China Travelogue  |  China City Guides  |  Beijing City  |  Hong Kong   |  Shanghai  |  Xian  China History  |  Home    
Anhui Province  •  Beijing  •  Fujian   •  Gansu   •  Guangdong   •  Guangxi   •  Guizhou   •  Hainan   •  Hongkong   •  Jiangsu  
Shanghai   •  Sichuan   •  Taiwan   •   Xian   •  Yangtze River  

BEIJING CITY GUIDE & TOUR
About Beijing China
Beijing China City Guide
Beijing China History
Beijing Duck, Peking Duck
Beijing Hutong Tour
Beijing Imperial Palace & Garden - 1 Beijing Imperial Palace & Garden - 2 Beijing Imperial Palace & Garden - 3 Beijing Ming Tomb Tour
Beijing YongheGong Lamasery
Beijing Zoo
Beijing Happy Valley Theme Park
Beihai Park Travel Guide
China Great Wall
Forbidden City in Beijing
  › Forbidden Palace - Wumen Gate
  › Three Great Halls
  › Nine Dragon Wall
  › Inner Palace of Forbidden City
Great Wall of China
  › Badaling Great Wall & Mutianyu
  › China Great Wall Tour
  › Juyongguan Great Wall & Simatai
Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)
Peking Man at Zhoukoudian
Peking Opera (Beijing Opera)
Summer Palace - 1
Summer Palace - 2
Temple of Heaven - 1
Temple of Heaven - 2
Tiananmen Square - 1
Tiananmem Square Attractions - 2
Things to do in Beijing

HONG KONG CITY GUIDE
Hong Kong City Guide
Hong Kong History
Hong Kong Attractions
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Districts
Hong Kong Lantau Island
Hong Kong Racing Museum
Hong Kong Science Museum
Hong Kong Space Museum
Hong Kong Discount Hotels
Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Tour
Ocean Park Hong Kong
Prepare for Travel to Hongkong
Ride on the Hong Kong Star Ferry
So Much to See at Ocean Park
The Sights of Hong Kong
Things to do in Hong Kong
Things to See at Repulse Bay
Top Budget Hotels in Hong Kong
Trip to Hong Kong Museum of History
Victoria Peak
Visit Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Visit Hong Kong Victoria Peak
Wong Tai Sin Temple

SHANGHAI CITY GUIDE
About Shanghai China
Shanghai China city Guide
Shanghai History
Jade Buddha Temple
Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Much to do at Oriental Pearl Tower
Shanghai Bund & Huangpu River
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Shopping and Food
Shanghai Jin Jiang Amusement Park
Shanghai Visitors Guide
4 Must See Places in Shanghai
A Day at Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
Daytrip at Shanghai Animal Park
Staying in Shanghai Hotels

XIAN CITY GUIDE & TOUR
About Xian City (Xian City Guide)
Amazing Xian Terracotta Museum
Banpo Village Museum
Huaqing Hot Springs
Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang
Maoling Mausoleum
Qianling Tomb of Xian
Qianling Tomb - Princess Yongtai
TerraCotta Army Discovery
Terra Cotta Archer & Chariot
TerraCotta Warriors - History
Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang
Tour of Terra Cotta Museum
Xian City Wall

Travel China & China Tour
About China
China Tourism
Chinese Food & Cuisine - 1
Chinese Food & Cuisine - 2
My Impressions of China

 

Forbidden City, Beijing China

Ancient China's Forbidden City Palace in Beijing

The Forbidden City was the imperial palace for 24 emperors from the Ming Dynast and Qing Dynasty. The forbidden palace has an impressive defense, surrounded by 33 ft high and 3km long city walls, and encircled by 52 meter wide moat, 3.8km long named the Outer Golden River. There is also an inner moat named the Inner Golden River.

The Palace is called the "Forbidden" City because commoners were not allowed to even approach the city walls. The last Dynasty in Chinese history fell in 1911, and the last emperor Puyi (1906 - 1967) lived in the inner court of the forbidden city until 1925, at which time it was converted to a museum, and was open for public touring.

History of The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was a grand scale construction that involved over 100,000 artisans and 1million civilians. The construction of the Forbidden palace took 14 years, and completed in 1420. It is located at the center of Beijing city, with an area of 72 hectares (720,000 meters squared), and it has more than 90 courtyards. The actual Forbidden palace is a giant courtyard rectangular in shape. The Forbidden City wall is 10m tall, and measures 961m long north to south, and 753m wide east to west. The palace has expanded several times, but the original layout was preserved.

Forbidden City Map & Tour

The Forbidden Palace is divided into two main sections: the front palace to the south, and the inner palace to the north. The outer court is where the emperor performed his governing duties and exercised his power over the nation, and the inner court is where the emperor lived with his imperial family.

The Forbidden City is arranged along a north to south axis called the Meridian Line. The palace has four outer gates: Meridian Gate to the south, Gate of Divine Might in the north, and Flowery Gate to the east and west. Because yellow is the color and symbol of the imperial family, it is one of the dominant colors. Roofs are built with yellow tiles, and most decorations are painted with yellow.

N
(Gate of Divine Might)

S
(Meridian Gate)

Follow us, as we take a brief tour of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

>> Click here to discover how to get dirt cheap airfare tickets

 
 
 
Beijing ChinaChina Travel Hong Kong ShanghaiSichuan Xian China Travelogue Chinese Cooking Contact Privacy
(c) 2006 - 2010 TravelChinaTour.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE