Forbidden City (Palace Museum), Beijing

The Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace or Palace Museum, is located in the center of Beijing. Built between 1406 and 1420, it was the imperial residence of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing (1368-1911) dynasties. Today it has become one of the most important tourist attractions in Beijing.

The entire palace area, rectangular in shape and 720,000 square meters in size, takes up one-third of the 8 kilometer-long central axis of Beijing’s old city proper, from the city gate of Yongdingmen on the south to the Drum and Bell towers on the north. This harmonious assemblage of buildings displays the best characteristics of Chinese architecture -- majestic style, flawless construction, and fine coordination of the whole and the parts.

The Forbidden City is also one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.

Links:

• Virtually visit the Forbidden City. The Guardian, UK

• Dream trip: Conquer a Forbidden City - (Budget Travel) By Jen Lin-Liu
   

Forbidden City (Palace Museum) Related Reports

US President Obama at the Forbidden City (Afternoon of Nov. 17, 2009)

Dream trip: Conquer a Forbidden City - (Budget Travel) By Jen Lin-Liu

Forbidden City opens disabled tourist paths
Disabled tourists now have better access to Beijing's famous Forbidden City following extensive renovations. New facilities were opened yesterday, to mark National Help-the-disabled Day.

"This is an excellent example of how Beijing and China intends to advance accessibility for all people in the years to come," said Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

"Chinese people are making unbelievable efforts in Sichuan to relieve the suffering caused by the earthquake disaster. Paralympians from all over the world are with you, with all of the Chinese people."

The Forbidden City has numerous stone steps and thresholds, which are distinguishing features of traditional Chinese architecture, but had restricted access for disabled people.

The famous landmark now has three barrier-free tourist routes covering the main scenic spots. About 1,000 m long, the main route runs from Wumen (Meridian Gate) in the south to Shenwumen (Gate of Spiritual Valor) in the north.

With the help of the newly installed elevators, wheelchair-bound people can ascend Wumen Tower avoiding nearly 100 steps. At Taihedian, Zhonghedian and Baohedian, wheelchair stair lifts are available to help people with physical disabilities climb the stairs.

"The barrier-free facilities and the ancient architecture in the Forbidden City complement each other, which embodies the concept of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games - Transcendence, Equality and Integration," said Li Ji, vice-director of the Forbidden City.

China's golden girl of the torch relay, Jin Jing, who was attacked by protestors in Paris but refused to let go of the sacred flame, also praised the new facilities.

"I'm really looking forward to experiencing a barrier-free Forbidden City, and today is my first time to visit here," she told China Daily while walking with her crutch on Wumen Square.

(China Daily May 19,2008)

Forbidden City to Get Face-lift
China Daily, Sep. 20, 2005 - The Chinese government will spend 1.5 billion yuan (US$1.84 billion) to revamp central Beijing's Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace or Palace Museum, over the next 15 years, sources from the museum said. The face-lift will repair old buildings, dilapidated floors and fading color paintings as well as artistic antiques and articles of historical interest that need protection, said Zheng Xinmiao, curator of the Palace Museum. (Click for full report)

Imperial Palace Gets A World-class Make Over

Chinanews.cn April 28, 2005 - The Meridian Gate of the Imperial palace in

 Beijing, which was built in the 18th year of the reign of the Ming Dynasty emperor Yongle (AD 1420), has been renovated as the most modernized

 exhibition hall in the world. This forbidden area where imperial edicts were issued and armies presented their bounties was open to the public for the first time in 600 years on April 25. The Meridian Gate exhibition hall has been

 constructed as a glass-structured "crystal palace." It is located within the building but comparatively independent of ancient structures. Staff from the French Chateau of Versailles Museum said after their visit that the exhibition hall is the most advanced in the world. Entering the exhibition hall, one realizes that not only are the outside windows enveloped in glass, but a layer of glass also separates the area between the ceiling and floor. This layer prevents a great deal of carbon dioxide acid breathed by visitors from harming the ancient Meridian Gate architecture and ceiling, painted in the 4th year of the reign of the Qing Dynasty emperor Shunzhi (AD 1647). Due to restrictions on the conditions required for cultural relics exhibition, less than 1% of the one million rare cultural relics

 collected by the Imperial Palace could be shown to the public. After the completion of the Meridian Gate exhibition hall, many more make will make their debuts here.

More Places to Open in Forbidden City
China Radio International, August 14, 2004, Two grand halls and an imperial garden in the Forbidden City will open to the public next August to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Palace Museum.  Visitors from home and abroad will be able to enjoy more historic sites in the Forbidden City. Two grand halls and an imperial garden will open to the public next August to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Palace Museum. Renovation of the Hall of Wu-Ying-Dian will be completed at the end of this year. Visitors to the Hall of Wen Hua Dian might feel their IQs getting a ghostly boost - this is where learned officials graded the final imperial examinations. And they might hear giggling in the Jian Fu Gong garden, one of the places where the feudal nobility had fun.

Forbidden City Adopts E-tickets
CRI November 27, 2006 - Troubled by excessive visitors, the Palace Museum, or Forbidden City, in Beijing will adopt an electronic ticket-checking system from May onwards to control its crowd flow, the Beijing Times reports. The new system will keep a real-time record of visitors inside the museum, and automatically inform the ticket office to halt ticket sales once the number exceeds the museum's maximum reception capacity.The Palace Museum, one of China's most comprehensive museums in terms of history and art, was established as the foundation of the palace that formed the center of power over two dynasties, the Ming and the Qing, and now holds their collections of treasures. It has topped the must-see list of almost every visitor to the capital city.In recent years, the number of daily visitors to the Palace Museum has averaged 50,000 during "golden weeks," the week-long national holidays observed three times a year in China. Superfluous tourists have caused damage to cultural relics in the museum.

Forbidden City to Open Wider to Public

Chinanews.cn August 27, 2005 - To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Forbidden City Museum, the Hall of Military Prowess (Wuying Dian)will open to public on Saturday after it completes two years of renovation. A cultural exhibition will also be held in the hall where some of the classic and Buddhist books of the Qing dynasty will be on display. The renovation work started in October, 2002. In the two-year renovation, workers have repaired the roofs of the hall and its subsidiary building. The wooden components on the roof are re-placed to the right position and most of the glazed tiles have been taken away with new ones. Preparation work has also been done to the white marble stones destroyed by weathering and the color paintings in the hall. The renovation work is nearly completed. The Hall of Military Prowess was built in 1420 and was a group of enclosed buildings covering an area of 12,000 square meters. The peasant leader, Li Zicheng, who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644, was enthroned at the hall.