THE FORBIDDEN CITY, Introduction Part I

Hi, my name’s Marcy, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Forbidden City.

With an area of 720,000 square meters, 980 buildings and a total of 8707 rooms, the Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world.

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 since the emperor was considered the Son of Heaven, his residence should be a purple palace. No-one was allowed to enter the city without the emperor’s permission, under penalty of death.

The Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420 by Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, in the place where the imperial palaces of the previous dynasties once stood. Over one million people were involved in building the complex, including manual laborers, craftsmen and artists. The buildings you’ll see are made mostly in wood and marble, while the floors and roofs are in ceramics....