bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

An emperor's home
Unesco lists the Forbidden City in Beijing as the biggest collection of ancient wooden buildings in the world. Today, it is one of  the mainland's most popular tourist attractions. 
But for  centuries, nobody could enter or leave this huge palace without the permission of the emperor.  
Although an early Forbidden City was built during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), work on the current one started in 1406, during the Ming dynasty. 
It took 15 years and between 200,000 and  1 million workers to build.
The world's biggest palace
Today, the Forbidden City is the biggest  surviving palace in the world. 
It is nearly twice as big as the Vatican and  almost four times bigger than the Kremlin. It covers  about  97 hectares.
The Forbidden City sat at the heart of old Beijing. To the south was the Gate of Heavenly Peace Square, Tiananmen, the largest square in the world. 
To the north were the Bell and Drum towers, and the Yongdingmen, the North Gate. This gate was torn down in 1950, and  rebuilt  in 2005.
Five troubled centuries
The more than 9,000 wooden buildings in the palace have survived  some five centuries. This is amazing when you consider everything  the country has faced.
In 1644, for example, a rebel leader took over the palace. But when he heard a Ming general had joined forces with the Manchu army, he fled. He burned parts of the palace down. 
In 1860, the British and French took it over for a year in the second Opium War. During the Cultural Revolution, soldiers had to protect it from Red Guards.
Fung shui
Everything in the Forbidden City has a meaning. For example, in the Chinese name for the Forbidden City, Zijin Cheng, 'zi' means purple. 
But it also represents the North Star, where the Celestial Emperor - the Taoist ruler of heaven - lived.
The names of the buildings and their positions reflect  ideas such as harmony and kindness. For example, the halls leading from the Outer Court to the Inner Court are called  Hall of Supreme Harmony and Hall of Central Harmony.
now do this
1 The Forbidden City is ... as big as the Vatican.
a. four times
b. twice
c. 10 times
2 Work on the Forbidden City we can see today started in the ... dynasty.
a. Ming
b. Yuan
c. Qing
3 In 1860, ... briefly took over the Forbidden City.  
a. Ming dynasty rebels
b. the Japanese
c. British-French troops
Answers:
December 7
1. b, 2. c, 3. a



The Forbidden City