The Forbidden City
Located in central Beijing, the Forbidden City was the home of China's imperial court for five hundred years, till the early 20th century.
First constructed in the early 15th century, the Forbidden City is the largest existent complex of classical architecture in China. Rectangular in shape, the compound covers approximately 20 acres of land, the adjacent and much larger royal gardens not included. It is protected in all four directions by a wall that is 30 feet in height, which in turn is surrounded by a moat that measures 57 yards across.
Based on its various functions, the Forbidden City was divided into two major sections. The front - southern - part of complex was where the emperor granted audiences and discussed state affairs with his ministers. Three major structures - the Hall of Great Peace, the Hall of Central Peace, and the Hall of Secured Peace ¨C constitute the focal point of this part of the Forbidden City, which are surrounded by numerous other buildings that used to house imperial guards and staff. After dealing with businesses of the day, the emperor would retreat to the northern part of the Forbidden City, which was the residential quarters for the imperial household. This was the most private section of the Forbidden City, where no males were allowed other than the emperor himself and members of his immediate family. Dominating this part of the Forbidden City were the Hall of Male Purity, the Hall of Female Tranquility, and,in between these two, the Hall of Great Union.
It is said that there are a total of 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City. It was so designed as not to exceed the full number of 10,000, which, according to traditional Chinese beliefs, would be too much, even for the imperial family, and the excessive pride would spoil the good fortune of the dynasty.
Such precautions notwithstanding, the last imperial dynasty of China, the Qing Dynasty, fell in 1911. According to the original agreement reached between the Qing Court and the republican revolutionaries who overthrew the royal rule, the emperor would abdicate from the throne in exchange for the right to continue to reside in the Forbidden City. The agreement broke down in the 1920s, however, when Puyi, the dethroned emperor, was accused by the republicans of harboring the ambition for imperial restoration. The former emperor, along with his family, was consequently expelled from their imperial residency. This partly contributed to Puyi's flight to Manchuria during World War II, where, with the backing of the Japanese occupation authority, he served as the monarch of a short-lived Manchurian state. This story was nicely captured in the film The Last Emperor, which also features some marvelous views of the Forbidden City itself.
In 1925 the Forbidden City was formally turned into a national museum, where much of China's imperial treasure is in storage or on display today.
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