back
The Forbidden City
2
The Forbidden City
Plan of the Forbidden City
When he chose Beijing for his new capital, Yongle decided to build the biggest palace ever: the Forbidden City. He did not take this task lightly; everything was very carefully organized.
The buildings were placed to form a rectangle over 700 metres long. First the public buildings to the South, then the private areas for the Emperor, his family and associates, to the North.
With hundreds of buildings, the Forbidden City offered the Emperor everything he needed. For a very good reason – the ruler almost never left his enormous palace!
In a nutshell
The Forbidden City, a gigantic rectangle 700 meters long with almost 10,000 rooms, was the Emperor’s main living quarters.
See also
