

Standing on the wall or the towers, or seeking a higher viewpoint from the Jingshan Mountain to the north of the Forbidden City, you can get the feel of the truly massive scale of the palace complex. For comparison, the Forbidden City is four times the size of the Taj Mahal of India (18 hectares), which is mainly composed of gardens. Here the Forbidden City, with a multitude of palaces, has a building area even larger than that of the Palace of Versailles in France (11 hectares).

The high outer walls enclose a labyrinth of more than 90 palaces and courtyards, with over 9,000 bays of rooms! The layout is in perfect symmetry, with the north-south central axis ingeniously designed for not only the forbidden palace complex, but also the whole of today’s Beijing city. The major palaces extend along the axis, while the minor halls stand on the west and east sides, all being well arranged in five north-south lines: Central Axis, West Wing, East Wing, Outer West Route, and Outer East Route.

For different functions, the complex is divided into the Outer Court in the south and the Inner Court in the north.

The Outer Court was used for state ceremonials, with three main halls on the central axis, namely the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), the Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghedian), and the Hall of Preserved Harmony (Baohedian), and two wing structures – the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuyingdian) in the west, and the Hall of Literary Glory (Wenhuadian) in the east.

The Inner Court was the residential area, including the three central palaces for the emperor and the empress, namely the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong), the Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union (Jiaotaidian), and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunninggong), which are flanked by Six Western Palaces and Six Eastern Palaces for concubines and maids of different ranks. There is an Imperial Garden at northernmost part, affording views and entertainments.