The Forbidden City is located in the center of Beijing. Why is such an ancient imperial palace worth your visit? There are numerous reasons for you to visit the ancient wonder of China. At least, I know it is a city of wonders.
The Forbidden City has witnessed over 600 years of history since it was built in 1406 and witnessed the rise and fall of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1912). By the end of the Qing Dynasty 24 emperors had resided and died there. The Forbidden City was constructed under the order of the third emperor Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty, whose great achievements and cruelty are worthy of your hard research, and finally regarded as home by Pu Yi, the last emperor of China.
There are lots of grand buildings inside it. Probably the three grand halls named Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony should be, for they are the soul of the whole city, located in the center. Walking through the entrance Meridian Gate and the Gate of Supreme Harmony, you will enter the real place where the past Chinese emperors once lived and dealt with political affairs. The most important building that swarms into your eyes is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the highest and largest building in the whole city, where large ceremonies were once held including the enthronement of each emperor. In China, it is also called Gold Hall. Behind it is the Hall of Central Harmony, which is smaller and once served as the lounge for the emperor ready to hold the ceremony or be enthroned inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Behind this hall is the Hall of Preserving Harmony where students past various examinations gathered to be examined by the emperor himself in the Qing Dynasty.
Keep walking forward from the Hall of Preserving Harmony and through the Gate of Heavenly Purity, and you will enter the inner court. The inner court was the family residence of the emperor and was not open to the officials or civilians of that time. The three most important palaces are located in the inner court, named Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union and Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
Compared to the three grand halls, the three palaces look pale and even smaller and shorter. According to Chinese tradition, the inner court should be more of yin and the outer court where three grand halls stand should be more of yang. Females belong to yin and males belong to yang. In the past males were regarded more important than females, and that's why buildings of the inner court look less magnificent than those of the outer court. But stories happened in these court sound even more attractive.
The six west palaces are located west of the three palaces of the inner court and neighbors them. As we all know, an emperor usually has multiple wives, and these palaces are where the concubines of the emperor once lived. Many women living here had only met the emperor once or twice and died lonely then after, and some outstanding ones such as the notorious empress Cixi won the love and care of the emperor and became famous later. Empress Dowager Cixi once lived in the Palace of Gathered Elegance before she won the love of the emperor, and she squandered large sums of silver ingots to renovate this palace because she once lived there.
In fact, there are large numbers of other places and treasures to visit or view apart form the above places, including the turrets, which look amazing at night, and the moat, which looks beautiful in the picture framed with the turrets under a blue sky.
Opening hours and admission fee: April 1 - Oct. 31: 08:20-17:00 (60 RMB; ticket selling stops at 16:00); Nov. 1 - March 31: 08:30-16:30 (40 RMB; ticket selling stops at 15:30). The Palace Museum is closed on each Monday all year round.
