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| Emperor Yongle |
You will be shocked by its magnificent spectacle then you visit Forbidden City and Great Wall for the first time. Maybe some questions arose from you after visiting: When did Forbidden City and Great Wall built and who built it?
These questions lead us to a great emperor - Emperor Yongle.
Emperor Yongle (May 2, 1360 – August 12, 1424), also called Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. He is generally considered arguably the greatest emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and to be among the greatest Chinese emperors. His achievements included: 
China under the Emperor Yongle
It should be called a great emperor if other emperors in Chinese history can finished only one thing mentioned above! Emperor Yongle was the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of Ming Dynasty, he grew up as a prince in a loving, caring environment. His father supplied nothing but the best education for his sons and eventually gave them their own princedoms. Zhu Di was entitled as the Prince of Yan, the area around Beijing. He had been very successful against the Mongols and impressed his father with his energy, risk-taking ability and leadership. Ambitious and self-willed, he was rather disappointed that when Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son, his older brother, Zhu Biao, died in 1392, the Emperor named his grandson Zhu Yun-wen as the heir designate. He began to plot to usurp the throne. He allied himself with the imperial officials in the North and the court eunuchs and began his rebellion shortly after the ascension of his nephew in June 1398. After some hard fighting for nearly 4 years during which sections of the North were devastated, He captured Nanking, the capital, in July 1403 and declared himself emperor in August - Emperor Yongle. During his 20 years of rule, Emperor Yongle brought the Ming dynasty to the zenith of its power. The major change was the transfer of the capital from Nanking to Beijing. According to a popular legend, the capital was moved when the emperor's advisors brought the emperor to the hills surrounding Nanjing and pointed out the emperor's palace showing the vulnerability of the palace to artillery attack. He planned to build a massive network of structures in Beijing in which government offices, officials, and the imperial family itself resided. After a painfully long construction time, the Forbidden City was finally completed and became the political capital of China for the next 500 years. 
Emperor Yongle Statue in Ming Tombs
He commissioned his grand secretary, Xie Jin, to write a compilation of every subject and every known book of the Chinese. The massive project's goal was to preserve Chinese culture and literature in writing. The initial copy took 17 months to transcribe and another copy was transcribed in 1557. The book, named the Yongle Encyclopedia, is still considered one of the most marvelous human achievements in history, despite it being lost by time. During his reign, the Grand Canal was almost completely rebuilt and was eventually moving imported goods from all over the world. Yongle's short-term goal was to revitalize northern urban centers, especially his new capital at Beijing. As part of his desire to expand Chinese influence, Emperor Yongle sponsored the massive and long term Zheng He expeditions. These were China's only major sea-going explorations of the world (although the Chinese had been sailing to Arabia, East Africa, and Egypt since the Tang Dynasty, from 618-907 AD). The first expedition launched in 1405, 18 years before Henry the Navigator began Portugal's voyages of discovery. In 1424, Yongle Emperor died, and buried in Chang-Ling one of the Ming Tombs in Northern Beijing. Related Article: Related Tour: Badaling Great Wall & Ming Tombs Private Tour Add to your favorite Bookmarking sites              
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Built the Forbidden City in Beijing