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China > Places & Sights > Beijing > Forbidden City

Forbidden City

Peter M. Geiser

The imperial palace of the former emperors of the Ming and the Qing dynasties is commonly known under the name 'Forbidden City'. This name is derived from the fact that nobody was allowed inside the city, except the emperor himself, his wives and concubines and the eunuchs. The official name is now "Gu gong bo wu yuan" (Palace Museum) or short just Gu gong.

Construction started in 1406 when emperor Yang Le dispatched officials to the provinces to organize building materials. The first palace was completed in 1420, only to have the three main halls destroyed by fire the next year. Fire soon became somewhat common. Every couple of years some building or other burnt down, but was always rebuilt. Many of the buildings have changed their name over time.

The complex is huge, covering 961 meters from north to south and 753 meters from east to west. It is surrounded by a moat, called the "Tube River". Just inside are very impressive walls that are 7.9 meters high, 8.62 meters thick at the base and 6.66 meters wide at the top.

The walls are formed by three layers of bricks on both the inside as well as the outside of an earthen core. To complete the wall, more than 12 million bricks measuring 48 x 24 x 12 centimeters and weighing 24 kilogram were needed.

The main entrance to the Forbidden City is the Meridian Gate, a forbidding structure enclosing three sides of a rectangle with 12 m high walls with a huge hall on top of these walls.

Just beyond the Meridien Gate is a courtyard covering 26,000 square meters. It is divided by the beautifully curved Inner Golden River, which can be crossed by five bridges. The middle one was reserved for the emperor's exclusive use.

The Gate of Supreme Harmony leads to the center of the Forbidden City, consisting of the three main Palaces elevated on a three-tiered terrace 8.13 meters high.

The first and largest (60 meters wide and 33.33 meters deep), the Hall of Supreme Harmony, towers 35.05 meters high. In the middle of the hall is the ornately carver imperial throne. During the Ming and Quing dynasties it was the centre of the court activities. All the important ceremonies such as coronations, imperial birthdays, royal weddings, etc. held place.

Just behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Hall of Complete Harmony. It was used by the emperor to acknowledge respects of various court officials and to read memorials. Its square shape with 24 meters side length is dwarfed by the other two halls.

The third hall, the Hall of Preserving Harmony was used to hold the imperial examinations, the highest ranking civil service examinations. It houses another throne, but not as intricately carved as the imperial throne. Leading from the Hall of Preserving Harmony down into the courtyard is a huge slab of marble (16.57 meters long, 3.07 meters wide, and 1.7 meters thick), weighing more than 250 tons! It displays beautifully carved dragons.

Behind that courtyard is the Inner Court. This was the residential area of the emperor and the imperial household. Its main structures in order are Gate of Heavenly Purity, Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, Palace of Earthly Tranquility, and Gate of Earthly Tranquility. Beyond that gate is the Imperial Garden. Both, the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Hall of Union house other thrones. Beside the one in the Hall of Union is a beautiful water clock.

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