During our vacation in China we went ofcourse to the Forbidden City. Its one of the highlights in Beijing and a "must-have-seen-attraction". The location is in the middle of the city, the main gate is in front of Tiananmen Square.

In the past it was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. That's why The Forbidden City is also called "the Imperial Palace Museum". Construction of the palace complex started in 1407, the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, and was completed 14 years later in 1420.
The complex is huge: it covers 72 hectares and and has 9,999 rooms.

Not all rooms and halls are public or can be seen: there are still renovation works busy in the Forbidden City. You can see this in both pictures.

We went with a taxi from our hotel downtown to the Forbidden City and paid about 20 Yuan.(August 2004) The entrance fee is 60 Yuan per person. Around and inside the Forbidden City are vendors with drinks and tourist items. If you don't want to go on your own: many hotels can book city tour packages with a pick-up service from your hotel.


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