Introduction of The Forbidden City

Also known as the Imperial Palace Museum or Gugong, the Forbidden City was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties carried out their administration and lived.It lies at the center of Beijing. Rectangular in shape, Forbidden City is the world's largest palace complex. Forbidden City covers 74 hectares,960 meters long and 750 meters wide,having 9,999 buildings.Opposite the Tian'anmen Gate in the south, to the north is the Gate of Devine Prowess (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park.

The forbidden city is encircled in a 52-meter-wide, 6-meter-deep moat and a 10-meter-high, 3,400-meter-long city wall which has one gate on each side. There are four unique and delicate structured corner towers overlooking the city inside and outside on the four corners.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts: the northern half, or the Outer Court where emperors executed their supreme power over the nation and the southern half, or the Inner Court where they lived with their royal family. Until 1924 when the last emperor in China was driven out of the Inner Court, 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. About 500 years being the imperial palace, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. It is now listed by the UN as World Cultural Heritage in 1987 and is the hottest tourist magnets. The Forbidden City is also called Purple Forbidden City. In the feudal society, emperors had supreme power, so this residence was certainly a forbidden place. Purple was the symbolic color of the North Star, which was believed to be the center of the cosmos. So it got the name of Forbidden City or Purple Forbidden City. Nowadays, it is open to tourists home and abroad as a palace museum where people can see the great traditional palace architecture, enjoy the treasures kept in the palace, and learn of the legends and anecdotes about the imperial family and the court. Splendid paintings on the royal architectures, grand and deluxe halls, and surprisingly magnificent treasures will certainly satisfy "modern civilians".

The Forbidden City is nearly 600 years old and was originally planned and constructed from 1407 to 1420. The principles of Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese system of geomancy governed the process. It was said that over 100,000 craftsmen and one million laborers were involved in the construction of the 9,999 rooms and halls. Stones needed were quarried from Fangshan, suburb of Beijing. The walls surrounding the complex are eleven feet thick and thirty three feet high and it is surrounded by a 164 foot wide moat. At each corner there are watchtowers for protection from possible invaders. The entire complex covers 250 acres.

It was said a well was dug along the road every 50 meters in order to pour water onto the road in winter to slide huge stones on ice into the city. Huge amount of timbers and other materials were all freighted from faraway provinces. Ancient Chinese people fully displayed their wisdom in building the Forbidden City. Take the grand red city wall for example, the ladder shaped wall has an 8.6 meters wide bottom and a 6.66 meters wide top. The shape of the city wall totally frustrate attempt to climb onto the wall. The bricks of the wall are said made from white lime and glutinous rice while the cement is made from glutinous rice and egg whites, and these incredible materials make the wall extraordinarily strong.

Since yellow is the symbol of the royal family, it is the dominant color in the Forbidden City. Roofs are built with yellow glazed tiles; decorations in the palace are painted yellow; even the bricks on the ground are made yellow in special process. However, there is one exception. Wenyuange, the royal library, has a black roof. The reason is that it was believed black represented water then and could extinguish fire.

Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties from 1420 to 1911 held court and lived within the walls of the Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum. Some treasures remain from the Japanese invasion, and from the Nationalist Chinese taking the most valuable ones to Taiwan in 1949. Those are now on display in the National Museum of Taiwan. The last emperor, Puyi, remained living here for many years after the 1911 Revolution.

The Forbidden City is the world's largest palace complex. There are many interesting places.

Entrance is under Mao's large portrait in Tian'anmen Square, south gate, and you exit through the Imperial Gardens right before the north gate. Jingshan Park is directly across the street from the north gate.

Meridian Gate is the main gate and south gate of the Forbidden City.It is also named Five-Phoenix Tower, Wufenglou in Chinese, for it looks like a phoenix with five pavilion buildings up there. After entering the Meridian Gate, visitors arrive in an immense courtyard with five bridges stretching over the Golden Water.

The five bridges represent the five Confucian virtues of humanity, sense of duty, wisdom, reliability and ceremonial propriety.The Golden Water River of this section is very gorgeous, well decorated.The riverbed and the bank were paved with white stones. Decorative marble columns and banisters were established along the river. Standing on the bridges, one can see a grand structure called Taihemen (Gate of Supreme Harmony), which is the most marvelous gate in the city and guarded by a couple of bronze lions in front. On the square between Taihemen and Wumen, imperial honor guards proceeded preparation before grand ceremonies.

Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), Zhonghedian (Hall of Central Harmony) and Baohedian (Hall of Preserved Harmony),three main halls of the outer court,sit in line inside the gate. These halls all sits on three-tier marble terraces, with marble balustrades decorated. A stone ramp carved with coiled dragons and clouds locates in the middle of the steps leading up to each hall. The ramp of Baohedian (Hall of Preserved Harmony) is the largest one.

The first and grandest hall is Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), where emperors executed their autocracy over the whole country. It is the place where emperors ascended the throne and granted formal interviews to officials and important events were celebrated. The hall was flanked by Wenhuadian (Hall of Literary Glory) and Wuyingdian (Hall of Martial Velour). The former, on the right side, used to be the study of the crown princes, where banquets and some rites were held. The latter, on the left side, is the imperial press where many books were compiled and published and where Li Zicheng, the famous peasants uprising leader, ascended his throne after overthrowing the Ming dynasty.

To the north of Wenhuadian lies Wenyuange (Pavilion of Literary Source), the imperial library where the world largest encyclopedia Sikuquanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasures of Knowledge) was housed. The library architecture has many Chinese cultural facts in its structure and decoration. Nanxundian (South Fragrance Hall) near Wuyingdian is where portraits of emperors of dynasties are kept.

Zhonghedian (Hall of Central Harmony)is behind Taihedian, a square building much smaller than Taihedian. It was the place where the emperor rested on his way to Taihedian and interviewed his ministers or officials from the Ministry of Rites and rehearsals for ceremonies were also held here.

Baohedian (Hall of Preserved Harmony), the second largest architecture in the palace, is the rear hall of the Outer Court. Imperial banquets were often given here to entertain high officials. Emperors presided the final stage of national examinations to select officials from intellectuals all over the country in this hall.

Getting out of the Baohedian, visitors will see Qianqingmen (Gate of Celestial Purity), which is the boundary of the Outer Court and the Inner Court. Inside the gate, the royal family resides. In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi often heard reports from high officials and issued his orders under the gate. The Inner Court is divided into three parts. The three halls on the center axis are the main structures and they are smaller in size than the three halls in the Outer Court, although they look the same in style. Xiliugong (Six Western Palaces) and Dongliugong (Six Eastern Palaces) are also important structure complexes, where the emperors' concubines lived.

The first hall inside the Qianqingmen is Qianqinggong (Palace of Celestial Purity), which was originally the bedroom of emperors as well as their office. Emperors also gave banquets here. Behind it is a smaller hall named Jiaotaidian (Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union), where empresses received greetings from others concubines. It was used to store emperor and empress's imperial seals. The third hall on the central axis is Kunninggong (Palace of Terrestrial Tranquility), which was empress' bedroom.

On the left side of the Inner Court, Yangxindian (Hall of Mental Cultivation) and Xiliugong (Six Western Palaces) stand from north to south . Yangxindian (Hall of Mental Cultivation) was an important hall in the palace since from Emperor Yongzheng, most emperors later lived and attended to state affairs here. North of Yangxindian, there locates Xiliugong (Six Western Palaces), which consists of Yongshougong (Palace of Eternal Longevity), Yikungong (Palace of the Queen Consort), Chuxiugong (Palace for Gathering Elegance), Taijidian (Hall of the Supreme Pole), Changchungong (Palace of Eternal Spring) and Xianfugong (Palace of Universal Happiness). The former three are on the right and the latter three on the left of an alley which goes from north to south.

On the right side of the Outer Court, viz. east side, there are Fengxiandian (Hall for Ancestral Worship), Zhaigong (Palace of Abstinence) where emperors practiced abstinence a few days before going to offer sacrifices at the Temple of Heaven or the Temple of Earth, and Dongliugong (Six Eastern Palaces) which consists of Jingrengong (Palace of Great Benevolence), Chengqiangong (Palace of Celestial Favour), Yonghegong (Palace of Eternal Harmony), Jingyanggong (Palace of Great Brilliance), Zhongcuigong (Palace of Purity) and Yanxigong (Palace of Lasting Happiness). In a separate enclosure further east are two palaces which Emperor Qianlong built for his abdication. They are Ningshougong (Palace of Tranquil Longevity) and Huangjidian (Hall of Imperial Supremacy). Further north, there are Yangxingdian (Hall of Temper Cultivation), Leshoutang (Hall of Joyful Longevity) and Yihexuan (Pavilion of Sustained Harmony). Now most these palaces on the east are exhibition halls displaying different curiosities.

North of the Inner Court is Yuhuayuan (Imperial Garden). Though small in size, it is exquisitely laid out with towers, pavilions, artificial hills, springs, rocks, old trees, flowers and lawns - a replica of the gardens of southern China.

Just behind the garden is Shenwumen (Gate of Divine Might), the rear gate of the Forbidden City. On the gate there were a drum and a bell. The bell used to toll 108 times to announce a new day while the drum rataplaned the time in the night.

If you visit without a guide be sure to rent the audio tape available at the entrance. Not only will it give you much information, it will also muffle the sounds of other visitors so your imagination can return to the days of emperors, empresses, intrigues of the court, concubines and eunuchs.

Some of them is listed from south to north as followed: