The Forbidden City was the abode of the Chinese Emperors, their families, staff and government officials. It was occupied by emperors from Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the most significant symbols of ancient Chinese. An amazing architectural complex in China.

1. (THE FORBIDDEN CITY)

2. The Forbidden City is called the Purple Forbidden City 紫禁城
(Zǐjìnchéng) in Chinese. It is the home of the Palace Museum
故宫博物院 (Gùgōng Bówùyuàn).
Measuring 961 meters in length and 753 meters in width, the
Forbidden City is composed of more than 90 palace
compounds including 98 buildings and surrounded by a moat
as wide as 52 meters.
The Forbidden City was the political and ritual center of China
for over 500 years. After its completion in 1420, the
Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors, their families and
servants during the Ming (1368–1644) and the Qing (1644–
1911) dynasties. The last occupant (who was also the last
emperor of imperial China), Puyi (1906–67), was expelled in
1925 when the precinct was transformed into the Palace
Museum. Although it is no longer an imperial precinct, it
remains one of the most important cultural heritage sites and
the most visited museum in the People’s Republic of China,
with an average of eighty thousand visitors every day.

3. Public and domestic spheres are clearly divided in the
Forbidden City. The southern half, or the outer court, contains
spectacular palace compounds of supra-human scale. This
outer court belonged to the realm of state affairs, and only
men had access to its spaces. It included the emperor’s
formal reception halls, places for religious rituals and state
ceremonies, and also the Meridian Gate (Wumen) located at
the south end of the central axis that served as the main
entrance.