Forbidden City

From 1420 to 1911, Forbidden City served as the imperial palace for the 24 emperors in Ming and Qing dynasties. Located in the Beijing city center behind Tiananmen Square, it houses the Palace Museum today. The palace is the largest and best preserved wooden architecture complex on earth and reputed as the tops of the five palaces in the world, namely Forbidden City, Versailles Palace, Buckingham Palace, White House and Moscow Kremlin.

The Forbidden City is 961 meters long and 753 meters wide, surrounded by a moat along the 12-meter-high wall. All the buildings in Forbidden City are wooden structure with yellow glaze roof and marble stone platform. The palace has four gates with Jingshan Hill in the north. It is said there are 9,999 rooms in Forbidden City, indicating the emperor is son of heaven and he can not have more rooms than the God. Room in ancient China means a space separated by four pillars. The rooms house an extensive collection of fine treasures including furniture and works of art.

History

In Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Emperor Zhudi decided to move the capital to Beijing after he took the throne. Therefore, he ordered to build a palace in Beijing in 1406 and the whole project took 14 years to complete in 1420. During the later 500 years till 1911, the palace witnessed the administration of 24 emperors and the history of the two dynasties. In 1987, Forbidden City was enlisted on the World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO with its landscaped gardens and many buildings containing furniture and works of art.

The name of Forbidden City (literally Purple Forbidden City) is connected with ancient Chinese philosophy and Astronomy. In ancient Chinese Astronomy, the stars are divided into three districts and Purple Star is the central one which is regarded as imperial star. So the name of Forbidden City implies dominated role in the world and the palace is forbidden to ordinary people.

Visiting Guide

Principal buildings are arranged on a south-north central axis, assisted with courtyards and buildings in the east and west. Meridian Gate behind the Tiananmen Square is the front gate of Forbidden City. The palace is divided into two sections by the Gate of Heavenly Purity (Qianqingmen in Chinese), namely Outer Court and Inner Court with completely different styles.

Recommended route

Visiting the buildings on the central axis respectively by entering from the south gate Meridian Gate -> Golden Water Bridge -> Gate of Supreme Harmony -> Hall of Supreme Harmony -> Hall of Central Harmony -> Hall of Preserving Harmony -> Gate of Heavenly Purity -> Palace of Heavenly Purity -> Hall of Union -> Palace of Earthly Tranquility -> Imperial Garden.

The route will spend half a day. If time permits, you can also visit the east and west routes which allow you to visit the residential areas for the concubines. From there, you can see beautiful furniture, works of art and exhibitions on calligraphies and paintings.

Outer Court

The Outer Court is the administration area for the emperors handle government affairs with the officers. Principal buildings in the outer court are Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony. On the east wing are Hall of Literary Brilliance, Pavilion of Literary Profundity, Shangsi Courtyard, South Three Courtyards and son on. On the west wing is Hall of Martial Valor, Imperial Household and so on. These buildings are for grand audience, ceremony and offices, which look magnificent with brilliant open courtyard, symbolizing the supreme of feudal regime.

Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Dian in Chinese) sitting in the center of the Forbidden City is the most dignified building in Palace Museum. It is the place where emperors hold meetings with the government officials and receive greetings and congratulations from his subjects. Standing on a white marble three-tiered terrace, the building is carved with dragon patterns to indicate the emperor is the son of heaven.

Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghe Dian in Chinese) north of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is a square building with windows on four sides. The emperor received obeisance from his subjects at here before presiding over grand ceremonies in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohe Dian in Chinese), third of the three Ritual Halls, is north of Hall of Central Harmony which serves as the banquet hall for emperors to entertain heads of states, imperial kinsmen and ministers higher than the second rank at New Year's Eve and on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The imperial examination is also held at here.

Far east of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Hall of Literary Brilliance which was firstly the residence for the crown prince and later secondary hall for the emperor. At here, imperial lectures were frequently held and the papers of imperial examination were reviewed. Now, it is the Ceramics Gallery featuring the splendid history of Chinese ceramics.

The Pavilion of Literary Profundity north of Hall of Supreme Harmony is the imperial library. Only this two-storey building is covered with black and green glazed tiles, in the hope of guarding the building against fire.

Far west of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Hall of Martial Valor serving as a workshop for amending, compiling, and printing books with carved wooden blocks. Today, it is the Gallery of Painting and Calligraphy.

South Three Courtyards is the residential place for the crown prince while Imperial Household on the west is the office for handing court affairs. Shangsi Courtyard, one of the three courtyards for Imperial Household, is the office in charge of the horses.

Inner Court

The Inner Court is mainly residential areas for the imperial family and the principal buildings are Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union and Palace of Earthly Tranquility. On the east and west wings are residential for emperors and concubines. An Imperial Garden is located at the north end of Forbidden City.

Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gong in Chinese), the emperor's principal residence before Yongzheng Era (1723-1735), is north of the three ritual halls mentioned above. In history, the famous “Banquets for a thousand elders” was held at here. In the hall, there is a signboard with inscription of "Upright and Pure in Mind”. The box carrying the designated heir's name was often hidden behind this signboard.

Hall of Union (Jiaotai Dian in Chinese) north of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the place for the queens to receive greetings from her high-ranking subjects on major festivals, follows the architectural style of Hall of Central Harmony. A signboard carrying "Eunuchs are forbidden to interfere with political affairs” stands in the hall to warn the eunuchs.

Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Gong in Chinese), the residence of the queen, is the last of the three main palaces in the Inner Court. In Qing Dynasty, the wedding ceremony for the emperor was often held at here. The furnishings at the palace are now what they were at the grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu.

Hall of Spiritual Cultivation (Yangxin Dian in Chinese) west of the Palace of Heavenly Purity was the place where Qing emperors lived and ruled the Empire. Today, it has been converted in to a gallery of the Treasure Hall displaying ritual objects of the Qing dynasty. The small house in the west end called Sanxitang is an ideal place for calligraphy lovers as three outstanding calligraphy masterpieces by Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi and Wang Xun are exhibited at here.

The Six Western Palaces north of the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation were residential area for the concubines and Empress Dowager Cixi. Among the six, Palace for Gathering Essence (Chuxiu Gong in Chinese) is the most famous one since it is the place for empress and an emperor selected his wives at here.

Palace of Tranquil Longevity (Yongshou Gong in Chinese) at the northeast of the Forbidden City was the residence of the Empress Dowager as well as the retired Emperor Qianlong. Today, the east and west corridor rooms in the south have been converted into Treasury Gallery with palace paraphernalia and the accessories of emperors and empresses in exhibition.

The Palace of Purity in Six Eastern Palaces is the exhibition hall for jade collections while the Palace of Great Brilliance displays exquisite gold and silver treasures of the Forbidden City. There are exhibitions for bronze articles in the Palace of Eternal Harmony and Palace of Celestial Favor.

Imperial Garden at the north end of Forbidden City is a private retreat for the imperial family. There are buildings with different styles, existing harmoniously with the trees, rockeries, flower beds and sculptural objects.

The visit of the Forbidden City ends when you step out from the Gate of Divine Prowess. Crossing the road, you can pay a visit to the Jingshan Park where you can get a perfect point to take a photo over the whole Forbidden City.

How to Get There

Take Subway Line 1 to East Tiananmen Station or West Tiananmen Station or Line 2 to Qianmen Station.
Take Bus No.1, 10, 120, 126, 2, 20, 37, 52, 59, 728, 82, 99 to East Tiananmen Stop or bus No. 1, 10, 22, 37, 5, 52, 728, 99 to West Tiananmen Stop and enter from the Meridian Gate.
Take bus No. 101, 103, 109, 124, 609, 619, 614 or 685 to Gugong (Forbidden City) Stop and enter from Gate of Divine Prowess.