The Forbidden City - located in the middle of Beijing, China
The Forbidden City is located in the middle of Beijing, China and is named like this because it was off-limits to commoners for 500 years, was the imperial court for twenty-four emperors from the early days of the Ming dynasty in the 15th century until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
The Forbidden City is the world’s largest surviving palace complex and covers 72 ha. It is a rectangle 961 metres (3,150 ft) from north to south and 753 metres (2,470 ft) from east to west. It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms.
The main attractions are:
- Meridian Gate
- Gate of Supreme Harmony
- Hall of Supreme Harmony
- Hall of Central Harmony
- Hall of Preserving Harmony
- Huge Stone Carving
- Gate of Heavenly Purity
- Hall of Heavenly Purity
- Hall of Union and Peace
- Hall of Earthly Tranquility
- Hall of Mental Cultivation
- Six Western Palaces
- Hall for Ancestral Worship
- Six Eastern Palaces
- Nine Dragon Wall
- Palace of Tranquil Longevity
- Hall of Joyful Longevity
- Imperial Garden.
(more…)