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TLocated in the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City
is 960 meters from north to south and 750 meters wide
from east to west, covering an area of 72 hectares and
a total floor space of 15,000 square meters. It was
designated by the State Council as one of China's foremost
protected monuments in 1961, and then listed by UNESCO
as one of World Cultural Heritage in 1987.
In the Forbidden City, fourteen emperors of the Ming
Dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing Dynasty lived and
ruled China here for as long as 490 years from 1421
to 1911. When the 1911 Revolution broke out to overthrow
the Qing Dynasty, the last emperor Pu Yi was driven
out of the palace in 1924. Afterwards, the Forbidden
City was converted into the Palace Museum and has been
open to the public Now the Forbidden City is not forbidden
any more, but welcomes visitors from all over the world.
The Forbidden City was surrounded by a ten-metre-high
city wall and enclosed by a moat of 52 metres wide.
At each corner of the city wall, there is a magnificent
watchtower. Once inside, visitors will see a succession
of halls and palaces spreading out on either side of
an invisible central axis. It is a magnificent sight,
the buildings' glowing yellow roofs against vermilion
walls, not to mention their painted ridges and carved
beams, all contributing to the sumptuous effect. Known
as the Outer Court, the southern portion of the Forbidden
City centers on the halls of Supreme Harmony, Central
Harmony, and Preserving Harmony. These are flanked by
the halls of Literary Glory and Military Eminence. It
was here that the emperor held court and conducted his
grand audiences. Mirroring this arrangement is the Inner
Court at the northern end of the Forbidden City, with
the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, and
the Palace of Earthly Tranquility straddling the central
axis, surrounded by the Six Palaces of the East and
West and the Imperial Garden to the north. Other major
buildings include the halls for Worshipping Ancestors
and of Imperial Splendor on the east, and the Hall of
Mental Cultivation, the Pavilion of the Rain Flowers
and the Palace of Benevolent Tranquility on the west.
These contain not only the residences of the emperor
and his empress, consorts and concubines but also the
venues for religious rites and administrative activities.
These buildings were arranged precisely in accordance
with a code of architectural hierarchy, which designated
specific features to reflect the paramount authority
and status of the emperor.
紫禁城位于北京市中心,南北长960米，东西宽750米，占地72公顷，总建筑面积达5万平方米。1961年，经国务院批准，故宫被定为全国第一批重点文物保护单位。1987年，故宫被联合国教科文组织列入"世界文化遗产"名录。
从1421年至1911年，有14位明朝皇帝、10位清朝皇帝曾在这里生活、执政长达490年。1911年的辛亥革命推翻了清王朝。1924年，末代皇帝溥仪被赶出皇宫。从此，紫禁城转变成故宫博物院并对外开放。紫禁城不再警戒森严，而是欢迎来自世界各方面的游客。
紫禁城被一座10米高的城墙和一条52米宽的护城河所环绕，在各个城角都设有一个壮丽的角楼。城内宫殿建筑布局沿中轴线向东西两侧展开。红墙黄瓦，画栋雕梁，壮观雄伟。城之南半部以太和、中和、保和三大殿为中心，两侧辅以文华、武英两殿，是皇帝举行朝会的地方，称�"前朝"。北半部则以乾清、交泰、坤宁三宫及东西六宫和御花园为中心，其外东侧有奉先、皇极等殿，西侧有养心殿、雨花阁、慈宁宫等，是皇帝和后妃们居住、举行祭祀和宗教活动以及处理日常政务的地方，称为"后寝"。整组宫殿建筑布局谨严，秩序井然，寸砖片瓦皆遵循着封建等级礼制，映现出帝王至高无上的权威。
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