CHINA - Beijing - The Imperial Palace : palaces in the Inner Eastern Section

CHINA stamps



BEIJING location in CHINA

The Forbidden City was the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties, known as the Palace Museum. The consitruction took 14 years and was finished in 1420. In the following years, the capotal of the Ming Dynasty was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Twenty-four emperors, 14 in the Ming and 10 in the Qing dynasties ruled from here. The last dynasty fell in 1911, but Emperor Puyi still lived in the Inner Court until 1924, when he was thrown out of the palace by the troops of General Feng Yuxiang. After that, the palace was opened to the public as the Palace Museum and it was no longer forbidden to the common people.

The Forbidden City located in the centre of Beijing, covering an area of 72 hectares. It is rectangular in shape, 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west. There are total 9999.5 rooms in the whole clmplex. There is a 10-metre-high wall, encircled by a 52-metre-wide moat.

The Forbidden City is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still standing. Some of the buildings were damaged by lightning and rebuilt in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It had beed expanded several times, but the original layout was preserved.

After liberation, some costly renovations were done and the Forbidden City is listed as one of the important historical monument under special preservation by the Chinese Government.

Map of the FORBIDDEN CITY

The Six Eastern Palaces, like the Western Palaces, stand on the other side of the north-south alley.

Most of the Palaces were restored in the 17th century, these palaces were also the living quarters for the empresses and concubines.

Now they have mostly been turned into some special museums like, the Museum of Bronze, the Museum of Porcelain and the Museum of Arts and Crafts of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

East of the Six Palaces lay the store-houses for tea and some of the brocades.

The Five Northern Kitchens (Bei Wu Chu) to the north fed everyone living in the eastern part of the palace.

Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang

Date of inscription : 1987

Seat of supreme power for over five centuries (1416-1911), the Forbidden City in Beijing, with its landscaped gardens and many buildings (whose nearly 10,000 rooms contain furniture and works of art), constitutes a priceless testimony to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang consists of 114 buildings constructed between 1625–26 and 1783. It contains an important library and testifies to the foundation of the last dynasty that ruled China, before it expanded its power to the centre of the country and moved the capital to Beijing. This palace then became auxiliary to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. This remarkable architectural edifice offers important historical testimony to the history of the Qing Dynasty and to the cultural traditions of the Manchu and other tribes in the north of China.

__________________________________________________

Postcard sent by Meng , as "raphaella"
Private swap - Reference CN001

Beijing - The Imperial Palace also known as The Forbidden City

Palaces in the Inner Eastern Section

谢谢