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The Forbidden City was the imperial palace used during the time of the Qing and Ming dynasties; it was used by the emperors to carry out their legal and administrative duties. They ruled the city and their people from behind the high walls, which surrounded the Forbidden City. The City was completed in 1420 and is now considered as the biggest palace complex in the world.
The Forbidden City, also known as Gu Gong in Chinese, is rectangular in shape; it covers about 74 hectares and is bordered by a six meter deep moat and a high wall measuring about 10 meters high which has about 9000 buildings around it. The moat and the wall both have a gate on their sides. On the South side of the city is the Tian an men Square; it has a gate at the center which faces the Gate of Divine Might (Shenwumen). The distance between the two gates is about 960 meters in the east and west directions (lengthwise); the distance between the gates (north-south) measures about 750 meters. On the four corners of the curtained walls, are beautifully designed unique towers. These towers allow visitors to see the views of the city from over the palace. The Forbidden City has two divisions; The South division and the North division. The Outer courts or the South division was the part where the emperor stayed when he gained supreme power over the nation, while the Inner courts known as the North division was where he lived with his family. After the republican revolution in 1911, he relinquished his power to the throne; even though he did not have any political power afterwards, he and his family continued to live in the complex of the palace. They were eventually expelled from the Forbidden City by the republican troops. It was in that same year that the palace was given the name "Palace Museum" and was finally opened to the public. After people were allowed to see inside the walls, they realized that the Forbidden City had a lot of treasures which are cherished and continue to play a part in China’s history today. Historically, the Forbidden City was also known as the Purple Forbidden City. The purple signified the symbolic color of the majestic Emperor of Heaven that was built in the many palaces in the North Star region. The North Star is represented by the color purple. This is why commoners were not allowed to enter the Purple Forbidden City back in those days. But years after it was opened to the public, the color was changed to yellow. This color symbolizes the royal family and is now the main color in the Forbidden City. The roofs, designs, bricks and all the decorations are all painted yellow. However, the royal library, Wenyuange, has a black roof because it was believed that black was synonymous to water which was used to quench fire. The Forbidden City was listed in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage and is now a major tourist destination in China. Today, tourists from all over the globe can visit and stroll around the Forbidden City to enjoy the extraordinary treasures and the architectural design of the palace. This is also where they increase their knowledge about the lives, anecdotes and intrigues which took place among the imperial royal families in the past. With the Forbidden City, tourists will understand the legend and stories which contributed to the interesting history that the Chinese people are very much proud of. |
