The Forbidden City

A globally celebrated historic and cultural city, Beijing boasts a history of over 3000 years, 850 of which have been as China's capital.  It is a city rich in cultural relics. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Peking Man Site and the Ming Tombs are listed as World Cultural Heritage Sites.

The Forbidden City

Add: 4 Jingshan Qianjie, Dongcheng District

Tel: (010) 6513-1892

Opening hours: 8:30am-4:30pm

Admission: 60 yuan (peak), 40 yuan (non-peak)

Buses: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 22, 37, 52, 54, 101, 103, 109, 124, 120, 726, 728, 802, 826, 810, 814, 846, subway

A testament to grandiosity, there are few sights in the world that will take your breath away, let alone live up to its reputation. The Forbidden City is one such place. It has an extraordinary history and is well worth reading up on before going.

Passing through Tian'anmen to get there, chances are you will stop in your tracks, struck by the sheer scale of the place, China's largest and best-preserved set of ancient buildings. Home to two dynasties of emperors (Ming and Qing), and also known as the Imperial Palace, its basic layout was established between 1406 and 1420 by Emperor Yongle and remained an imperial palace for 500 hundred years until 1924. Most of what is now seen is post-18^th century as a fire set by the Manchus in 1644 burnt the original wooden structures to the ground

The palace and pavilions sprawl over 720,000 sq ms and contain a highly "auspicious" 9,999 rooms. The courtyards and pavilions of this historic complex of buildings need at least one full day of exploration. Visiting in different seasons, you will to see how the character of the palace alters.

In ancient times, gongs and bells would sound around the massive Meridian Gate. Within, the emperor was protected by a massive staff and surrounded by many wives and members of his family. At night, no other men were allowed in the city except for the emperor's eunuchs.

The last emperor, Pu Yi (1906-1967), left the Forbidden City in 1924.

Originally named to invoke the status of the emperor, and off limits to nearly everyone else, the Forbidden City was famously rarified in the dying days of the Empire. Unfortunately, much of the sumptuous detail of those days has long gone, leaving the city a place without a context. A rented cassette tape, with narration by Roger Moore, will provide you with much of the information needed to fill in the gaps.