Forbidden City has known as the Palace Museum, it located in the center of the city, Beijing, the capital of China. It has regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces in the world and also list as one of the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

History of Forbidden City
Forbidden City built began in 1406 in the reign of Ming Emperor Yongle and took 14 years to complete it. It was used as the palace where emperor and his family lived and handled court business. In 500 years, in total there are 24 emperors include 14 of the Ming and 10 of the Qing, ruled the country from there.

Structures of Forbidden City
Forbidden City in Winter

Situated in the total area of 72 hectares, the rectangular palace city has totally 8,707 rooms. It is divided into two parts, the Inner Court and Outer Court. The Inner Court was the place emperor lived with his family and the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the country. At past, no one can enter the palace complex without emperor permission.

Almost all the rooftops in the Forbidden City are finished with yellow glazed tiles. This colour was chosen as, at the time, yellow was the official colour of the Chinese emperor. When you come to Forbidden City, you also can see each building’s roof is decorated with a line of small statues, with the importance of the building determining how many it featured. The highest number is ten for the emperor.

Three Great Halls inside Forbidden City
Main Palaces in Forbidden City

In Forbidden City, there are some important historical sites that you should not miss, include Hall of the Supreme Harmony, Hall of Middle Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony. Those 3 halls were known as the great hall, the heart of Forbidden City. Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most important and largest structures in the Forbidden City. It was used for ceremonial occasions, such as, emperor birthday, the nomination of military leaders and coronations.

Behind Hall of Supreme Harmony is the smaller Hall of Middle Harmony which was used as the emperor transit lounge. Here he would make last minute preparations, rehearse speeches and receive close ministers.

And the third hall called Hall of Preserving Harmony which was used for banquets and later for imperial examinations. Located in the Outer Palace or also called Front Palace, 3 famous great halls was the major important halls in the ancient times of China.

Transportation
1) Take the subway line 1 and get off at Tiananmen West or Tiananmen East station
2) Take Tourist Bus No. 1 or No. 5 and get off at Qianmen Station
3) By bus include many bus tour lines are able to reach Forbidden City