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Forbidden City, Beijing
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Forbidden City
North of Tiananmen Square
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• 420 Reviews
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Forbidden City: It is forbidden to miss the Forbidden City
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  • An emperor's view of Forbidden City tourists - Beijing
    An emperor's view of Forbidden
    City tourists
    by Confucius, 4 more photos
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    This is number 1 of Beijing's 4 must sees (Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace are the other 3) The enormous size of the palace grounds and main halls makes you understand why the Chinese word for China literally translates as "Middle Kingdom". It is the true center of Beijing and, for Chinese people from the Ming through Qing dynasties, the center of the world.
    I always tell tourists to enter from the north gate instead of the south because the route leads you into Tiananmen Square. Starting from the north also gives you the panoramic view from atop Jingshan Park, which is best visited in the morning when the old folks are doing their tai chi and other exercises.
    The only advantage of entering the Forbidden City from Tiananmen Square is if you wish to rent the taped tour narrated by Roger Moore (one of the James Bond agent 007 actors) as following it requires you to proceed from south to north.
    Aside from the general entrance fee, be prepared to pay for extra tickets allowing you to see special exhibits and enter the Tiananmen rostrum. The Forbidden City now serves as a national museum so there are more interesting things to see inside other than just walking around the fascinating buildings.
    Take time to stray off the beaten path toward the eastern side of the palace as this is one of the best places to get those splendid photos with absolutely no people in them.
    In this modern era of commercialism displacing communism there is now a Starbuck's located inside the Forbidden City and some foreign tourists take pleasure in trying to discover its hidden whereabouts so I won't reveal its exact location. When you're near it, you will smell the coffee!

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  • Directions: Use the north entrance across the street from Jingshan Park

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    Forbidden City: The Place That Challenges Superlatives
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  • Main Entrance to The Forbidden City - Beijing
    Main Entrance to The Forbidden
    City
    by aussiedoug
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    THE FORBIDDEN CITY was our second stop on Day 1 just by walking through Tian an Men Square & heading for the big portrait of the late Chairman Mao. This place really did challenge for superlatives to describe it, but I have to be honest here that the very next day the Great Wall was beyond superlatives, but that tip will have to wait for a couple seeing I'm doing them chronologically.
    Apparently this complex of buildings set in a 72 000 m2 area sees the most visitors of any of China's attractions. I wonder if the Great Wall competes evenly with that. It is an amazing complex of buildings for different original purposes & our guide Jim gave us an incredible amount of information on each of these.
    He told us that construction of the original palace buildings first began in 1406 so at least some of these structures are just on 600 years old. He also mentioned something about 1 million labourers & over 100 000 artisans/craftsmen being required to do the work. One fascinating detail that stuck in my mind & portrayed the insecure nature of being Emperor was in regard to a particular walkway of bricks that apparently was laid 15 rows X 15 rows the other way to prevent possible assassins from tunnelling below or through it. Now that's security conscious! Seriously now, it is almost unimaginable to consider how much expense was poured into this place by a succession of Emperors. Divine rule by a sole person certainly had its benefits.

    The different components of The Forbidden City are justifiably worthy of stand alone tips, but I don't want to go into that much detail. Instead I will add a travelogue with some of my photos & some info about them with my impressions, albeit fairly briefly. I know how it can become heavy going trying to read tip after tip of dry historical detail about the same place, but different aspects.

    I would suggest you give yourself a good couple of hours to a half a day to explore this complex.

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  • Directions: In the Center of Beijing You can access it from the first Subway station I mentioned in the previous tip - Tian an Men Dong. We could have used this at it was only 3 stops west of the nearest Subway to our hotel.
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: Forbidden City
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  • Marble Carriageway for the emperor - Beijing
    Marble Carriageway for the
    emperor
    by Mairo21, 4 more photos
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    The Forbidden City is also known as the Palace Museum. It is the largest palace in the world and was built in the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1406-1420) Construction of the palace took approximately 14 years to build. A total of 24 emperors were enthroned here. There are a total of 9,999 rooms ( the number 9 was always used by the emperor, because it was considered the highest single- digit odd number.) There are also 9 nails in each door, horizontally and vertically. The color red signifies happiness, yellow signifies earth, which can be seen throughout the city for it was most extensively used by the emperors, who were regarded as the supreme rulers of humanity. Black, which signifies water was used on the library in hopes that it would protect the many books contained within from fire. Within the city walls lived a total of 3000 people, consisting of eunichs, servants, concubines, the emperor, and empress. The tatal area of the Forbidden City is equivalent to 180 acres. After 1911, there was no emperor. The last known emperor resided in the inner quarters of the palace for an additional 30 years until he was thrown out and the palace was opened up as a museum in 1925.

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  • Directions: In the Center of Beijing
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: The echoing halls of fading dynasties...Part 1
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  • Looming large around you, the walls of the Meridian gate seem to represent Chinese authority: stark, blank, smooth, monolithic slabs. They are disturbinglt attractive in their flawless immensity, carving three sides of a wide, cobbled square. The southern side remains open, the end of the monumental walkway from its more famous sister gateway - Tian'anmen. The northern wall is pierced only by three tunnels, like tiny mouse-holes in a vast red skirtingboard. Through these damp tunnels, you enter the spectacular, echoing yards and halls of the Imperial Palace - the Forbidden City.
    Standing in the inner quadrangle, the power of the Chinese imperial civilisation is palpable, and causes a shiver. The walls around you create a sense of human frailty, of inconsequence and mortality. This is, of course, the whole point: no-one except the emperor, with the mandate of heaven, was ever supposed to feel comfortable here. Worldwide, through history, the power of monarchs, dictators and regimes has been best promoted through vast areas of stone and marble.
    Within the gates, beyond these tunnels, the fragility, and human scale increases, as the sense of fear decreases, the further back you go. The more you wander into the personal space of the emperors, into the private areas, the scale reduces until it feels human again. Beyond that Meridian Gate, the power was exercised at a human level, and the emperor was seen only by the vetted few: ministers, guards, officials, eunuchs and concubines. All depended upon the emperor for their lifestyles, their livelihoods and ultimately their lives, so it would be a brave person who challenged the authority inside those walls. To the many outside the palace, the power was the walls.

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  • Directions: Ming and Qing directions: At the centre of the universe Chinese directions: at the centre of China Tourist directions: north of Tianan'men
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: Palace Museum - Forbidden City
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  • Palace Museum - Forbidden City - Beijing
    Palace Museum - Forbidden
    City
    by magor65
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    While walking around Forbidden City I tried to imagine the life of an emperor, surrounded by his eunuchs. The names of palaces and other buildings suggest contemplation and peacefulness. Palace of Highest Harmony, Gate of Heavenly Purity, Palace of Peaceful Longevity are just a few examples. But in fact the court life was full of intrigues, fear and even murders. The emperor had jade seals with names of his concubines. If he displayed one of the seals the eunuch on duty had to bring the concubine immediately. She was brought naked ( to prove that she had no weapons) in a rolled carpet.

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  • Directions: In the Center of Beijing
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: Inside the Forbidden City
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  • Temple inside the Forbidden City - Beijing
    Temple inside the Forbidden
    City
    by ahoerner
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    This is the first amazing view you have as you come inside the walls of the city.

    I suggest you hire one of the audio-tours (offered in many languages) and hear the history as you walk through it...

    Simply amazing... a must see...

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  • Directions: In the Center of Beijing
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: The echoing halls of fading dynasties...Part 2
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  • These stone have seen feet... - Beijing
    These stone have seen
    feet...
    by mke1963
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    Today, tourists trim through in great phalanxes, led by cheery, bland tour-guides with tinny wailing voices made tinnier by the little battery-operated loudhailers. Their screechy voices echo around the squares, bouncing off the million panes of glass, the marble steps: somehow it adds to the atmosphere.
    Simone de Beauvoir commented on the sterility, and it is hard to disagree. There is no warmth or love in the Forbidden City. There is harmony, but no signature - it is an architectural formula bound by timeless rules, superstitions and values. It is not a city, yet it is not a palace. It is an instituion - an emperor's workplace. There are no quirks, no flaws and no mistakes: feng shui mapped the form, man built the structures. It is not beautiful, it is aggressive, powerful and demanding. Unlike many ancient buildings around the world, the Forbidden City cannot be described as "living history": it simply exists like a bookmark of previous civilisations. The scale is overwhelming, its form impressive, and the whole package is haunting and unforgettable, but there is little evidence that has ever been laughter, love or pain here.
    To many it represents China - closed, secretive and aloof. To others it is a symbol of past glory, to be created again. To most visitors, who cares as long as we can keep up with Lei Lei with the loudhailer or we'll never find our bus again.

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  • Directions: Ming and Qing directions: At the centre of the universe Chinese directions: at the centre of China Tourist directions: north of Tianan'men
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: Forbidden City
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  • Why is it called Forbidden City? The answer is simple - for five hundred years ordinary people could not enter it. It was the seat of emperors belonging to two dynasties: Ming and Qing. The emperors hardly ever left their shelter and in result completely lost any contact with outside world. The country was practically ruled by eunuchs, appointed by emperors.
    The beginnings of the Forbidden City date back to the times of emperor Yongle (first half of 15th century). But most of the buildings we can see today were constructed in the 18th century ( the original ones were destroyed by numerous fires). As for the historic objects and treasures gathered by emperors, most of them were transported to Taiwan in 1949. But of course the place is still worth visiting, as it was here that so many events in imperial times took place.

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  • Directions: In the Center of Beijing
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: Wonderful City
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  • South Gate of the Forbidden City - Beijing
    South Gate of the Forbidden
    City
    by ahoerner
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    Amazing exemple of chinese architecture... although the conservation of the entire city should be improved.

    I bought at that time the audio guided tour, which helped me to understand a little bit more of the magnificent halls and squares inside the walls... If you are alone I suggest you do the same, of course, if you are interested in some history.

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  • Directions: Beijing downtown.
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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    Forbidden City: A must for any visitor to Beijing.
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  • It is huge and with so many point of interest that it is worthwhile to have a guide – or at least one of the excellent publications that describe the history and function of its many buildings. There did not appear to be any English translations of the brochure that came with the ticket.

    We started without a guide and at the last minute (the entry) we decided to pay a person who approached us, showed us his credentials and demonstrated a good command of English (100 Yuan). He was informative and undoubtedly we saw more with understanding that we would have without him. Unfortunately he wanted to hurry us so we parted ways after one walk through the complex –we then returned by ourselves to dwell in a more leisurely way on some of the fascinating detail. Worth a whole day if you have the time.

    You could time your way back to around sunset when you can catch a glimpse of the guards on the way back from the lowering the flag ceremony. (see tip).

    In preparation for the surge of visitors expected in 2008 some buildings in the Forbidden City are undergoing maintenance and are unlikely to be accessible until the latter part of 2007.

    No entry after 4.30pm. Cost : 40 Yuan

  • Directions: In the Center of Beijing
  • Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/

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