Beijing's fabulous Forbidden City is the large palace complex in the world, definitely the No.1 tourist attraction included in all Beijing Tour itineraries. Construction of The Forbidden City began in 1406 during the reign of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1911), Emperor Yongle. Before Emperor Yongle moved the capital it was located in the city of Nanjing in Jiangsu Province. There are many theories as to why he decided to move his capital to Beijing. The most popular theory was that since when he was the crown prince, Yongle was in charge of the Beijing area and being fond of the area he decided to move the capital there. The new capital city was built around The Forbidden City. Beijing was built with an axis line that ran north to south and through the center of the Forbidden City. The Chinese name for The Forbidden City when it was home to China's Emperors was "The Purple Forbidden City", it is called the Palace museum today. The Forbidden City was the imperial palace until 1911 when the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Emperor Xuantong, gave up his throne. He was allowed to remain in The Forbidden City until 1924. In 1925 The Forbidden City was turned into The Palace Museum to save the buildings and their treasures in perpetuity.
Most visitors to The Forbidden City are immediately overwhelmed by not only the scale of the palace, but of the grandeur of it. They find it hard to believe that such an extraordinary place could be built for one man. Very little of the original Ming Dynasty Palace exists now. During the Qing Dynasty, especially during the reigns of Emperor Kangxi and Qianlong extensive remodeling was done. Colors during China's feudal reigns buildings needed to meet strict guidelines as per size, color, and even roof style. The Forbidden City is a prime example of this. Almost every roof in The Forbidden City is covered with golden tiles. Only the Emperor and temples he deemed worthy were allowed to use golden tiles. The roof structures also denote importance of the building. The number of hips the roof has and protective animals on the corners of them follow strict guidelines. The size of rooms and the number of posts, windows, doors, and even steps were strictly enforced. According to Taoist tradition women are even numbers and men are odd numbers. Since the number 9 is the highest single digit odd number, it was reserved for the emperor, so most things in The Forbidden City come in sets of nine.

The palaces and halls located inside The Forbidden City are each filled with priceless treasures. The greatest emperors of the Qing Dynasty were avid art collectors and historians. Having the power and the money to acquire the greatest masterpieces in Chinese history, they amassed huge collections of art and filled their palace with them. Everything in the buildings, not to mention the buildings themselves are made of the finest materials. The wood structures are made from rare namu wood, the posts and rafters are covered with gold leaf, and even the tiles in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, crafted in Suzhou, are reported to have taken ten years to produce and cost their weight in gold. Nothing was skimped in the building and decorating of The Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was designed to show the power and status of "The King of Heaven". It is impossible for a visitor to see everything The Forbidden City has to offer with just one visit. It was and remains a place of impressive beauty. It was designed to instill a sense of wonder in visitors and even in this modern age, it still has the capability to do just that. You can visit China Odyssey Tours to get more information about The Forbidden City

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