Transcript Document

Now called the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City is 3,150
feet long and 2,460 feet wide, the world’s largest palace
complex covers a floor space of 7,749,000 square feet or
178 acres, having 9,999 buildings. The rectangular city is
encircled in a 177 foot-wide, 20 foot-deep moat and a 32 foot
-high, city wall which has one gate on each side. There are
four unique and delicate structured corner towers
overlooking the city inside and outside on the four corners.
Generally, it was divided into two parts, the northern half, or
the Outer Court where emperors executed their supreme
power over the nation and the southern half, or the Inner
Court where they lived with their royal family. Until 1924
when the last emperor in China was driven out of the Inner
Court, 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 emperors of
the Qing dynasty had reigned here. About 500 years being
the imperial palace, it houses numerous rare treasures and
curiosities. It is now listed by the UN as World Cultural
Heritage in 1987 and is one of the hottest tourist magnets.
Red, the symbolic color of imperial power, is a
dominant theme throughout the Forbidden City.
Yellow tile roofs
adorned with dragons
were everywhere. The
number of dragons
determined the
importance of a
particular building--the
Hall of Supreme
Harmony, the most
important ceremonial
building in the
Forbidden City, has 12.
Each corner of the
Forbidden City has a unique
corner tower. Below is the
moat surrounding the
palace. Intruders were
discouraged by guards in
watchtowers with bow and
arrows.
Construction of the palace complex started in 1407
and was completed 14 years later in 1420. It was
said that a million workers including 100,000
artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor.
Imperial City Staircase
The Northwest Tower
One of the Imperial Thrones
This is the square between the Meridian Gate and the Gate of
Supreme Harmony, just ahead. Guards of honor would line up
in this square (the largest in the palace complex) before
important ceremonies.
The Hall of Medium Harmony is where the
emperors rested before major ceremonies
The Forbidden City has
undergone dramatic renovations.
Although great effort has been
put forth to prevent the
commercialization of the palace,
a Starbucks has been placed
inside it , rousing controversy