Test Your Knowledge on the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is a palace complex in Beijing, China, surrounded by imperial gardens and temples, including Zhongshan Park, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Beihai Park, and Jingshan Park.

It was constructed from 1406 to 1420 and served as the home of Chinese emperors and their households for over 500 years.

The complex consists of 980 buildings and 9,999 rooms, covering 720,000 square meters.

The Forbidden City is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Since 2012, the Forbidden City has seen an average of 14 million visitors annually, and received more than 19 million visitors in 2019.

In 2018, the Forbidden City's market value was estimated at 70 billion USD, making it both the world's most valuable palace and the most valuable piece of real estate anywhere in the world.

The Palace Museum was established in the Forbidden City in 1925 and it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO.

The Forbidden City is surrounded by a 7.9-meter high city wall and a 6-meter deep by 52-meter wide moat.

The central north-south axis of the Forbidden City remains the central axis of Beijing and extends to Tiananmen Square.

The Outer Court, used for ceremonial purposes, includes the Gate of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest and ceremonial center of imperial power, and the largest surviving wooden structure in China.

The Forbidden City is an important part of Chinese architecture and culture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere.Overview of the Forbidden City

• The Forbidden City is located in the heart of Beijing and is a 72-hectare palace complex.
• It was built between 1406 and 1420 during the Ming dynasty and was the home of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
• The Forbidden City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
• The Palace Museum, located within the Forbidden City, has a collection of over 1.8 million pieces of art, including paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and inscribed wares.
• The Forbidden City consists of the Outer Court, the Inner Court, and the Back Palace.
• The Outer Court contains three halls, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, and was used for ceremonial purposes.
• The Inner Court was the home of the emperor and his family and contains three halls, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
• The Back Palace consists of the Western and Eastern Palaces, which were the residences of the imperial consorts, and the Cining Palace and Shoukang Palace, which were the residences of widowed consorts of previous emperors.
• The Forbidden City is surrounded on three sides by imperial gardens and is adjacent to Jingshan Park and Tiananmen Square.
• The Palace Museum's collection contains ceremonial bronzeware from the imperial court, mechanical timepieces, and a large collection of jade.
• The Forbidden City has been influential in the development of Chinese architecture and has been depicted in many works of fiction, film, and television.