The Forbidden City (紫禁城/故宫), also named the Palace Museum, located in the heart of Beijing to the north of the Tiananmen Square, was the imperial palace for the Ming and Qing Dynasties (over 600 years old). It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Building in 1987. Considered a divine place, it was forbidden to ordinary people, and that's why it is called the Forbidden City. With 9,999 rooms, the Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world, three times larger than the Louvre Palace in France. As the largest and best-preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, it took 14 years to build and was constructed by over 1,000,000 workers, including more than 100,000 craftsmen.

Completed in 1420, the Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors of China, their families, and servants - 14 from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and 10 from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). You can take a walk through the impressive central axis of the Forbidden City, marveling at the palace complex, traditional Chinese architecture, and royal gardens while listening to legendary stories about the emperors and their imperial concubines in different dynasties. The Forbidden City was damaged by three fires, and so most of the present palaces were rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. Puyi, the last emperor (1906–1967), lived in the Forbidden City until he was expelled in 1925, when the precinct was transformed into the Palace Museum. Today, the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City is one of the world's largest cultural museums, attracting 14 million visitors each year. Enter through the Meridian Gate and visit along the central axis to ensure you won't miss any highlighted palaces.

Beijing Forbidden City

Forbidden City