Beijing

The world's largest royal palace today, and the most well-preserved ancient wooden structure, formerly known as the Forbidden City, was the palace of the emperors of the last two dynasties of China, the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is the epitome of ancient Chinese and Eastern palace architectural art, and can be said to be a classic architectural masterpiece of East Asia. The Forbidden City is 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west. It is surrounded by 10-meter-high walls on all sides and a 52-meter-wide moat outside the city. The buildings in the Forbidden City are divided into two parts: the outer court and the inner court. The center of the outer court is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, collectively known as the three major halls, where the country holds grand ceremonies. The center of the inner court is the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union and Peace, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, collectively known as the three palaces behind, covering an area of ​​720,000 square meters, with a construction area of ​​about 150,000 square meters and more than 9,000 houses. The Forbidden City in Beijing is known as the first of the five largest palaces in the world (the Palace of Versailles in France, the Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, the White House in the United States, and the Kremlin in Russia), and was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1987. Beijing was founded in 1406 by Zhu Di, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di started his career in Beijing and overthrew Emperor Jianwen, but because he was worried about the instability of Nanjing, he moved the capital to Beijing and began to build the Forbidden City on a large scale until it was completed in 1420. 2020 will be the 600th anniversary of the establishment of the Forbidden City. After the founding of New China, after several generations of efforts, especially after the innovative efforts of President Shan, the Forbidden City is now radiating its incomparable charm. At present, the number of visitors per year is the highest among museums in the world.

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