The Ancient Centre of Power—The Forbidden City

The Ancient Centre of Power—The Forbidden City

Located in the centre of Beijing, the Forbidden City, named Gu Gong in Chinese, was the imperial palace to 24 emperors from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. Thus, the Forbidden City was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. It’s a real treasury vault of Chinese cultural and historical relics.

The Forbidden City is the world’s largest palace complex, which covers 72 hectares with a total floor space of approximately 150,000 square meters and consists of 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms. It is recognized as one of the most important five palaces in the world with the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in the UK, the White House in the US and the Kremlin in Russia.

The gorgeous architecture of the Forbidden City speaks well for the essence and culmination ofaccomplishment. The grand palace took millions of people including one hundred thousand artisans 14 years(1406-1420) to finish its construction. Stone were quarried from the suburbs of Beijing. Some are as heavy as hundreds fo tons and it was  said a well was dug every fifty meters along the road in order to pour water onto the road in winter o slide huge stones on ice ino the city. Large amount of timber and other materials were freighted from provinces in Southern China like Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi, etc.

There are entrances to the Forbidden City in all four directions and it’s suggested to enter the Forbidden City from the Tiananmen Gate, the traditional “front door” to experience the carefully laid out complex to best effect. The Forbidden City can be divided, by the Gate of Heavenly Peace, into two parts: The southern section is the “Outer Court” and the northern part is the “Inner Court”. Walking straight ahead northwards, you will reach the main entrance to the palace, the meridian Gate, wher the Emperor announced the new lunar calendar on the winter solstice. Enter the Meridian Gate, and go across the Golden Stream Bridge you will arrive at the outer court.

The Outer Court consists of three halls used for ceremonial purpose and other state affairs. You will be greeted by the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony, in which there is  the emperor’s Dragon Throne. The next is the Hall of Central Harmony , the resting palace of the emperor before presiding over grand events held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The last hall is the Hall of the Preserving Harmony used for banquets and later for imperial examinations.

The northern section, the Inner Court, was where the emperor lived with his family, eunuchs and maid—servants. The first part of the Inner Court is a series of three halls: the Palace of Heavenly Peace, which was the emperors’ sleeping quarters, the Palace of Union and Peace, where the imperial seas were kept and the Palace of Terrestrial Tranquility, the emperors’ wedding room. Besides the three main buildings there are the six eastern palaces and six western palaces , where the emperor and concubines were living. Those palaces have been converted into exhibitions halls.

Exiting and going further north, travelers will find the Imperial Garden, behind which there is the main exit gate of the Forbidden City, the Gate of Diving Minght. For security the Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10 meters high and 3,400 meters long outer wall. There is a watchtower at each corner of the Forbidden City and around the city there is six meter deep, 52 meter wide moat as the first line of defense.

Nowadays, any tour of Beijing would be incomplete without a visit to the grand palace. The introduction here about the Forbidden City is just the tip of an iceberg. You would never realize how great it is unless you visit there by yourself to enjoy the splendid painted decoration, the grand and deluxe halls, with the surprisingly treasures.