Forbidden City

Inscribed: 1987 Criteria: C (iii) (iv)

Seat of supreme power for over five centuries, the Forbidden City, with its landscaped gardens and many building (whose nearly 10000 rooms contain furniture and work of art), constitutes a priceless testimony to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

——WHC,UNESCO

Located in the very center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, known as the Palace Museum, was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Forbidden City was built by the 3rd emperor of Ming Dynasty in the early 15th century. With a vast army of 10000 craftsmen and 1 million laborers involved. The construction took 14 years from 1406-1421.Since then they were 26 emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties ruled from the Forbidden City for over 500 years.

Forbidden City divided into two parts: outer court and inner court, where the outer court was the place for ceremonies which marked great occasions and met the high officals.The inner court was the living palaces of the Emperors and Empresses.

In 1925 the Forbidden City was converted into a museum and opened to the public. It is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still standing.

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