Overview of the Forbidden City
Photo by: Stas Kulesh, Creative Commons
The Forbidden city of China is located right in the heart of Beijing and was the home of 24 emperors of the Qing and Ming Dynasties. The grand palace’s construction was started during the Emperor Yongle’s 4th year of ruling the Ming Dynasty in 1406, ending 14 years later in 1420.
During ancient times, the emperor was claimed as the son of heaven, therefore having supreme power. Their home on Earth was a replica, built to resemble the Purple Palace in heaven where God lived. A place so divine as this was certainly forbidden to ordinary people, which is where the Forbidden City got its name. Its splendid architecture is a representation of the culmination and essence of the traditional architectural accomplishment of the Chinese. The Palace Museum has become a real treasure of Chinese historical and cultural relics and was recognized to be one of the top 5 most important palaces worldwide.
During 1961, the museum was named an important historical monument under the Chinese central government’s special preservation. Then in 1987, the museum was a nominee of the world cultural heritage, which UNESCO nominated. The Forbidden City is the country’s best preserved imperial palace and the world’s biggest ancient palatial structure. It covers about 72 hectares of area, having a total of 150,000 square meters of floor space. There are 90 courtyards and palaces, 8,704 rooms, and 980 buildings. The city is surrounded by a moat that is 6 meters deep, as well as a wall that is 10 meters high, having a gate on every side.
Pictures and Photos of The Forbidden City from inside and outside
