Lying at the center of
Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong, in Chinese, was the imperial
palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum,
it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the
world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six
meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 buildings. The wall has
a gate on each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate
of Devine Might (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park. The distance between
these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the gates in the
east and west walls is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately
structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These
afford views over both the palace and the city outside. The Forbidden City
is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was
where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern
section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Until
1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court,
fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty
had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries,
it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a
World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the
most popular tourist attractions world wide
Lying at the center of
Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong, in Chinese, was the imperial
palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum,
it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the
world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six
meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 buildings. The wall has
a gate on each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate
of Devine Might (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park. The distance between
these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the gates in the
east and west walls is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately
structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These
afford views over both the palace and the city outside. The Forbidden City
is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was
where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern
section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Until
1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court,
fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty
had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries,
it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a
World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the
most popular tourist attractions world wide
