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Forbidden City (Palace Museum)

 Virtual Guide
 Forbidden City Travel Tips

Forbidden City Attractions:
   Meridian Gate
   Hall of Literary Glory & Hall of Martial Valor
   Gate of Supreme Harmony
   Hall of Supreme Harmony
   Hall of Central Harmony
   Hall of Preserved Harmony
   Gate of Heavenly Purity
   Palace of Heavenly Purity
   Hall of Celestial & Terrestrial Union
   Palace of Earthly Tranquility
   Hall of Mental Cultivation
   Six Western Palaces
   Hall for Ancestry Worship
   Six Eastern Palaces
   Palace of Tranquil Longevity
   Treasure Gallery
   Qianlong Garden & Pavilion of Pleasant Sounds
   Imperial Garden
   Moat, Corner Towers and Gates

Forbidden City Beijing China
Forbidden City (Palace Museum), Beijing


       
 Forbidden City Pictures

 Forbidden City Maps

 Forbidden City Video
     

     Recommended Tours including
         the visit to Forbidden City
:
         Beijing Highlights Tour:
         4 Days to Forbidden City
         Beijing Hutong Tour:
         5 Days to Forbidden City & Hutong

Forbidden City  -- General introduction

Beijing Palace Museum Map
Click the map to enlarge it, or
go for more Maps of Forbidden City
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. 

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.

The bronze statue of dragon-tortoise    The grand Forbidden City

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.

 Beijing Bus / Subway Search

Next: Virtual Guide of Forbidden City

Q & A Search:

Q & A on Forbidden City

1.

Feb. 8,2010 18:38 Reply

Mr.sues(Ukraine) said:

this place is horrible

2.

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.

3.

Jan. 18,2010 16:25 Reply

Ms.ueoiu(usa) said:

hello i cant find how much it would cost to gt to china

Jan. 18,2010 20:06
Mr.Goodman replied:

You can find the info. on this page:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/cost.htm

Jan. 18,2010 19:23
Ms.KAYE(China) replied:

It all depends on what cities and sights you choose in your trip.

4.

Jan. 9,2010 19:18 Reply

Mr.W. West(Canada) said:

My wife and I plan on a 5-6 day stay in the Beijing area, what woould you recommend for hotels in order to access the best tours of the sites? Should we use one hotel or move around?

Jan. 10,2010 19:16
Ms.KAYE(China) replied:

Mr. W. West:
If you travel by yourself, I suggest you live in Wangfujing area.
The 5-star hotel: Crowne Plaza Hotel Beijing , Wangfujing Grand Hotel
The 4-star hotel: Novotel Peace Hotel, Park Plaza
The 3-star hotel: Days Inn Forbidden City, Beijing Wangfujing Xintiandi Hotel
The hotel location is quite convenient. You needn’t move around.

5.

Dec. 26,2009 04:50 Reply

Ms.sussie said:

Hi, may I know what bus can I take to forbidden city from Peking University? How long will the journey be?

Dec. 27,2009 21:52
Ms.KAYE(China) replied:

Hello
You can take bus No.814 at the East Gate of Peking University and stop at Forbidden City. Then you will arrive at Shenwumen, the north gate of Forbidden City.

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