The Forbidden City was marked as the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It is located in the centre of Beijing, China which is now popularly referred to as the Palace Museum. It was a home to the emperors and their families as well as the traditional and political centre of the Chinese government for nearly five centuries. It stood as a well-constructed monument between the times of 1406 to 1420.
The Forbidden City is absolutely vast. It covers an area of 178 acres that include 90 palaces with courtyards and 980 surviving buildings with 8,886 bays of rooms. The floor of the palace covers a space of over 1,600,000 square feet. The emperor had an army of servants, however, to take care of his palace and all the people that lived there. It is considered as the “Hub” of Chinese Extravagant Architecture. The Forbidden City is a rectangle, with 961 metres (3,153 ft) from north to south and 753 metres (2,470 ft) from east to west. The Forbidden City was designed to be the centre of the ancient, walled city of Beijing. It is enclosed in a larger, walled area called the Imperial City. The Imperial City is, in turn, further encapsulated by the Inner City and to its south lies the Outer City.
There were nine gates on The Forbidden City’s central Axis. One of them no longer exists. From South to North they include The Great Qing Gate, The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen), The Upright Gate, The Meridian Gate, The Gate of Supreme Harmony, The Gate of Heavenly Purity, The Gate of Imperial Peace, and The Gate of Divine Prowess. Each gate has an odd number of openings. The central was to be used only by the Emperor, the next two were for high officials, followed by the royal family and the rest of people residing there.
The main frames of all palaces are built of wood. The wooden beams and columns are the most important elements, while the walls, using to separate space, are supporting structures. Therefore, windows can be designed flexibly and made for different needs. The bracket, used for bearing the weight, is also a typical structure in ancient architecture. In Ming and Qing Dynasty, they were no longer used to support the house and absorb the effects of earthquakes, but only for decoration.
Interesting Facts about the Forbidden City
- Twenty-four different Chinese emperors lived in the palace for almost 500 years.
- About 100,000 artisans and craftsmen worked on the palace.
- The last emperor of China, Puyi, continued to live in the Forbidden City for twelve years after he abandoned the throne in 1912.
- The Chinese name for the palace during ancient times was Zijin Cheng which means “Purple Forbidden City”. Today the palace is called “Gugong” which means “Former Palace”.
- The movie The Last Emperorwas filmed inside the Forbidden City.
- At a time, 9,000 eunuchs lived there.
- 200,000 – 1 million laborers and artisans constructed the complex.
- Altogether, 24 emperors lived there.
Features
There are various features of this city that make it one of a kind especially for tourist attraction. The Forbidden City also served as a fort to protect the emperor and his family. It is surrounded by a 26 feet high wall and a 170 feet wide moat. Each corner of the palace has a tall guarding tower where guards reside in order to keep an eye out for enemies and assassins.
Quick Tips: Visiting the Forbidden City, Beijing
Where: it is advised that you enter through the front entrance – you can enter from the back, but you want to start at the front gate, the Meridian Gate, so you can exit through the Gate of Divine Might and walk across the street to Jingshan Park for panoramic views.
When: Check the opening hours, but generally the Forbidden City opens around 8:30am – try to go early and you can avoid some of the tour buses that drop off the crowd all day long. You can also visit in the late afternoon.
How: The Forbidden City is right off of the Red Line 1 on Beijing’s highly effective metro system. Use the Tiananmen East or West stop on the metro line so you d not miss the entrance. The entrance fee is currently ¥40 (Yuan) (where it is 648.8 Pakistani Rupees) in the winter and ¥60 (Yuan) (where it is 973.2 Pakistani Rupees) in the summer. Have Fun!
Marryum Farrukh Shah is an avid observer of travel and culture in Pakistan. She is a graduate in Mass Communication and works as a content writer for Kluchit.com
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