Forbidden City is a historic walled area of Beijing, China. It covers some 178 acres (72 hectares) in the central part of the city, north of Tiananmen Square. The area was the home of 24 of China’s emperors during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties. The Forbidden City is so called because most common people were not allowed to enter. Today, the area’s buildings are preserved as the Palace Museum.
The layout
of the Forbidden City was planned according to the principles of feng shui, the Chinese art of placement (see Feng shui). The most important buildings face south, and the major imperial halls lie along a straight line that runs through the center of the complex. The Forbidden City is surrounded by a wall and a moat. The main gate, known as the Meridian Gate (Wumen), lies at the southern end.
The Outer Court begins at the Meridian Gate. The court includes three main buildings where ceremonies and rituals were held. The three buildings are, from south to north, the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), the Hall of Middle Harmony (Zhonghedian), and the Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian). North of the Outer Court, past the Gate of Heavenly Purity (Qianqingmen), is a complex of imperial residences known as the Inner Court. The residences include the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong), which is where the Ming and early Qing emperors slept, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunninggong), the living quarters of the Ming empresses. Other members of the imperial household had their chambers nearby.
The Forbidden City contains dozens of other courtyards, gardens, gates, palaces, and temples. The buildings themselves are mostly wooden and feature ornate decorations. The interiors of the buildings are decorated with carvings, paintings, and sculptures.
History.
In the early 1400’s, the Yongle Emperor—the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty—decided to move China’s capital from Nanjing to Beijing. Construction on the Forbidden City began in 1407 and ended in 1420. The emperor and his court moved to Beijing in 1421.
Over the centuries, many of the buildings in the Forbidden City were damaged by fire and rebuilt. Many of the buildings standing today are reconstructions, built in the 1700’s and after, based on the original designs.
Revolutionaries overthrew the Qing dynasty in 1911. China became a republic in 1912, but the new government allowed Pu Yi (also spelled Puyi), the last Qing emperor, to remain in the Forbidden City. Pu Yi was expelled in 1924.
China’s government established the Palace Museum in 1925. The museum contains artifacts representing thousands of years of Chinese art and culture. In 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the Forbidden City a World Heritage Site. The designation identifies the area as a place of cultural importance.
