Forbidden City

Witness Chinese civilization during the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Forbidden City is famous for its architecture style, grand atmosphere of imperial power, as well as the furnishings and objects of art. Located in the center of Beijing, is the largest and best-preserved in the world.

History of Forbidden City
Forbidden City began to be built in 1406 AD (the 4th year of Yongle reign of Ming Dynasty) and was completed fourteen years later. Here was where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties handled court business and resided. 24 emperors, 14 of the Ming and 10 of the Qing, ruled the country from here over a span of nearly 500 years.

Architecture Features
The layout of Forbidden City reflects the paramount authority and status of the emperor. Occupying an area of 72 hectares, Forbidden City, the rectangular palace city totally has 8,707 rooms. It was laid out on an invisible axis, and all architectural structures were arranged symmetrically in a hierarchical order along the axis. The palaces are fully walled on four sides by 10 meter-high walls. Outside the walls a 52 meter-wide moat surrounds the city. There are unique and delicately structured corner towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside.

Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the country, while the Inner Court was the place emperor lived with his family. Major structures of the Outer Court are the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony. The Inner Court includes Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, Palace of Earthly Tranquility, Hall of Mental Cultivation, etc.

Precious Collections in Forbidden City
The Palace Museum takes pride in its precious collections of more than 900, 000 cultural and art objects, many of which are state relics. There are exhibition halls where visitors can admire bronze ware, pottery, arts and crafts of Ming and Qing dynasties, clocks, paintings, carvings and other precious treasures as well as in-depth discover the rich and profound ancient history.

Forbidden City Today & Tours
Many parts were destroyed by the war and after the establishment of People's Republic of China, it has been renovated in large scale. Forbidden City was listed by the UNESC0 as a world cultural heritage site in 1987 and became the top destination for tourists in Beijing.

Special Notes for Forbidden City Tour
High Season: From 1st April to 31st October
Low Season: From 1st November to 31st March
Opening Hours:
8:30am until 5:00pm with last admission at 4:00pm (High Season)
8:30am until 4:30pm with last admission at 3:30pm (Low Season)
Closed on Mondays, except during national holidays and the summer vacation period from 1 July to 31 August.
Entrance Tickets in Forbidden City:
High Season 60 CNY; Low Season 40 CNY;
Treasure Gallery 10 CNY; Hall of Clocks 10 CNY;
Recommended Travel Time: 3 to 4 hours
How to Get to Forbidden City
Public Buses stop at Forbidden City: 1, 4, 20, 52, 57, 101, 103, 109, 111.
Metro Stops: Tiananmenxi or Tiananmendong on the East-West line (Subway Line 1).