The Forbidden City - The Emperor's Palace

The Emperor's Palace is called the "Forbidden City" because most Chinese were forbidden to enter - "Royalty-Only-Please".
Emperor Yong Le began its erection in the early 1400's and the huge complex contains over 700 buildings on about 700,000 or so square meters. It's so big that I only toured a tenth of its area!
I am also happy to say that the Forbidden City is constantly being refurbished. At the bottom of the page you'll see a 'refurbishing' picture. Given the enormity of the Forbidden City, the sight of bamboo scalfolding is routine and should not diminish your trip.
Would you ike more information about China, Beijing and the Forbidden Palace? See the bottom of the page.

Ready for the Tour?

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This is a photo of inside the palace. Look closely at the staircases. You can see two staircases - one on the right and left. There is a white stone-relief in the middle of the staircases. The Emperor was carried in a litter over the relief. There rest of the entourage followed by the stairs.

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Here is an example of the large "courtyards" common in the Forbidden City. Often the courtyards were square and a building on each side that opened to the courtyard.

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All of the buildings were made of wood. As a consequence fire was a concern. Below is a picture of two water urns.

The water stern was once gold-plated. If you look closely, you see where the gold was stripped after the revolution.

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Here is the "refurbishing picture" I promised.

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What's Next on the Tour?

We will continue our tour of the Forbidden City and stop by the Temple of Heavenly Harvest

Where to go from here ...

Want More Information?
Learn more about China and Beijing at the Lonely Planet.com.

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