The Forbidden City is the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. In 1961, the Forbidden City was listed as one of the important historical monuments under the special preservation by the Chinese central government. In 1987, it was nominated as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. There are thousands of visitors touring Forbidden City from all over the world.

The splendid and gorgeous architecture of the Forbidden City reflects the essence and culmination of traditional Chinese architectural accomplishment and the intelligence of Chinese people.

Forbidden City lies in the center of Beijing. It has two Chinese names.  Gugong and Zijincheng are both ok. In history, there were twenty-four emperors making Forbidden City as the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City covers an area of about 72 hectares (178 acres) which is approximately equivalent to a total of floor space of 150,000 square meters (1,600,000 square feet).

The Forbidden City is made up of 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts, namely the southern section and northern section. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. In order to show the supreme power getting from God, the place where the emperor lived was in the center of the world, and all the gates, palace and other structures of the Forbidden City were arranged around the south-north central axis of Beijing.

Nowadays, the Forbidden City, or the Palace Museum is open to tourists from home and abroad. Splendid painted decoration on these royal architectural wonders, the grand and deluxe halls, with their surprisingly magnificent treasures will certainly satisfy 'modern civilians'.

Address: No.4 Jingshan Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Telephone: 01065131892
Fare: CNY 60 from 1st Apr to 31th Oct
        CNY 40 from 1st Nov to 31th Mar
Transportation:
Metro: take line 1 to Tiananmen Xi or Tiananmen Dong station, and then walk towards Tiananmen Tower to enter the Forbidden City
Bus: take bus 101, 103, 109, 124, 202, 685 or 814 and get off at Gugong (Forbidden City) Station