Forbidden City

2 years ago

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Culture-Monument Culture-Palace

Located in the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. A key example of traditional Chinese architecture can be found here. The oldest building structure in the world, its construction began in 1406 and ended in 1420. It covers a total area of about 150,000 square kilometres and is made up of 90 palaces, 980 buildings and 8704 rooms. Access to the Forbidden City is from Tiananmen Square, the gateway to Heavenly Purity and through the Meridian Gate, the place where the Emperor announced the new lunar calendar. The external courtyard is made up of three main buildings: the Palace of the Supreme Harmony, the Palace of Central Harmony and the Palace of the Preservation of Harmony. The internal courtyard, on the other hand, is made up of three structures positioned at the back of the city: the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of the Great Union and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. The Forbidden City is accompanied by buildings of eastern and western structure. The main exit is the Divine Power Gate, next to the Imperial Garden. Now there are no more ticket offices at the entrance, all visitors of the Forbidden City must get their tickets online. After the purchase it will not be necessary to have a physical ticket, just present your passport at the entrance door, through which the access time of your ticket will be verified. High Season: April 1st - October 31st 8:30-17:00 Final Entrance 16:10 Low Season: November 1st - March 31st 8:30-16:00 Final Entrance 15:40 Photo credit: Rafik Wahba on unsplash, Yekaterina Golatki on unsplash