The architecture wonder and world-famous attraction lies in the center of Beijing north of Tiananmen Square and was home to 24 emperors in the Ming and Qing Dynasties during its five centuries of use. It is the world's largest palace complex, covering 74 hectares surrounded by a six meter deep moat and ten meter tall walls. There are a totally of 9,999 buildings divided into outer court in the south, used by the emperor to rule over China, and the inner court in the north where the emperor's family resided. Within these buildings, lies numerous treasures collected over the five centuries of use making this attraction a World Cultural Heritage Site since 1987.
The construction of the Forbidden city took 14 years, from 1407 to 1420, and a million workers including 100,000 artisan. The building of this palace shows the ingenuity and intelligence of the Ancient Chinese. For example, the brick used were make from white lime and glutinous rice which made walls that were extraordinarily strong. The dominant color of the palace is yellow since that is color of the royal family and thus, you will see that the roofs, decoration and even the floor tiles are yellow.
It is called the "Forbidden City" because no one was allowed in or out of it. Nowadays, the Forbidden City, or the Palace Museum is open to tourists from home and abroad. A visit to the Forbidden city reveal the splendor and beauty of ancient Chinese architecture and artifacts. It is truly a must-see!
