THE FORBIDDEN CITY
INTRODUCTION PART I
2.38
Its Chinese name, Zǐjìnchéng, means forbidden purple city, because the ancient Chinese astronomers believed that the Purple Star, or the Pole Star, marked the center of heaven, and...
INTRODUCTION PART II
2.40
Before your visit to the Forbidden City, it might be useful to have some general information to give you a better understanding of this centuries-old palace complex and the functions of its various...
MERIDIAN GATE
2.35
The Meridian Gate is also known as the Five Phoenix Turrets, a reference to the five tower pavilions around it. The central tower, with two glazed tile roofs, is 60 meters high and sits on a...
HALL OF LITERARY GLORY AND HALL OF MILITARY EMINENCE
2.29
The Hall of Literary Glory is an elegant building formed by two small pavilions, linked by a long corridor. The rear part is the Hall of Main Respect, a structure similar to the front hall, but...
HALL OF SUPREME HARMONY
2.49
The Gate of Supreme Harmony will take you into a 30,000-square-meter square, dominated by the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It is the largest wooden building in China from its time to have survived, and...
HALL OF PERFECT HARMONY AND HALL OF PRESERVING HARMONY
2.45
The Hall of Perfect Harmony is the smallest of the three main pavilions in the Forbidden City, although it still measures an impressive 580 square meters. As you can see, it is a square, pagoda-shaped...
PALACE OF HEAVENLY PURITY
2.49
It’s now time to visit the Inner Court.
The Gate of Heavenly Purity leads into the palace of the same name. It’s a smaller version of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and since it was regarded...
HALL OF CELESTIAL AND TERRESTRIAL UNION AND PALACE OF EARTHLY TRANQUILITY
2.30
The Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union was the throne room of the empress, where she would receive guests or meet with the concubines, princesses and the wives of the princes.
It was created...
IMPERIAL GARDEN
2.41
Behind the Palace of Earthly Tranquility is the Gate of Earthly Tranquility with the imperial physicians’ surgery and dispensary and the room reserved for the eunuchs, the castrated servants of...
BUILDINGS WEST SIDE I
2.31
From the Imperial Garden, move on to the Western Palaces.
The six palaces you can see here are related mostly with the Dowager Empress Cixi, who governed China for 47 long years, from the death of...
BUILDINGS WEST SIDE II
2.37
The Palace of the Queen Consort was the areas reserved for the emperors’ favorite concubines. If you look carefully, you can see two pairs of rusted iron rings hanging from the beam on the...
BUILDINGS WEST SIDE III
2.36
Not far from the six Western Palaces, you’ll find the large Hall of Mental Cultivation. The front part was where the emperor took care of administrative matters, while the rear part contained...
BUILDINGS EAST SIDE I
2.32
On the opposite side from the palaces in the west wing, you’ll find the six Eastern Palaces where the princes and the emperor’s concubines lived. Built in 1420, they were restored in the...
BUILDINGS EAST SIDE II
2.42
The Palace of Great Benevolence has maintained its original layout to this day. If you enter through the main gate, you’ll see a stone screen said to be a relic from the Yuan dynasty, which...
