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Recommended Tours includingForbidden City -- General introduction
Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong in Chinese, was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 rooms. The wall has a gate on each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate of Divine Might (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park. The distance between these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the gates in the east and west walls is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. 
Click the map to enlarge it, or
go for more Maps of Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. 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. Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court, fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions world-wide.
Construction of the palace complex began in 1407, the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty. It was completed fourteen years later in 1420. It was said that a million workers including one hundred thousand artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor. Stone needed was quarried from Fangshan, a suburb of Beijing. It was said a well was dug every fifty meters along the road in order to pour water onto the road in winter to slide huge stones on ice into the city. Huge amounts of timber and other materials were freighted from faraway provinces.
Ancient Chinese people displayed their very considerable skills in building the Forbidden City. Take the grand red city wall for example. It has an 8.6 meters wide base reducing to 6.66 meters wide at the top. The angular shape of the wall totally frustrates attempts to climb it. The bricks were made from white lime and glutinous rice while the cement is made from glutinous rice and egg whites. These incredible materials make the wall extraordinarily strong.
Since yellow is the symbol of the royal family, it is the dominant color in the Forbidden City. Roofs are built with yellow glazed tiles; decorations in the palace are painted yellow; even the bricks on the ground are made yellow by a special process. However, there is one exception. Wenyuange, the royal library, has a black roof. The reason is that it was believed black represented water then and could extinguish fire.
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'.
You may start your tour by following our virtual guide.
| Admission Fee: | CNY 40 (Nov. 1 to Mar. 31); CNY 60 (Apr. 1 to Oct. 31) CNY 10 for the Treasure Gallery; CNY 10 for the Clock and Watch Gallery |
| Opening Hours: | 08:30 to 16:20 (Oct. 16-Apr.15); tickets not available after 15:30 08:30 to 17:00 (Apr. 16-Oct.15); tickets not available after 16:00 |
| Recommended Time for a Visit: | Three hours |
| Subway: | Subway Line 1: get off at Tiananmen West or Tiananmen East Station, walk north through the Tiananmen Tower (Gate of Heavenly Peace), and then you'll find the Meridian Gate (south gate) of the Forbidden City. Subway Line 2: get off at Qianmen Station and walk north through the Tiananmen Tower. |
| Bus Route: | Take bus no.101, 103, 109 or 814 and get off at Gugong Station. Take bus no.1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 52, 120 or 802 and get off at Tiananmen West or Tiananmen East Station, walk north through the Tiananmen Tower (Gate of Heavenly Peace), and then you'll find the Meridian Gate (south gate) of the Forbidden City. Take bus no.9, 17, 44, 48, 59, 66, 803, 808, 特4, 特7 or Tuanjiehu Special Line and get off at Qianmen, Qianmen West, or Qianmen East Station, and walk north through Tiananmen Square and you'll find the Forbidden City in front of you. |
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Q & A on Forbidden City
1.
Mar. 3,2010 03:25 Reply
Mr.CanadianInChina(China) said:
I'm sorry to say but these questions are ridiculous. "Can you cook in the forbidden city with a camping stove?, How can I leave again?" I think you should find out what you're talking about before you start asking all these silly questions... By the way, you are the only person i know of that speaks American. Everyone that I know from America speaks English.
Mar. 3,2010 11:37
Mrs.hannah (edinburgh) replied:
hey who made the forbidden city and when was it descoverd?
and please reply a.s.a.p thank you(Y)!
Mar. 3,2010 21:14
Mr.Kevin replied:
Mrs.Hannah,
“Construction of the palace complex began in 1407, the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty. It was completed fourteen years later in 1420. It was said that a million workers including one hundred thousand artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor.”
I suggest you read the article carefully before you raise your questions.
2.
Feb. 20,2010 13:32 Reply
Mr.Maxine(USA ) said:
couple of questions:
-how can I get a permit to visit the forbidden city?
- once I enter, how can I ensure I can leave again (I do not plan to stay in Beijing)
- I can only speak American, how can I communicate with the residents of the forbidden city?
- Since cell phones are not allowed, is there a way to send a telegram from inside the forbidden city?
- what provisions should I take? Is it possible to use cook inside the forbidden city? (I have a camping stove)
- my wife likes to take the children with her, but I don't want to leave them there. Is there a place they can wait for us to return?
- will a week be enough?
Thank you. I have never been to China, so I hope to have some answers soon
Feb. 21,2010 19:38
Mr.LITTLELIU(China) replied:
-As long as you buy ticket, you can visit Forbidden city. :)
-If you want to leave, you can, No body care this.
-Lots of Chinese can speak English.
-You can use cell phones, but no photo.
-You should leave Forbidden city when it close.
-kids isuuse is a hard problem, i cant help you.
-one week is so so.
Feb. 22,2010 03:38
Ms.ROOOP(China) replied:
well, in case you really don't know the answers to your question after googling the forbidden city, here are the answers you are looking for:
Forbidden city is a tourist cite, it was the palace where the emperors lived and worked, but now it's a museum. You don't need a permit to visit but you do need to buy tickets. It opens everyday from the around 8am to 16pm (go check the exact time by yourself when you are there). So you have to leave before it closes. There are no residents in the forbidden city, but they do have staff working there. They can speak a little English, I guess. You don't need to communicate with anyone, except when you are about to entering into places not opened. I don't think it's appropriate to leave your children to the staff there, because they all have work to do. There is no kingdergarden or kid;s playground there, so I'm afraind it's not a good idea not to take them with you all the time.
You can visit the City again and agian within a week everyday if you want to.
Feb. 22,2010 03:26
Ms.ROOOP(China) replied:
well, with all due respect, I think you are kidding about throwing out all these questions. Since you know how to surf on internet, go google the Forbidden City first and then ask a decent question as a tourist. No offense.
3.
Feb. 12,2010 04:04 Reply
Ms.Jane said:
The Opening Hours of Forbidden City will be adjusted temporarily on Feb 13 and Feb 14. It will be: 08:30~12:00 on Feb 13;tickets not available after 11:00
12:00~16:30 on Feb 14;tickets not available after 15:30
4.
Feb. 10,2010 00:34 Reply
Ms.Dejah(U.S) said:
Is there a special dress code for the forbidden city?
5.
Feb. 7,2010 08:32 Reply
Ms.chatterji(India) said:
are taxis allowed inside the forbidden city? if not is walking the only option?
Feb. 7,2010 19:53
Mr.wright(Canada) replied:
no they are not allowed. Yes it is along walk but there is lots of places to rest.
Feb. 7,2010 20:02
Ms.KAYE(China) replied:
It is definitely not allowed to take a taxi to the Forbidden City. It is museum and the only option is walking.