The Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty is popularly known as the Forbidden City. This is the world's largest surviving palace complex. With its centre of power in the middle kingdom for more than 500 years, the Forbidden City is one of the main attractions in China. Still remaining one of the most important cities in the civic scheme of Beijing, construction of this place lasted for 15 years, and required more than a million workers. Their age long diligence really paid off as it is still counted among the popular historical places of the world.
Situated in the middle of Beijing, China and at present housing the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420. The complex of this magnificent architecture consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers an area of about 720,000 square meters. For roughly five centuries, the Forbidden City served as the home of the Emperor and his family, and also as the ceremonial and political centre of the Chinese government.
The Forbidden City in China is bound on three sides by breathtaking majestic gardens and the Jingshan Park to the north. The Coal Hill is an artificial hill formed from the soil excavated to build the moat and from nearby lakes. From its overall layout to the smallest detail, the design of the Forbidden City was planned meticulously, which reflects the philosophical and religious principles, and above all symbolizes the dignity of Imperial power. The majestic grandeur attached with this city is not to be found in many other places of the world.
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Epitomizing traditional Chinese palatial architecture on the palace complex, the Forbidden City has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere in the world. One of the special attractions of China, it was declared a World Heritage Site in the year 1987. Forbidden City in China has also been listed by the UNESCO as the largest collection of conserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
Since the year 1924, the Forbidden City has been under the care and patronage of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. At present the Palace Museum is hauling out a sixteen-year restoration project to mend and renovate all buildings in the Forbidden City to their pre-1912 state. Some of the museum's previous collected works is now situated in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
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