The Forbidden City in Beijing, China, is the world’s largest ancient imperial palace. Commissioned in 1406 by the Yongle Emperor, it served as the home of 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors and the epicenter of Chinese political power for over 500 years. Today, the complex operates as the Palace Museum and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rectangular in shape, the Forbidden City is enormous, covering an area of 72 hectares, and boasting more than 9,000 bays of rooms. It is divided into two parts – the Outer Court for national affairs in the south and the Inner Court as living quarters in the north. It is not only an immense architectural masterpiece, but also a treasury housing a unique collection of 1.8 million pieces of art, including ancient calligraphy and painting, imperial artifacts, ancient books, and archives.

Located to the north of the Tiananmen Square, the rectangular Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10 meters (33 feet) high outer wall and surrounded by a 52 meters (57 yards) wide moat. It has four gates: the Meridian Gate (Wumen) in the south, the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north, the West Prosperity Gate (Xihuamen) and the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen). On each of the four corners of the outer wall, there is a delicately structured corner tower.

The palace allows a south-to-north unidirectional route. Visitors can only enter through the Meridian Gate (Wumen) in the south and leave from the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north or the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen).

This has been one of my toughest venues to photograph because of its size and scale, along with the crowds we encountered. When I return home, I will do a better identification of the photos – for now, just enjoy.

Tiananmen Tower & Meridian Gate

Gate of Supreme Harmony & Hall of Supreme Harmony

Other Palace Photos

Imperial Garden

Gate of Divine Prowess & Moat Views

Leaving the Forbidden City, we traveled to the central site for the 2008 and 2022 Olympics – viewing the “Bird’s Nest”, the Cube for water sports, the Olympic tower, and the tower for the Olympic flame.

Editorial Comment: Google is blocked by the government, so getting emails and searching needs to be done through a VPN. adding another layer of effort to using the internet – so be it – I shall continue on.