Forbidden City

The largest imperial palace in the world

The Forbidden City was the home of Chinese emperors and was the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government for almost 500 years.

 

These palace complex which is situated in Beijing, China was the Chinese imperial palace and state residence of the Emperor of China from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty from 1420 to 1924.

This UNESCO World Heritage site is situated on 72 hectares (120 acres). It is built on 720,000 sq m (7,750,000 sq ft).

 

Chinese architects Kuai Xiang designed it. It was established from 1406-1420 and consists of 980 buildings. 

 

The name forbidden means no one could could enter or leave from the palace without the emperor’s permission. 

Over a million people worked for 14 years to build this complex. Material includes whole logs of precious phoebe zhennan wood, large blocks of marble from quarries near Beijing and floors of major halls were paved with golden bricks.

 

 

It was a home of 24 emperors ( 14 Ming and 10 Qing ). In 1912, the abdication of the last emperor Puyi, under an agreement with the new Republic of China government, the forbidden city started to loss it’s imperial powers.

This imperial complex when functional was divided into 2 courts. Inner and outer courts. The Outer Court or Front Court was used for ceremonial purposes. The Inner Court was the residence of the Emperor and his family.

It consisted of following establishments :

Meridian Gate

Gate of Divine Might

West Glorious Gate

East Glorious Gate

Corner towers

Gate of Supreme Harmony

Hall of Supreme Harmony

Hall of Central Harmony 

Hall of Military Eminence

Hall of Preserving Harmony

Hall of Literary Glory

Southern Three Places

Palace of Heavenly Purity

Imperial garden

Hall of Mental Cultivation

Palace of Tranquil Longevity

Hall of Union

Palace of Earthly Tranquility

This city is surrounded by 26 feet high wall and at corners of walls were towers. The complex had palaces for the consorts of the emperors. Many emperors were born and brought up there.

Some palaces were:

Western Six Palaces:

Palace of Eternal Longevity

Hall of the Supreme Principle

Palace of Eternal Spring

Palace of Earthly Honour

Palace of Gathering Elegance

Palace of Universal Happiness

Palace of Benevolence Tranquility

Eastern Six Palaces:

Palace of Great Benevolence

Palace of Heavenly Grace

Palace of Accumulated Purity

Palace of Prolonged Happiness

Palace of Great Brilliance

Palace of Eternal Harmony

 

Palace Museum and Library :

The collections of the Palace Museum includes paintings, ceramics, seals, steles, sculptures, inscribed wares, bronze wares, enamel objects, etc. The latest audit claims that it has 1,862,690 pieces of art. The imperial libraries housed a large collection of rare books and historical documents.

These complex is branched with close to 8886 rooms though some claims there were 9999 rooms including the antechambers. This heritage sees huge amounts of visitors every year. 19 million people visited the forbidden city in 2019 alone. It is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

It is considered to be among the world's top 5 most important palaces of all time, and is China's most popular single-site tourist attraction. Though only 60% of the complex is opened for the visitors. 40% is still forbidden.

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