The Forbidden City Guide

The Forbidden City
The largest and best preserved ancient complex in the world, used to be the imperial palace in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Ming Dynasty lasted from 1368 to 1644 and Qing from 1644 to 1911, 24 emperors and their wives, concubines, maids and eunuchs lived here. In 1398, Zhuyuanzhang, the first Ming emperor died, leaving the throne to his grand son, Zhuyunwen, who is noted in history as emperor Jianwen, Zhudi, Zhuyuanzhang’s forth son and prince of Yan, which is the Beijing area launched a revolt in Beiping, today’s Beijing. Seized the throne and changed the title of the reign to Yongle, Zhudi valued the geographic location of Beiping with the sea to the east, Taihang Mountain to the west, rivers to the south and Juyong Pass to the north, he changed the name Beiping to Beijing, Jing means capital, in the first month of the first year of his reign 1403, and in 1406 decided to move the Ming Capital from Nanjing to Beijing, then he started the largest scale construction of the city of Beijing including building the Forbidden City and rebuilding of city wall of the moat, this huge project was completed in 1420, eighteenth year of his reign. In 1421 Zhudi issued the edict officially moving the capital to Beijing. The Forbidden City covers an area of 72 hectares with 9,999 rooms, what is the significance of this number? According to Chinese mythology, only the Jade Emperor in heaven have right to a perfect palace with 10,000 rooms. And the emperor, the son of heaven, or have a fewer rooms, so there are 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City. Moreover, as the number 9 in Chinese is pronounced the same as the word for longevity, and in the old feudal society in which the spiritedness of the verbal expressions emphasized, the number of 9,999 also implied long years of the imperial reign. The Chinese name of the Palace is also associated with Yingyang according to each Chinese astrology, was the place for the Emperor of Heaven lived, so the son of heaven, lived in the palace supposed to be a sort of earthly Yinyang, soldering in the Forbidden City is like walking along the corridor of ancient Chinese history and culture. You can visit the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony where emperors lived and administered the political and government affairs. You can also see the Chinese culture and art treasures from ancient times at Exhibition Hall of Cultural relics, the Treasure Gallery, the Painting’s Gallery, the Ming and Qing Art crafts Gallery, the Partery Gallery, the Bronze Gallery and Clock Gallery. In Feudal times only emperor could have right to pass through the three middle gates, civil officials used the east gates and military officials used the west gates. Today of course, everyone can go to in and out through the middle gate.