Forbidden City, Beijing Palace Museum, Gugong Tour Guide, China

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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

A bird's eye view of Forbidden City

Forbidden City Pictures

Forbidden City Maps

Forbidden City Video

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Forbidden City -- General introduction

Our Tour Group in front of
Hall of Supreme Harmony

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.

Forbidden City, Beijing

Gate of Heavenly Purity

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.

Click the map to enlarge it, or
go for more Maps of 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. Subway Line 2: get off at Qianmen Station and walk north through the Tiananmen Tower.
Bus Route:	Take bus 101, 103, 109 or 814 and get off at Gugong Station. Take bus 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 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

Recommended Nearby Hotels:
Shatan Hotel, Beijing Red Wall Hotel, Beijing King Parkview Hotel Beijing

Next: Virtual Guide of Forbidden City

Q & A on Forbidden City

Jul. 29,2010 11:08 Reply

Mr.SAMI88(China) said:

hello..
i am a foreigner student in china,and i have valid university id card.can i get student discount on entrance ticket of forbidden city and other places like tiananmen square,temple of heaven,zoo,aquarium,world park etc
if possible,then houw much concession i can get?

Jul. 30,2010 04:23
Mr.dsd replied:

yes, you can get student discount on the ticket fare. Usually 50% off. But it depends on the rules of the specific sites. BTW, Tiananmen Square doesn't need a ticket.

Jul. 27,2010 23:13 Reply

Mrs.Almon(USA) said:

Can one visit the Forbidden City, leave it to have lunch, and return to finish touring all on the same ticket, same day?

Jul. 29,2010 01:14
Mr.Jamie replied:

No, you can not get in again if leave it, or you buy another ticket. You can also take some bread or cookies and water of course.

Jul. 15,2010 09:20 Reply

Mrs.vicky reyes(philippines) said:

hi..i will be going to Beijing on Nov 2-7..is this ample time to visit Beijing? I will be with my husband n our 9 year old daughter..What would the weather be like during these days? Please help me find a hotel near the Forbidden City that's clean and not too expensive..thanks

Jul. 16,2010 02:20
Mrs.chris(AU) replied:

The best time to visit Beijing is sep-oct. But i think early vov will be fine.
Hotels:
TianRui Hotel, Beijing
• Address:No. 15, Bai Shu Hutong, Dong Cheng District,Beijing, China,100006
• Location:Tian'an Men Square/Wangfujing Avenue
• Direction:It is only 3 minutes walk to the oriental plaza and other famous shopping malls. It's 1.2 km to the Tiananmen square and forbidden city, 2 km to the railway station and 30-min drive to Beijing international airport.
• Surrounding:Wangfujing Area
Starway Tianan Rega Hotel Beijing
• Address:TianAn Mansion, Hualong Jie, Nan Heyan Street, Dongcheng District,Beijing, China,100006
• Location:Tian'an Men Square/Wangfujing Avenue
• Direction:* Capital Int'l Airport: 28 km; 50 min; CNY 120; * Train Station: 5 km; 20 min; CNY 20; * Western Train Station: 8 km; 30 min; CNY 40; * City Center: 1 km
• Surrounding:Tianan Men Square, Wangfujing Avenue

Shatan Hotel, Beijing
• Address:No. 28, Shatan Hou Jie,Beijing, China,100009
• Location:Tian'an Men Square/Wangfujing Avenue
• Direction:Located in the city center, it is next to the Forbidden City, and the west is Jinshan Park and Beihai Park.
• Surrounding:City center

Jul. 20,2010 21:03
Ms.alma replied:

i think visit beijng on Oct.
there will be good sight

now i am in beijing

hot

Jul. 9,2010 02:52 Reply

Mr.tang(canada) said:

can we buy admission ticket and visit forbidden city on our own or do we need to join a tour in order to get in. We want to explore slowly and how long would it take us?

Jul. 9,2010 03:58
Mr.asd(USA) replied:

Of couse, you can buy the ticket by yourself. I've been there once and only finished half of it with the afternoon. I did explore it slowly.

Jun. 8,2010 05:28 Reply

Ms.nooni(Oman ) said:

hi all !!
am going to Beijing in 23-6-2o10 >>to 28-6
can u give me some great places to visit
because its gonna be my first time there
and i would like to know the hotels and some shopping mall ....
( what,s more i wanna no the weather too !!!

thanx !!!

Jun. 8,2010 21:54
Ms.Kate replied:

Hi,there
Apart from the Forbidden City, you should visit Badaling Great Wall, Tian'anmen Square, the Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, the Temple of Heaven and some hutongs and courtyards. Beijing has lots to offer. It can keep the most energetic tourist busy for one week. How long will you stay there for the tour?

Jun. 17,2010 23:12
Mr.John(USA) replied:

I would recommend reading Peking by Juliet Bredon and Twilight in the Forbidden City before you go to understand the history. The Peking book was written in the 1920's - it will give you an appreciateion of the city. And Twilight in the Forbidden City became the movie the Last Emperor. Both books are available on Amazon.com
Enjoy your trip!