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Forbidden City
★ UNESCO
World Heritage
Forbidden City

📷 Wikimedia Commons

Where in the world

China

The site

The imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties at the heart of Beijing, home to twenty-four emperors between 1420 and 1912. Behind a moat and a ten-metre wall spread almost a thousand timber halls on a strict north-south axis, their yellow-glazed roofs reserved for the sovereign. Ordinary subjects were forbidden to enter — hence its name — and its rooms are said to number close to 9,000. It is the largest surviving palace complex in the world, and since 1925 has housed the Palace Museum.

Field notes

civilizations
Imperial China
types
Palace
built
1,406 CE — 1,420 CE
occupied
1,420 CE — 1,912 CE
country
China

See it in 3D

3D capture Forbidden city model - 故宫模型 Naffis Tang ↗

Figures of this place

Laid to rest, born or died at Forbidden City

Yongzheng Emperor✶
Yongzheng Emperorborn hereemperor of Qing-dynasty China from 1722 to 1735 (1678–1735)
Tongzhi Emperor✶
Tongzhi Emperorborn hereemperor of the Qing Dynasty (1856-1875)
Daoguang Emperor✶
Daoguang Emperorborn hereQing-dynasty Chinese emperor (1782–1850)
Empress Dowager Ci'an†
Empress Dowager Ci'andied hereDowager empress of China (1837-1881)
Empress Xiaoyichun†
Empress Xiaoyichundied hereQing Dynasty empress
Empress Xiaozheyi†
Empress Xiaozheyidied hereQing Dynasty empress (1854–1875)
Empress Xiaoxianchun†
Empress Xiaoxianchundied herefirst wife of Qianlong Emperor, Qing Dynasty (1712-1748)
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang†
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuangdied hereempress dowager of Shunzhi Emperor, Qing Dynasty

Pictured through the ages

Artworks that portray Forbidden City

Map of the Grand Canal from Beijing to the Yangzi River
Map of the Grand Canal from Beijing to the Yangzi River1,800 CE
The fall of Pekin — scenes beneath the blood-stained walls of the Purple City.
The fall of Pekin — scenes beneath the blood-stained walls of the Purple City.
A portion of the Emperor of China's Summer Palace, near Pekin.
A portion of the Emperor of China's Summer Palace, near Pekin.

Chronicle

What happened at Forbidden City

  1. 1,542 CEPalace plot of Renyin year
  2. 1,813 CEEight Trigrams Uprising of 1813
  3. 2,020 CEWoman driving into Forbidden City incident

Nearby sites

Ming tombs ~40 km
Ming tombs China
Zhoukoudian ~46 km
Zhoukoudian China
Great Wall of China ~59 km
Great Wall of China China
Yungang Grottoes ~279 km
Yungang Grottoes China