China’s most majestic and safest building: Forbidden City

As one of the world’s most important economic powers and one of the world’s most populous countries, China has a deeply rooted history. In fact, there are many precious cultural treasures in this ancient geography. The Forbidden City is one of those precious structures. The Forbidden City, whose construction began in 1406, is basically a palace built for the Chinese emperor of that time. However, it is called the Forbidden City due to its sheltered structure, gigantic size, and being a living space in its own right.

The building, which was used as the residence of 24 different Chinese emperors for 600 years, today continues to exist in all its glory in the center of the capital city of Beijing. Here’s what you need to know about the Forbidden City, one of the most majestic structures of ancient Chinese civilization.

The construction of the Forbidden City, begun in 1406, was completed in 1420.

According to some rumors, more than a million workers worked on the construction of this majestic structure.

Built in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden City was used as the residence of 24 different Chinese emperors for 600 years.

The Forbidden City is a huge residential complex built on an area of ​​720,000 square meters in the capital city of Beijing.

This is the main reason why the palace is called “the city”. The building, designed as a huge living space in imperial times, still holds the title of the largest imperial palace in the world.

So much so that there are 980 different buildings and 9,999 rooms in this vast living space! In addition, the complex, built on an area of ​​720,000 square meters, has dozens of beautiful gardens.

The palace complex was built taking into account the important traditions of ancient Chinese culture.

For example, cosmic balance, which occupies an important place in Confucian philosophy, determined the placement of the imperial palace in the center of the complex. Thus, the Chinese emperor, who lives in the Forbidden City, also ended up in the center of the universe …

Also, according to an ancient belief in China, since facing south was a sign of superiority, all the rooms where the emperor lived were built to face south.

The reason the palace complex is called a city is because of its incredible size. On the other hand, there is a reason why it is “forbidden”.

The Forbidden City was built with numerous security measures in mind that would allow the Chinese emperors to live without any danger. Indeed, the entry of unauthorized persons into the complex was almost impossible and prohibited!

The Forbidden City was surrounded by water channels 30 to 50 meters wide.

On the other hand, the floor of the building was equipped with stone blocks to prevent enemies from entering the palace. However, in the courtyard where the imperial palace is located, there is not a single tree “so that the enemies cannot hide”! Security was also the reason why there were thousands of rooms in the Forbidden City.

The Grass Emperors living in the Forbidden City slept in different rooms every night. Of course, no one knew, except for a few close guards, which room was the emperor’s rest room. Thanks to all the security measures for 600 years, not a single emperor has been killed or attacked in the Forbidden City…

In almost all buildings of the Forbidden City there are various animal figurines.

However, the most prominent figure in the palace is the dragon. So much so that it is not known exactly how many different dragon figurines are in the palace. Because dragon motifs are embroidered on many buildings, from wall paintings to tiles, from stone sculptures to marble decorations.

Puyi, the last emperor of China, also lived in the Forbidden City.

However, with the end of the imperial era, he was expelled from the Forbidden City in 1924. The palace complex was turned into a museum in 1925, shortly after the last emperor left the Forbidden City.

More than a million artifacts of Chinese civilization are stored here.

The artifacts on display at the complex are said to make up one-sixth of the historical artifacts in all of China. The Forbidden City, which is a valuable cultural heritage with its splendor, history and interesting architectural features, attracts attention with other historical monuments that are located in it. Located in the center of the capital city of Beijing, the building is visited annually by more than 10 million domestic and foreign tourists.

Many cats live in the Forbidden City

It is historically known that it was the royal women who lived in the palace who kept cats here. For this reason, there is a belief that the cats living in the Forbidden City today are of “royal lineage”. Royal or not, the Forbidden City is home to a large number of cats today.

Some people believe that the Forbidden City is haunted!

Yes, the world’s largest imperial palace was an extremely secure structure, built under strict security measures for the emperor only! Like many other royal enclaves, the Forbidden City has been the scene of dozens of tragic deaths and bloody executions!

This is why so many people, including foreign tourists, believe that the Forbidden City is haunted! So much so that the number of people who claim to have heard weeping in the palace or met strange women walking around in white robes is quite large.

Source: 1 2