The Forbidden City, also named the Palace Museum, shares the honor of being one of five world-famous palaces with the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in England, the White House in the U.S. and the Kremlin in Russia.

It was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the construction of this group of buildings took 40 years (1406-1420). In the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

This magnificent, palatial architectural complex lie in the heart of Beijing and covers an area of over 2,350,000 square feet and contains approximately 9,999 rooms. This amazing complex it is surrounded by a high red wall crowned by four observation towers and flanked by a deep moat and has a total length of 3,400 meters.

Key attractions:

The Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City (The Five-Phoenix Pavilion), sits on the north-south axis of the city and it was built in 1420, during the Ming Dynasty. It was the place where imperial editor calendars were issued.

The Hall of Great Harmony is the largest and most prestigious building in the Forbidden City and symbolizes the place where 24 Ming and Qing emperors were crowned. Surrounded by the red walls and golden tiles, the exquisitely carved white bridges look simple but elegant.

The four Towers: they are located at the four corners of the Forbidden City. Architecturally they reveal a sense of majesty being very complex: each has 9 beams, 18 pillars, and 72 roof ridges.

The Hall of Heavenly Purity is the first of the three halls of the inner court, the place where fourteen emperors, from Zhudi to Zhu Youjian, had lived.

The Hall of Military Prowess is located to the west of the Xihe Gate of the outer court. It is known as ‘the Hall edition’, starting from the 40th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign, a great number of books and pictures had been printed here. Nowadays they are highly valued for their exquisite, elegant workmanship.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation: this Hall was built during Emperor Jiajing’s reign (Ming Dynasty). It is located to the west of the Hall of Heavenly Purity in the inner court. During the Qing Dynasty, eight emperors lived here. It was also the place where the Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci’an “held court from behind a screen”.

Written by Beijing Apartments Team, May 2008