The Forbidden City is the old name for the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The construction was started in 1406 when the third Ming Emperor moved the capital back to Beijing. Built on the old site of the burnt palace of the Yuan Dynasty, the Forbidden City was completed in 1420.

24 emperors lived in the palace of 72 hectares. When the last Qing Emperor was abdicated, the Forbidden City ceased to be the political center of China in 1912. The Palace Museum was established within the former imperial palace in 1925. In the heat of the Japanese invasion and the World War II, the Republic of China evacuated the national treasures from the Palace Museum to Nanjing. Facing defeat in the Civil War in 1947, Chiang Kai-shek ordered to ship the most valuable collection to Taiwan. The remaining treasures were returned to Beijing when peace returned.http://www.dpm.org.cn/www_oldweb/English/default.html

Surrounded by a 52-meter wide moat and a 12-meter high palace wall, the Forbidden City is located in the center of Beijing. It is reflecting an ancient Chinese belief that the emperor is in the heart of the empire. The rectangular palace has four gates on the north, east, south and west side. The southern gate, called the Wu men or the Meridian Gate, is the main entrance to the palace. The Tiananmen Gate, which is part of the former imperial city wall, lies further south to the Meridian Gate.

The palace itself is divided into an inner and outer court. The Inner Court lies on the northern side of the palace. It served as the private quarters of the emperor and his families. The Outer Court lies roughly to the south of the Hall of Preserving Harmony. It served as the place for imperial rule and administration. Being the largest hall of the palace, the Hall of Supreme Harmony used to be the most important venue for holding court.http://www.dpm.org.cn/www_oldweb/English/default.html

It is a mighty task to visit the Forbidden City, the largest palace complex of the world, together with the exhibitions of so many national treasures inside the palace. For a one day tour, the major attractions of the palace include:

• The Meridian Gate (Wu men)
• "Painting and Calligraphy Gallery" in the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuying dian)
• "Ceramics Gallery" in the Hall of Literary Brilliance (Wenhua dian)
• Gate of Supreme Harmony (Taihe men)
• Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe dian)
• Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghe dian)
• Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohe dian)
• Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing gong)
• Hall of Union (Jiaotai dian)
• Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning gong)
• Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin dian)
• Area of Six Western Palaces
• Imperial Garden (Yu huayuan)
• Area of Six Eastern Palaces
• "Hall of Clocks" in the Hall for Ancestral Worship (Fengxian dian)
• "The Treasure Gallery, Gallery of Qing Imperial Opera" in the Area of Palace of Tranquil Longevity (Ningshou gong)
• Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu men)

The Palace Museum is open daily all year round.

• April 1 – October 31: 8:30 to 17:00
• Last entry: 16:10
• Last tickets are sold at 16:00
• November 1 – March 31: 8:30 to 16:30
• Last entry: 15:40
• Last tickets are sold at 15:30

Entrance fees:

• April 1 – October 31: RMB 60
• November 1 – March 31: RMB 40

There is an additional fee of RMB 10 for the Treasure Gallery and the Hall of Clocks each.

Audio guides are available at the Meridian Gate (Wu men) and the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu men) in Arabic, Bangladeshi, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Mongolian, Myanmarese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. Rental fee for all foreign languages is RMB 40 plus a refundable deposit of RMB 100.

Guided tours are available at the Meridian Gate (Wu men) and the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu men) in Mandarin and English. Three different routes are available for groups of no more than five people:

• Central axis: 1 hour at RMB 200
• Central axis and west route: 1.5 hours at RMB 300
• Central axis, west route, and Treasure Gallery: 2.5 hours at RMB 400

There is an additional fee of RMB 20 per person for groups of six persons or more.

Transportation: Visitors may enter the palace either through the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu men) in the north or the Meridian Gate (Wu men) in the south

Bus to the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu men): No. 101, 103, 109, 111, 124, 810, 685, 814, 846

Shuttle Bus to "Gugong": Zhuan 1, traveling between Qianmen and The Palace Museum

Bus to the Meridian Gate (Wu men): No.1, 10, 120, 126, 2, 20, 37, 4, 52, 59, 728, 802, Olympic line 2, or Te 1, to "Tian'an Men East" (Tian'an men dong). OR No. 1, 10, 22, 37, 4, 5, 52, 728, 802, or Te1, to "Tian'an men West" (Tian'an men xi).

By underground train: Line 1 to Tian'an men East or "Tian'an men West" (Tian'an men xi).

Parking: There is no parking outside the two entrance gates of the Palace Museum. Nearby parking places include:

• Outside the East Prosperity Gate (Donghua men) ;
• In the back street of Jingshan Park;
• In front of the Front Gate of Beihai Park http://www.dpm.org.cn/shtml/2/@/8797.html#143