Imperial Culture in China Forbidden City

People who visit Beijing will never miss the Forbidden City. This is
the best place to admire Chinese imperial culture. The Forbidden
City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming ynasty to the
end of the !ing ynasty. It is located in the centre of Beijing"
China" and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost #$$ years" it
served as the home of emperors and their households" as well as
the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. The China
Forbidden City was declared a %orld &eritage 'ite in ()*+ by
,-.'C/ as the 0Imperial Palace of the Ming and !ing ynasties0"
due to its significant place in the development of Chinese
architecture and culture.
Built in (1$2 to (13$" the comple4 consists of )*$ buildings and
covers +3$"$$$ m3 5+"*$$"$$$ s6 ft7. The palace comple4
e4emplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture" and has
influenced cultural and architectural developments in .ast 8sia and
elsewhere. 9ectangular in shape" it is the world:s largest palace
comple4 and covers +1 hectares. 'urrounded by a #3;meter;wide
moat and a ($;meter;high wall are more than *"+$$ rooms. The
wall has a gate on each side. /pposite the Tiananmen <ate" to the
north is the <ate of ivine Might" which faces =ingshan Par>. The
distance between these two gates is )2$ meters" while the
distance between the east and west gates is +#$ meters. There
are uni6ue and delicately structured towers on each of the four
corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the
palace and the city outside.
The name ?Forbidden City@ has more meaning more than just a
title. Aying at the city center and called <u <ong in Chinese" it was
the imperial palace for twenty;four emperors during the Ming and
!ing dynasties. It was first built throughout (1 years during the
reign of .mperor ChengBu in the Ming ynasty 5(C2*;(2117. 8ncient
Chinese 8stronomers believed that the Purple 'tar 5Polaris7 was in
the center of heaven and the &eavenly .mperor lived in the Purple
Palace. The Palace for the emperor on earth was so called the
Purple City. It was forbidden to enter without special permission of
the empeor. &ence its name :The Purple Forbidden City:" usually
:The Forbidden City:.
Traditionally" the China Forbidden City is divided into two parts.
The /uter Court or Front Court includes the southern sections" and
was used for ceremonial purposes. The Inner Court or Bac> Palace
includes the northern sections" and was the residence of the
.mperor and his family" and was used for day;to;day affairs of
state. 8ncient Chinese people displayed their very considerable s>ills
in building it. Ta>e the grand red city wall for e4ample. It has an *.2
meters wide base reducing to 2.22 meters wide at the top. The
angular shape of the wall totally frustrates attempts to climb it.
The bric>s were made from white lime and glutinous rice while the
cement is made from glutinous rice and egg whites. These incredible
materials ma>e the wall e4traordinarily strong.
'plendid painted decoration on these royal architectural wonders"
the grand and delu4e halls" together with their surprisingly
magnificent treasures will certainly satisfy every visitor.