Popular China Maps: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Guilin, Xian, Lhasa, Nanjing and more
maps-china.com logo

Find cities, attractions, famous places and landmarks of China.
Home: Forbidden City
Today the Forbidden City (or Palace Museum), a World Heritage site since 1987, still abounds with the sense of grandeur and wealth, an aura of pomp and majesty that has passed down through the ages. This secret city was closed off from the world for about 500 years but now 720,000 sq m of courtyards, pavilions, great halls, flourishing gardens and nearly 10,000 rooms combine to form one of the best-preserved historical sites in China. Built by tens of thousands of people, it took over 14 years and 32 million bricks to complete.

Owing its origins to the 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors who worked and lived here, few of the original buildings remain. The last emperor Puyi (known in the West for the movie The last Emperor) moved out of this complex in 1925. Today only 1/3 of this palace complex is open to the public. The latest renovations, started in 2002, will soon make it possible to display almost half of the palace by the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The entire complex sits on a north-south axis, or meridian line, with halls and houses symmetrically arranged on the side. It consists of three parts: the outer court where the emperor received high officials and administered state affairs; the inner court where the emperor, empress and concubines lived; and the private Imperial Garden for the imperial family to entertain and relax.

Write Your Comment:
Name

Email

URL

Comment (Less than 500 characters)

characters left


2008 - 2015 © maps-china.com
Tools
Related Landmarks
Beijing
Badachu Park
Badaling Great Wall
Beihai Park
Beihang University
Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing Film Academy
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology
Beijing Institute of Technology
Beijing International Studies University
Beijing Jiaotong University
Beijing Language and Culture University
Beijing Nanyuan Airport
Beijing Normal University
Beijing Railway Station
Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park
Beijing South Railway Station
Beijing Sport University
Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Beijing University of Chinese Medicine
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Beijing University of Technology
Beijing West Railway Station
Beijing World Park
Big Bell Temple
Capital Medical University
Capital Normal University
Central Conservatory of Music
Central TV Tower
Chaoyang Park
China Millennium Monument
China University of Petroleum-Beijing
China University of Political Science and Law
Communication University of China
Diaoyutai State Guesthouse
Forbidden City
Grand View Garden
Great Hall of the People
Haidian Park
Happy Valley Beijing
Huanghuacheng Great Wall
Jiankou Great wall
Juyongguan Pass
Lugou Bridge
Mausoleum of Mao Zedong
Ming Tombs
Miyun Reservoir
Mutianyu Great Wall
National Aquatics Center
National Centre for the Performing Arts
National Library of China
National Stadium
Old Summer Palace
Peking University
Prince Gong Mansion
Renmin University of China
Shichahai
Simatai Great Wall
Summer Palace
Tanzhe Temple
Taoranting Park
Temple of Confucius
Temple of Earth
Temple of Heaven
Tiananmen Square
Tsinghua University
University of International Business and Economics
University of Science and Technology Beijing
Yonghe Gong(Lama Temple)
Zhongnanhai
Zizhu Yuan Park