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Forbidden City
tips and insights

Mammoth

The Forbidden City in Beijing is huge by any standard:

Size

It measures 960 meters (3200 feet) by 750 meters (2500 feet). That's equivalent to over 20 football fields.

Walls

The palace is surrounded by a thick, 10 meter (33 foot) high defensive wall that is in turn surrounded by a moat as wide as a river.

Rooms

The rooms in the Forbidden City once numbered 9,999 (nine is a lucky digit).

Largest and
most famous structure

The Hall of Supreme Harmony (see photo) wins that honor. Imperial ceremonies were held here.

Population

In its heyday, some six-thousand people lived in the Forbidden City. This included the emperor and his royal family, and his concubines, servants and eunuchs (who were prolific instigators of royal intrigue).

Final emperor resident

He was Puyi, the young male depicted in Bertolucci's 1987 epic, "The Last Emperor." Puyi was permanently evicted in 1924.

Suggested
length of visit

The Forbidden City is so expansive that I recommend you reserve a minimum of a half day on your first visit just to become acquainted with it. Then return to absorb the details.

Learn More

for first Forbidden page

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