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Recommended Tours including the visit Forbidden 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. Sunbway 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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Travelers' Voices on Forbidden City
1.
Nov. 16,2009 12:48 Reply
Ms.Angelica(Arizona) said:
I would want to visit china and see the forbidden city does it look old and all...
Nov. 16,2009 21:53
Mr.Henry replied:
Dude, it is more than old. just read more before you go to visit. Really great place.
2.
Nov. 9,2009 21:55 Reply
Ms.Mai(America) said:
aha！I Love China，and also love everythings about China
De forbidden City is awsome to me，very cool
3.
Oct. 18,2009 11:06 Reply
Ms.Pabla said:
There's a really good book on this kind of stuff; if anyone's interested it's called "Forbidden City by William Bell XD. Although it's a novel It highlights a lot of china's main attractions while reading a good story (If ya know what I mean xP).
Oct. 28,2009 03:01
Mr.Saracolgrex(Turkish) replied:
ya, i read da book!
Very goodie!
Nov. 4,2009 14:15
Mrs.wiggins(30331) replied:
yeah it is a very intresed thing that i learning nbout
4.
Oct. 27,2009 12:38 Reply
Mrs.Yanishioka(Japan) said:
i love dee uhhh forbidden city.
I read a book somewhere about it and it was so very interesting !
I could just see myself sitting down and pondering the city while eating crumpets and drinking a hot, steamy cup of tea.
thank you so very much !
I'm so glad I finally found a site where I can express my love of Beijing!
I could just rant on and on about how great life and reading is, but I must get back to my studies.
love and lots of kisses and hugs,
Mrs. Yanishioka
:)
♥
5.
Oct. 15,2009 07:44 Reply
Ms.Agogo(Malaysia) said:
Thanks Mr Josh..
Is taking a cab faster ? As this is the first time I visit Beijing and would like to fully optimize my transit time, would like to spend time on visiting places of interest than on the road.
Do I still have time to visit other places (my connecting flight is at 1am)?
Any feedback and recommendation is greatly appreciated !
Oct. 15,2009 20:55
Ms.Abby replied:
Dear Ms.Agogo
The transit method Josh told you is the fastest. Subway is the most convenient transportation mode as they leave exactly according to the time schedule without traffic jam. Just follow his suggestion.
You can visit Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and places of interest on its four edge, Jingshan Park, Beihai Park. These places are great and also near each other, convenient for you in view of your time limitation.
Oct. 15,2009 21:13
Mr.josh replied:
Hi, Ms.Agogo, you could take a cab, 50 minutes will be enough without traffic jam, and the taxi fee is around CNY150.00 one way.
Besides, at least 1 hour will be needed for the check out after your arrival, and you need to reach the airport at least 3 hours ahead for the connecting flight. It seems time is not enough for you to visit other places.
6.
Oct. 15,2009 08:52 Reply
Mrs.Mary(Iran) said:
I will come to China for Goangzho exhibition but after 3rd phase and before coming back(at 8pm on Nov 5) I want to visit some Beijing attraction specially the Forbidden city and Great wall. Could you guide me how many houres I need to be in Beijing?
Can I see both of them in 1 day before my flight?
Oct. 15,2009 20:44
Mr.Aaron replied:
One day is not enough for both Forbidden City and Great Wall. Forbidden City and Great Wall are all large attractions that worth your visit. You can choose either one of them as your main target and visit other places near them.
7.
Oct. 15,2009 01:41 Reply
Ms.Agogo(Malaysia) said:
HI... what is the best way to get to the forbidden city from Beijing airport and how long does it take if my plane touch down around 9am ? My next connecting flight is at 1am the next day, any other recommended places that I should visit ?
Oct. 15,2009 03:17
Mr.Josh replied:
You could take the airport express to reach Dongzhimen Station firstly, and transfer to subway line 2, then change to subway line 1 at Jianguomen Station, get off from Subway line 1 at Tiananmen East Station, you will reach Tiananmen Square, and it takes at most 1 hour for the transportation. You may visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City which are the significant attractions.
8.
Oct. 5,2009 02:10 Reply
Ms.Megan(USA) said:
Will places such as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace be closed during Chinese New Year? I am planning to visit between February 12-14. Thank you.
9.
Sep. 30,2009 17:57 Reply
Mr.Roger(USA) said:
Is there a calendar posted somewhere for dates when the Forbidden City is and is not open? I will be there October 24 and am hoping it will be open!
10.
Sep. 30,2009 02:36 Reply
Mr.Perry(U.S.A.) said:
I am planning on traveling to Beijing during the last week of January or the first week of February. Will the Forbidden City be open during this time?
Sep. 30,2009 02:58
Ms.Molly replied:
Yes, it opens. There is no national holidays during those days.