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Forbidden City

The Palace Museum
故宮博物院
Forbidden City Beijing Shenwumen Gate.JPG
The Gate of Divine Might, the northern gate. The lower tablet reads "The Palace Museum" (故宫博物院)
Forbidden City is located in China
Forbidden City
Location within China
Established 1922
Location 4 Jingshan Front St, Dongcheng, Beijing,China
Coordinates 39°54′58″N 116°23′53″E / 39.915987°N 116.397925°E / 39.915987; 116.397925
Type Art museum, Imperial Palace, Historic site
Visitors 14 million
Ranking 1st globally
Curator Shan Jixiang (单霁翔)
Built 1406–1420
Architect Kuai Xiang (蒯祥)
Architectural style(s) Chinese architecture
Website www.dpm.org.cn
Forbidden City
Forbidden City (Chinese characters).svg
"Forbidden City" in Chinese characters
Chinese 紫禁城
Literal meaning "Purple [North Star] Forbidden City"
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
The Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿) at the centre of the Forbidden City
Location China
Type Cultural
Criteria i, ii, iii, iv
Reference 439
UNESCO region Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1987 (11th Session)
Extensions 2004

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.

Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 ha (over 180 acres). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. With over 14.6 million annual visitors, the Palace Museum is the most visited art museum in the world.

The common English name, "the Forbidden City", is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng (Chinese: ; pinyin: Zíjinchéng; literally: "Purple Forbidden City"). The name Zijin Cheng first formally appeared in 1576. Another English name of similar origin is "Forbidden Palace".


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