Landmark Asia
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is a giant old palace in Beijing, China. Emperors once lived and worked there. Now it is a museum that everyone can visit.
The Forbidden City in Beijing was built between 1406 and 1420 as the palace of China's emperors. Over about 500 years, 24 emperors came to the throne there. High walls and a wide moat surround it. Since 1925 it has been the Palace Museum, and it became a World Heritage Site in 1987.
Built from 1406 to 1420 for the Ming emperor Zhu Di (the Yongle emperor), the palace was the seat of state power through the Ming and Qing dynasties, witnessing 14 Ming and 10 Qing enthronements over 505 years. UNESCO calls it the supreme model of ancient Chinese palace architecture. It has been the Palace Museum since 1925.
Photo: Han Zheng, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is in Beijing, the capital of China.
It is a palace, a home for emperors. It has many buildings with golden roofs. Tall walls go all the way around it. Today it is a big museum.
The Forbidden City sits right in the middle of Beijing. For about 500 years it was the palace of China's emperors, where they lived and ran the country. It got its name because most people were not allowed inside.
It is huge: 961 meters from north to south and 753 meters from east to west. Walls 10 meters high and a moat 52 meters wide surround it, with one gate on each side. Since 1925 the palace has been the Palace Museum, open to visitors.
The Forbidden City stands at the center of Beijing, approached from the south through the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tian'an men). The Palace Museum gives its dimensions as 961 m north to south and 753 m east to west, an area of 720,000 m², enclosed by walls 10 m high and a moat 52 m wide, with one gate on each side: the Meridian Gate (Wu men) to the south, the Shenwu Gate (Shenwu men) to the north, and the Eastern and Western Prosperity Gates.
Britannica explains the name: access was barred to most of the realm's subjects, officials and even the imperial family had only limited access, and the emperor alone could enter any part at will. UNESCO inscribed it in 1987 (with the Shenyang palace added in 2004) as the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, calling the Forbidden City the supreme model in the development of ancient Chinese palaces. China's State Council had listed it among the country's foremost protected heritage sites in 1961.
- Built
- 1406 to 1420
- Size
- 961 m north to south, 753 m east to west
- Area
- 720,000 m² (72 hectares)
- Palace Museum since
- 1925
Five centuries of emperors
Long ago, an emperor wanted a new palace in Beijing.
It took many years to build. Then emperors lived there for hundreds of years. When the last emperor left, the palace became a museum for everyone.
The palace was ordered in 1406 by the Yongle emperor of the Ming dynasty, and the court moved in in 1420. Emperors of the Ming dynasty and then the Qing dynasty ruled from here for five centuries. In all, 24 emperors came to the throne in the Forbidden City.
The last dynasty ended with the revolution of 1911 to 1912. Puyi, the last emperor, was allowed to keep living in the palace, but he left in 1924. A year later, in 1925, the Palace Museum opened in the old palace.
UNESCO dates construction to 1406 to 1420 under the Ming emperor Zhu Di; Britannica says the Yongle emperor (Zhu Di's reign name) commissioned it in 1406 and the court first officially occupied it in 1420. It remained the center of state power for the rest of the Ming (1368 to 1644) and through the Qing (1644 to 1911), with 14 Ming and 10 Qing emperors enthroned there over 505 years.
The Chinese Revolution of 1911 to 1912 ended its role as the seat of imperial government. Puyi, the last Qing emperor, was permitted to live there after his abdication but secretly left the palace in 1924. The Palace Museum was established in 1925. Britannica notes that the buildings had been repaired and rebuilt since the 15th century, that some were lost during the revolution and during the war with Japan (1937 to 1945), but that the site was maintained as a whole; several buildings were restored in the late 20th century.
Planned along a line
The palace was planned very carefully.
The most important buildings stand in a long line, from south to north. The two sides match, like a mirror. The halls are made of wood, with tiled roofs.
The Forbidden City was laid out along a straight line running north to south through the middle, called a central axis. The two halves on either side match, so the plan is symmetrical. Offices for ruling the country, the Outer Court, are at the front, in the south. The family's homes, the Inner Court, are at the back.
The halls are built of wood. UNESCO says they show the highest skill of Chinese palace builders, and that traditional craft skills have been passed down. Even the roofs tell a story: Britannica says a building's importance shows in its height and width, its roof style and the number of little figures on its roof ridges.
UNESCO describes a layout that embodies traditional Chinese urban planning and palace construction: a central axis, symmetrical design, an outer court at the front and an inner court at the rear, and landscaped courtyards derived from the Yuan city layout. It calls the palace the exemplar of ancient architectural hierarchy, construction techniques and architectural art, and says it influenced official buildings of the Qing dynasty over 300 years.
The buildings are timber structures; UNESCO says they preserve the highest technical and artistic achievements of Chinese official architecture authentically, and that traditional craftsmanship has been passed down. Britannica notes that the most important buildings along the main axis face south, and that rank is legible in the details: a building's height and width, its roof style and the number of figurines on its ridges. UNESCO adds that archives on ancient engineering techniques, including written records, drawings and models, survive. The opened sources do not name the builders or give a size for the workforce.
Gates, halls and gardens
The palace has four big gates, one on each side.
Inside, there are huge yards and halls. The biggest hall held the emperor's throne. At the back is a pretty garden with trees and fish ponds.
Visitors enter from the south through the Meridian Gate, 38 meters high, which Britannica counts among the tallest buildings of the palace. Beyond it, a river curves across a courtyard under five white marble bridges.
Next comes the Outer Court, where three great halls stand on a three-layered marble terrace above an enormous square. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, 64 by 37 meters, held the emperor's throne; Britannica calls it the largest single building in the palace. Farther north is the Inner Court, where the emperors lived, and at the very back the Imperial Garden, with trees, fish ponds and flower beds.
The Meridian Gate (Wu men), the formal southern entrance, rises 38 m to its roof ridge, its flanking wings reaching forward; it served as a backdrop for imperial appearances and proclamations. Beyond it, a courtyard 140 m deep and 210 m wide is crossed by the Golden Water River under five parallel white marble bridges leading to the Gate of Supreme Harmony.
The Outer Court's three main halls stand on a three-tiered marble terrace above a plaza of some three hectares. The Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), 64 by 37 m and the throne hall, is the largest single building in the compound and the center of the court; behind it are the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. The Inner Court held the imperial living quarters, and the 1.2-hectare Imperial Garden at the northern end departs from the strict symmetry of the rest. The Shenwu Gate (Shenwu men) closes the palace to the north.
- Walls
- 10 m high
- Moat
- 52 m wide
- Meridian Gate
- 38 m high at its roof ridge
- Hall of Supreme Harmony
- 64 m by 37 m
The Palace Museum today
Today, the palace is a museum.
People come from all over the world to visit. They see the halls, the gardens and many treasures, like paintings, pots and old clocks.
The Palace Museum looks after the old palace and a huge collection of treasures: paintings, calligraphy (beautiful writing), pottery and much more. UNESCO counts more than a million precious objects from the royal collections.
So many people want to visit that the museum limits visitors to 40,000 a day and asks people to book tickets online in advance. The museum is closed on most Mondays. Visitors can also explore special galleries, such as the Gallery of Clocks.
The Palace Museum holds the imperial collections of paintings, calligraphy, ceramics and antiquities; its Chinese site gives a total of more than 1.86 million objects, and UNESCO counts more than a million precious royal collections along with archives on ancient engineering. It also runs the ICOM International Training Centre for Museum Studies, set up in 2013 and linked to ICOM-China.
UNESCO's management guidance says the number of tourists, especially in the Forbidden City, should be effectively controlled to reduce harm to the property, and that conservation should follow the principle of minimal intervention. The museum now limits visits to 40,000 a day, recommends booking online in advance, and opens Tuesday to Sunday. Galleries include the Treasure Gallery in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity area and the Gallery of Clocks in the Hall for Ancestral Worship area.
Amazing facts
-
The palace got its name because most people could not go in.
It was called forbidden because most people were not allowed inside. Only the emperor could go anywhere he liked.
Access was barred to most subjects; officials and even the imperial family had limited access, and only the emperor could enter any section at will.
-
Little figures on the roofs show how important a building is.
You can tell how important a building is by its roof style and by how many little figures sit on its roof ridges.
Rank is legible in the details: a building's height and width, its roof style and the number of figurines on its ridges.
-
The palace has a gate on each of its four sides.
There is one gate on each side: the Meridian Gate in the south, the Shenwu Gate in the north, and two Prosperity Gates in the east and west.
Its four gates are the Meridian Gate (Wu men), the Shenwu Gate (Shenwu men) and the Eastern and Western Prosperity Gates (Donghua men and Xihua men).
-
24 emperors came to the throne in the palace.
Over 505 years, 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 of the Qing dynasty came to the throne in the Forbidden City.
UNESCO records the enthronement of 14 Ming and 10 Qing emperors in the 505 years after its completion.
Words to know
- emperor
- a ruler of a very large country or empire
- dynasty
- a family of rulers who rule one after another for a long time
- palace
- a very large, grand home for a ruler
- moat
- a wide ditch filled with water that goes around a palace or castle
- axis
- an imaginary straight line through the middle of something
- symmetrical
- the same on both sides, like a mirror image
- throne
- the special chair a king, queen or emperor sits on
Discovery challenge
-
Which city is the Forbidden City in?
In which city does the Forbidden City stand?
Which capital has the Forbidden City at its center?
- Tokyo
- Beijing
- Delhi
Show the answer
Beijing
Beijing! It is a big city in China.
The Forbidden City is right in the middle of Beijing, the capital of China.
Beijing; the palace lies at its heart, approached from the south through the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
-
Who lived in the Forbidden City long ago?
Who lived and ruled in the Forbidden City for about 500 years?
Whose seat of power was the palace from 1420 until 1911 to 1912?
- Farmers
- Emperors
- Sailors
Show the answer
Emperors
Emperors! They lived and worked there.
Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived and ruled there; 24 came to the throne in the palace.
The Ming and Qing emperors: 14 Ming and 10 Qing enthronements over 505 years, until the revolution of 1911 to 1912.
-
What is the Forbidden City today?
What has the Forbidden City been since 1925?
What institution has occupied the palace since 1925?
- A school
- A museum
- A train station
Show the answer
A museum
A museum! Everyone can visit it now.
It became the Palace Museum in 1925, a year after the last emperor left.
The Palace Museum, established in 1925, which now holds more than 1.86 million objects.
-
What goes all the way around the palace?
What surrounds the palace, along with its high walls?
Besides its 10 m walls, what 52 m wide feature encloses the palace?
- A moat
- A forest
- A desert
Show the answer
A moat
A moat! It is a wide ditch full of water.
A moat 52 meters wide runs around the walls.
A moat 52 m wide, outside walls 10 m high, with one gate on each side.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Beijing and explain what the Forbidden City was used for.
- Describe the palace plan: a central axis, matching sides, an outer court and an inner court.
- Explain how a palace closed to most people became a public museum.
- Recognize that a building's details, like roofs and figurines, can show its importance.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might rulers build a palace that most people could not enter?
- The museum limits visitors to 40,000 a day. Why might a very old place need to limit visitors?
- What makes a plan symmetrical? Can you find something symmetrical in your home or school?
Try at home or in class
- Draw a palace plan on squared paper: put a line down the middle and make both sides match.
- Make a model courtyard from boxes and paper, putting the most important building in the middle of the line.
Key vocabulary: emperor, dynasty, palace, moat, axis, symmetrical, throne
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- About us , The Palace Museum (official site)
- Visit , The Palace Museum (official site)
- Explore , The Palace Museum (official site)
- 故宫博物院概况 (About the Palace Museum) , The Palace Museum (official site, Chinese)
- About ICOM-ITC , The Palace Museum (official site)
- Forbidden City , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 27, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.