The Forbidden City (The Palace Museum)

The Forbidden City, or the Palace Museum, as one of China's foremost protected monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was established on the palace which was the ritual centre of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. In the neighborhood of Prospect Hill, Wangfujing and Zhongnanhai, The Forbidden City is a political location with cosmic significance to prove the legitimism of the emperor. Embedded with the implication of astrology, the emperor's abode is considered the pivot of the terrestrial world correlating with Ziweiyuan, the Pole Star, which is believed to be at the centre of heaven.

As the conspicuous landmark architecture in the movies and books, The Forbidden City is noted for its magnificence and symmetry. Surrounded by 10-meter high walls and a 52-meter wide moat, The Forbidden City covers an area of 720,000 square meters measuring 961 meters vertically from north to south and 753 meters horizontally from east to west. When entering into it, there are a succession of halls and palaces orderly arranged on either side and the planning of the architecture complex is worldly regarded as the achievement of the oriental architectonics.

Once inside, numerous treasures are displayed in the exhibition halls. More than 1,170,000 items, such as sacrificial vessels, porcelain, enamelware, gold ornaments, relics in bamboo, paintings and calligraphy from the early dynasties are divided into separate collections of antiquities, historical documents, library materials and so on for tourists to appreciate.

With the refurbishment of the main courts and halls, the Palace Museum has opened to display porcelain, bronzes, crafts, jewelry, paintings, calligraphy, etc. In recent years, thematic shows for the temporary period are held as well. The Palace Museum also borrows treasures for traveling exhibitions for both provincial museums and museums abroad.

For the convenience of your Beijing travel in China, below is a selection of nearby Beijing hotels. For more sightseeing attractions in Beijing, please visit our Beijing Tourism website for a map to guide your China tour and to find your ideal China hotel.

Datasupply / Sylvia / Daisy