The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was built in 1420. It has a history of more than 600 years. It is the most important and complete architectural complex of palaces preserved in the world today. In total 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties resided in this palace.
The Forbidden City covers an area of 72 hectares and is said to have 9,999 rooms. It is a World Cultural Heritage Site and represented the center of power of China's feudal society and a testimony of modern history.
Highlights of The Forbidden City
The Imperial Palace is very large. Generally, there are three visiting routes: the eastern, central and western routes. Any of the three routes passes through the Hall of Supreme Harmony, popularly known as the Throne Room, one of the Three Great Halls. Two other rooms are called Central Harmony and Preserved Harmony. The throne is in that of Supreme Harmony, it was where the official ceremonies were held. In addition, it is the largest construction in the entire palace, with a surface area of 2,377 square meters and a height of 35 meters, the maximum height in the entire capital at that time. No other building could exceed that height. The Central Harmony Hall was where the emperor rested before going to official ceremonies. The courtiers here also informed him of the preparations for these events. The Hall of Preserved Harmony was where they had the imperial banquets and examinations. Near the north gate there is a very beautiful garden called the Imperial Garden, a very pleasant place to walk. Among the three routes, the eastern one is the most popular because it allows you to visit the Jewelry Collection. Each of them has its own history and its own legend.
There are one and a half million relics in the Forbidden City, within which are countless jewels. Only part of them is exhibited here. In this place everything that shines is gold and all the stones are precious or semi-precious: jade, emerald, agate, etc. travelers will be dazzled by the amount of gold, diamonds, pearls, rubies, lapis lazuli. And all with incredible craftsmanship. It is a tremendous visual delight. Apart from the nobility of the material, what undoubtedly gives it added value is the craftsmanship, imagination and creativity. Ancient Chinese craftsmen ingeniously took advantage of the natural shape and colors of the material to create a work of art of unique aesthetic effect.
One of the characteristics of the Imperial Palace is the perfect conservation of its buildings and decoration, which are in full harmony with the relics and jewels on display and retain their original flavor, which gives them added value and a unique and incomparable aesthetic to them. travelers.
In the Forbidden City, apart from solemn buildings for official events, there are many collections: for example, bronze, clocks, paintings, porcelain, etc. To see them all, it takes a lot of time and several visits.
