Secret World of the Forbidden City Splendors from China's Imperial Palace.

The Forbidden City, also called the Palace Museum, the Purple Forbidden City or Gugong Museum in Chinese, is located in the center of Beijing, China. It was home to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Today, the Forbidden City is attracting millions of tourists from around the world. It is the lar...[Full]

Secret World of the Forbidden City Splendors from China's Imperial Palace.

The Forbidden City, also called the Palace Museum, the Purple Forbidden City or Gugong Museum in Chinese, is located in the center of Beijing, China. It was home to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Today, the Forbidden City is attracting millions of tourists from around the world. It is the largest and most well preserved imperial residence in China today. Under Ming Emperor Yongle, construction began in 1406. It took 14 years to build the Forbidden City. The first ruler who actually lived here was Ming Emperor Zhudi. For five centuries thereafter, it continued to be the residence of 23 successive emperors until 1911 when Qing Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate the throne.

In the early 1400s, the third Ming Emperor, YongLe, moved the capital of China to Beijing. In 1406, he began construction of a new 'Forbidden City' that would include the imperial palace complex.

It is believed that the Palace Museum, or Zi Jin Cheng (Purple Forbidden City), got its name from astronomy and folklore. The ancient astronomers divided the constellations into groups and centered them around the Ziwei Yuan (North Star). The constellation containing the North Star was called the Constellation of Heavenly God and the star itself was called the purple palace. Because the emperor was supposedly the son of the heavenly gods, his central and dominant position would be further highlighted by the use of the word purple in the name of his residence.

Now officially renamed as the 'Palace Museum' ('GuGong' in chinese, meaning simply 'old palace'), the extensive grounds of the Forbidden City cover 720,000 square meters (74 hectares). There are 800 buildings that have in total about 9,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is the world's largest palace complex.

Indeed, the Forbidden City is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.

The Forbidden City is located directly to the north of Tian'AnMen Square and is accessible from the square via Tian'AnMen Gate.

Today, the Forbidden City is a public museum. It has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. At the Forbidden City visitors can see the traditional palace architecture, enjoy the treasures kept in the palace, and learn of the legends and anecdotes about the imperial family and the court.[Close]

Secret World of the Forbidden City Splendors from China's Imperial Palace.

The Forbidden City, also called the Palace Museum, the Purple Forbidden City or Gugong Museum in Chinese, is located in the center of Beijing, China. It was home to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Today, the Forbidden City is attracting millions of tourists from around the world. It is the lar...[Full]