| Forbidden City |
Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City (gu gong in Chinese pronunciation), was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum.
For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, along with the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.Construction of the palace complex began in 1407, the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty. It was completed fourteen years later in 1420. It was said that a million workers including one hundred thousand artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court, fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. 1406, after Zhu Di became into the third emperor of Ming Dynasty, construction began in Beijing of what would become the Forbidden City. Meridian Gate Meridian Gate is the main gateway to the Forbidden City. Once you reach here, you begin to explore the heart of this complex.This is the place to buy your tickets and the fantastic audio guide featuring the voice of smooth talking Roger Moore. As the legend goes, the meridian gate used to be a place where condemned ranking officials would be executed. this was not always true. however, flogging was carried out here by the ming emperors. If a courtier falls afoul of the emperor, he would be stripped of his court dress and flogging with a stick. Sometime the punishment became so harsh that 11 people died from fatal wound on the punishment. This building was also used to observe important occasions like the traditional chinese lantern festival (15th day of the first lunar month). on these occasions, Chinese lanterns would be hanged and sumptuous banquets would be given in honour of the whole court of ministers and other ranking officials. The Hall of Supreme Harmony 
Forbidden City Map
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is china's largest exiting wooden structure which is supported by 6 thick,round pillars carved in a design of coiling dragons. As the holiest place in the hall, the ceiling and colored patterns were made of the finest material available at that time. the throne was placed on a terrace and is flanked by statues of elephants, cranes and incense barrels.over the throne there is the caisson,or covered ceiling, which consists of a coiling dragon playing with a ball in its mouth.this ball is was supposedly made by a chinese emperor of remote times to serve as a reminder that the rulers to follow were his hereditary heirs. This hall did not serve as a place in which the emperor attended to daily affairs. he used his hall for major events such as his birthday, conferral of title of empress or dispatch of generals to war. The Hall of Preserving Harmony The Hall of Preserving Harmony, which was used as a place where imperial examinations were held. The imperial examination was the highest level of competing for meritorious appointment under the feudal system dating back to the Sui dynasty(581-618). there existed three levels of exams: the county and prefectural level,the provincial level and national level.It served the purpose of recruiting Confucian scholars to the ministers and high officials.Every three years, three hundred scholars from all over the country came here and took exams for three day and night. This system was abolished in 1905. The Hall of Mental Cultivation Situated in the western part of the innermost enclosure, the hall was chose for emperorsto live and attended to every day state affairs since Emperor Yongzheng in Qin dynasty. The room on the eastern side is of historical interst because it was here that Empress Dowager Cixi usurped power and made decisions on behalf of the young emperor. You still can find a bamboo curtain today. This is "Power behind bamboo curtain". The Nine-Dragon Screen Erected in 1773, it is 3.5 meters in height and 29.4 meters in width. Underneath is a foundation made of marble. The surface of the screen is laid with a total of 270 colored, glazed tiles in the design of 9 dragons ,some rocky mountains ,clouds and the sea. It was meant to ward off evil spirits.These dragons are different in color and posture. Interestingly a piece of the third dragon from the left is made of wood. It is believe that when the Nine-dragon Screen was almost finished ,a piece of glazed tile was damaged .Emperor Qianlong was scheduled to inspect the work the following day .Using quick wits, the craftsman in question molded the missing piece with clay and sailed through the imperial inspection. Later, he asked a carpenter to carve a wooden one to replace the one made of clay. The Hall of heavenly Purity 
The Hall of heavenly Purity is the central hall of the inner court inside Forbidden City. the hall was where the emperor lived and attended to daily affairs. Later emperors moved to live in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Behind the plaque in the hall a strongbox was stored containing a will bearing the name of the would-be royal successor. this approach of secretly selecting the next emperor was adopted by emperor Yongzheng of the Qing dynasty. two copies of the will were prepared.One was stashed by the emperor in person,the other was placed inside the strong box behind the plaque. after the death of the emperor, the two copies would be compared and successor would be announced. The Hall of Earthly Tranquility The Hall of Earthly Tranquility, which once served as the living room of the empresses. The hall was later converted into a sacrificial place.Through the window panes on the eastern wall you can see the royal bed decorated with dragon and phoenix designs. This hall has also served as the bridal chamber of monarchs. The Imperial Garden The main structure of the Imperial Garden is the Hall of Qin'an ,it is the only building in the palace museum that was built in taoist style. it served as a shrine to the taoist deity. The garden also features an imperial landscape. with rare trees and exotic rockery, the imperial garden served as a model for china' s imperial parks. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Forbidden City is now one of the most popular tourist attractions world-wide.
Cost per person in Chinese Yuan
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