Forbidden City

The Forbidden City in Beijing is said to be the best-preserved imperial palace complex in the world. The home of 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 to 1912), the Forbidden City was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. The Forbidden City sits in central Beijing facing Tiananmen Square, and has been designated as a National Palace Museum. The Forbidden City is counted as one of the world's five Palaces (the Forbidden City in Beijing, the French Palace of Versailles, Buckingham Palace, the White House, and the Kremlin). The palace of the Forbidden City is China's largest and most significant ancient architectural complex, with a total area of over 720 thousand square meters. How to Visit the Forbidden City Since the Forbidden City, as you know, has more than 9,999 buildings , it is very easy to get lost for one who is not familiar with Chinese architectural layout, though it is symmetrical. Now I will take you for a virtual tour around the mysterious palace complex. Follow me and don't get yourself lost! Now start your tour in the Forbidden City from Wumen, called Meridian Gate in English. It is also named Five-Phoenix Tower, Wufenglou in Chinese, for it looks like a phoenix with five pavilion buildings up there. It's the main gate and the south gate of the Forbidden City . Inside the Meridian Gate, there appear Inner Golden Water Bridges. Water flows beneath these white marble bridges. The GoldenWaterRiver of this section is very gorgeous, well-decorated. The riverbed and the bank were paved with white stones. Decorative marble columns and banisters were established along the river. Standing on the bridges, one can see a grand structure called Taihemen (Gate of Supreme Harmony), which is the most marvelous gate in the city and guarded by a couple of bronze lions in front. On the square between Taihemen and Wumen, imperial honor guards proceeded with preparations before grand ceremonies. The three main halls of the outer court, Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), Zhonghedian (Hall of Central Harmony), and Baohedian (Hall of Preserved Harmony), sit in line inside the gate. These halls all sit on three-tier marble terraces, with marble balustrades decorated. A stone ramp carved with coiled dragons and clouds is located in the middle of the steps leading up to each hall. The ramp of Baohedian (Hall of Preserved Harmony) is the largest one. The first and grandest hall is Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), where emperors executed their autocracy over the whole country. I