The Forbidden City was the home of China's emperors until they were driven from power. It has since been turned into a museum and it has become one China's most popular attractions. It is definitely something that you are going to want to visit if you go to China.
The Forbidden City is the palace from which Chinese Emperors ruled for more than five hundred years. Construction started in 1407 and was completed by 1420. The palace would remain in use until the last Chinese Emperor was driven from power in 1924. The name Forbidden City comes from the fact that nobody was allowed to enter or leave the palace without the emperors permission. Since the last emperor left the site has been turned into a museum where it houses a massive collection of artwork.
The Forbidden City really can be thought of as a city and not just a palace, the site is huge. At more than seventy two hectares and with more than nine hundred buildings it is not only the largest palace complex in the world but also the largest collection of preserved wood buildings. The palace was divided into two main sections, the area where the emperor lived and the area where he conducted the business of government. The living area is referred to as the inner city and it is surrounded by the outer city which is where government business was done.
The Forbidden city is surrounded by a wall that is twenty six feet high and made mainly of compacted earth and covered with bricks. Outside of the wall is a moat that is more than one hundred and seventy feet wide. Most of the buildings inside of the palace are made of wood and the design of them has had a massive influence in Asian architecture.
These days the Forbidden City is used as a museum and it holds well over a million important artifacts. The most important of these are works of art from throughout China's history. It will come as no surprise to learn that the most popular of the exhibits are of pottery. In addition there are paintings, bronzeware and jade sculptures. There are also a number of important artifacts from life in the imperial court.
The Forbidden City is a a massively popular tourist attraction. Located right in the heart of Beijing it is easy to get to so it attracts huge crowds. The number of people who are allowed to visit the site each day is limited to eighty thousand, this number is easily reached on holidays and even on many weekends. Therefore you will find that midweek is the best time to visit. Even then you should expect to spend a considerable time standing in line. Combine this with the four hours or so it will take you to tour the site and it will pretty much take a whole day to visit the Forbidden City.
