Imperial City, Beijing

The Imperial City (Chinese: 皇城; pinyin: Huángchéng; literally: "Imperial City"; Manchu: Dorgi hoton, literally "the inner city") is a section of the city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the Forbidden City at its center. It refers to the collection of gardens, shrines, and other service areas between the Forbidden City and the Inner City of ancient Beijing. The Imperial City was surrounded by a wall and accessed through six gates and it includes historical places such as the Forbidden City, Tiananmen, Zhongnanhai, Beihai Park, Zhongshan Park, Jingshan, Imperial Ancestral Temple, and Xiancantan.

In the Yuan dynasty, Beijing was known as Dadu, and the Imperial City formed the centre of the city. In 1368, the Ming armies conquered Dadu, and changed its name to "Beiping" (the two characters meaning "north" and "peace" or "pacified"), with the capital moved to Nanjing. Because the Imperial City was untouched by battle, most of the Imperial City survived the war; however, in 1369, the Hongwu Emperor ordered that the Imperial City be demolished.

In 1370, the Hongwu Emperor's fourth son Zhu Di was created Prince of Yan, with seat in Beiping. In 1379 he built a princely palace within the Yuan Imperial City.

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