The Forbidden City is the largest, best preserved group of palaces in China. This historic museum has nearly one million cultural relics, 9,999 rooms and hundreds of galleries displaying the imperial treasure.
Twenty-four emperors ruled in the Forbidden City until 1911 when the Qing dynasty fell. The Forbidden City was first constructed in the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Yongle in 1406, in the exact center of the ancient city of Beijing. The Forbidden City occupies an area of 720,000 square meters, making it the largest structure of palaces on the planet.
For security purposes, the Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10 meter high wall. Each corner of the Forbidden City boasts a magnificent watchtower, used in the past to guard the palaces. Most tourists enter through the Forbidden City through Tian’anmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which leads to the main entrance of the palace, Wumen, or the Meridian Gate.
The Forbidden City has two main parts, the outer court and the inner palaces. The outer court is made up of three main buildings, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. The inner court is composed of the three main structures, the Palace of Heavenly Peace, the Palace of Union and Peace and the Palace of Terrestrial Tranquility.
Any Beijing holidays would be incomplete without a tour through the Forbidden City. Public buses that stop at the there are the 1, 4, 20, 52, 57, 101, 103, 109 and 111. The admission fee is 40rmb.
