Facts About The Forbidden City, China

Too much have been written about the Forbidden City, the royal palace where the Chinese Ming, Shun and Qing Dynasties lived. It was a royal residence that has no equal in the world. I would like to simplify the Forbidden City to make it easier for you to learn about. Take a look at the following facts;

1. The city construction began in 1406 under Zhu Di and with the help of 1 million workers. The City took 14 years to construct.

2. It was the seat of Ming Dynasty from 1420 to 1644. The Ming Dynasty was overrun by forces led by Li Zicheng of the Shun Dynasty. His was a short live rule as the Ming Dynasty combined forces with the Manchu and drove him out of the city. Shunzhi Was installed as the ruler of all China. He belonged to the Qing Dynasty. The Qing dynasty stayed there until the Europeans came.

3. A total of 24 Emperors called the Forbidden City home. 14 were from Ming Dynasty while the remaining 10 were from Qing Dynasty.

4. The Forbidden City is rectangular in shape. It measures 961 meters (north to south) and 753 east to west. It has 980 buildings with 8886 rooms.

5. The city is surrounded by a wall that is 7.9 meters high, 6 meters deep and 52 meters wide by the moat. The walls are constructed with rammed earth and bricks.

6. The Forbidden City is today a gigantic museum, housing a total of 1.17 million pieces of art ranging from books, documents, paintings, ceramics, jade, bronze ware, timepieces, among others.

Simply put, the Forbidden City is the best symbol of the Chinese Civilization. Anybody interested in learning a little culture, architecture, politics and religion of the Chinese, this is the right place to start. Oh...and you will be joined by hundreds of other travelers from other parts of the world.

by Kennedy Runo on 07/23/2015 in Sightseeing

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