The Forbidden City

What is the Forbidden City?
The Forbidden City is an imperial Chinese palace located in Beijing, China. It is among one of several most important places in the world the other four are the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in the UK, the White House in the US and the Kremlin in Russia. The Forbidden City has been home to 24 Chinese Emperors since it was built for Emperor Yongle during the Ming Dynasty in 1406 and building continued throughout 1420. It was built to look like the Purple Palace where God was said to live in heaven, since the Emperor was thought to be the son of Heaven. The Forbidden City covers an area of about 72 hectares and has a total floor space of approximately 150, 000 square meters (177.9 acres). It consists of 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms. All the gates, palace and other structures of the Forbidden City were arranged about the south-north central axis of Beijing to symbolize that the palace was the center of the Earth. The palace has been a major architectural influence throughout Eastern Asia.

What does the palace look like?
The Forbidden City Beijing: Brief introduction about Forbidden City tells us this...
"The outer court is made up of three main buildings, the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), the Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghedian) and the Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian). These halls were where the emperors attended the grand ceremonies and conducted state affairs. The first hall waiting for you is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most important and largest structure in the Forbidden City. The emperors' Dragon Throne (Longyi) is in this hall. Behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghedian), the resting place of the emperor before presiding over grand events held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Emperors would rehearse their speeches and presentations here before departing to the Temple of Heaven for the sacrifice rites. The last hall is the Hall of the Preserving Harmony used for banquets and later for imperial examinations."

What About Now?
Today the palace has been turned into a museum. The museum contains a vast collection of artwork that was collected during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Some of the artifacts have been moved to the National Palace Museum located in Taipei.