The Forbidden City: Architecture and Location

Location of the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City generally refers to the Palace Museum, located at 4 Jingshan Qian Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China. It is a national Class A National Museum (一级博物馆) and a 5A-level tourist attraction in China.

The Forbidden City is located at the heart of Beijing (北京), right at the northern end of the city’s central axis. It sits directly south of Tiananmen Square (天安门广场), one of China’s most famous landmarks. Its position in the center of the city was no accident—the layout symbolizes the emperor’s role as the center of the universe, with the palace representing the hub of imperial power. Spanning over 180 acres (72 hectares), the Forbidden City is one of the largest palace complexes in the world.

Architectural Layout and Features

Built over 600 years ago, the Forbidden City features a layout designed to reflect traditional Chinese cosmology.Covering an area of 720,000 square meters, as of July 2024, the museum has a building area of approximately 150,000 square meters with nearly 10,000 rooms. The palace complex is divided into two main sections: the Outer Court (外朝) and the Inner Court (内廷). The Outer Court was used for ceremonial purposes, while the Inner Court was the residence of the emperor and his family.The boundary between the Outer Court (外朝) and the Inner Court (内廷) is the street between Baohe Hall (保和殿) and Qianqing Gate (乾清门).

The Forbidden City Museum stretches 961 meters north to south (almost two kilometers) and 753 meters east to west (about 1.5 kilometers). It consists of 1,050 buildings and 9,371 rooms, all meticulously constructed following the principles of the “Zhou Li” (周礼) imperial capital layout—“front court and back market, left ancestral temple and right community temple.” This emphasizes the central axis, reinforcing the grandeur of imperial authority.


Along the central north-south axis, from north to south, the buildings are: Shenwu Gate (神武门), Imperial Garden (御花园), Kunming Gate (坤宁门), Kunming Palace (坤宁宫), Jiaotai Hall (交泰殿), Qianqing Palace (乾清宫), Qianqing Gate (乾清门), Baohe Hall (保和殿), Zhonghe Hall (中和殿), Taihe Hall (太和殿), Taihe Gate (太和门), and Wu Gate (午门). If you enter through the main gate of the Forbidden City Museum, the order of the palaces you encounter is the reverse of the aforementioned sequence.

The Front Court centers around Taihe Hall (太和殿), Zhonghe Hall (中和殿), and Baohe Hall (保和殿), surrounded by corridors, gates, pavilions, and towers, forming orderly courtyards. To the east of these three main halls is Wenhua Hall (文华殿), and to the west is Wuying Hall (武英殿), both aligned horizontally. These grand halls, built on three-story white marble bases, symbolize the supreme authority of the emperor. The Front Court’s buildings are divided into nine grades, reflecting the strict hierarchy of feudal society. The complexity of a building’s design indicates its rank, with the first grade being the most elaborate and the ninth the simplest.


The Inner Court, equivalent to the private quarters of an ordinary household, is simpler and smaller than the Front Court, highlighting a more relaxed and leisurely lifestyle. The most important buildings in the Inner Court are Qianqing Palace (乾清宫), Jiaotai Hall (交泰殿), and Kunming Palace (坤宁宫), collectively known as the Three Palaces (后三宫). Surrounding these are various other structures like the East Six Palaces (东六宫) and West Six Palaces (西六宫), catering to different members of the imperial family and serving various functions.

The architecture is a stunning example of Chinese imperial style, with majestic halls, delicate gardens, and elaborate roof designs. The most iconic feature is the golden roofs, designed to catch the light and reflect the emperor’s divine status. The Forbidden City consists of nearly 1,000 buildings, featuring a harmonious blend of wooden beams, stone carvings, and traditional Chinese elements like dragon motifs and intricate wooden screens.


Why Is the Forbidden City Called the Forbidden City?


The term “Forbidden City” comes from its name in Chinese, “紫禁城” (Zǐjìnchéng), which literally translates to “Forbidden Purple City.” The word “purple” refers to the North Star, which in ancient Chinese cosmology was considered the star that controlled the imperial court, symbolizing the emperor’s power and divinity. The word “forbidden” comes from the strict rules about access to the palace. Only the emperor, his family, and select officials were allowed to enter the Forbidden City. Ordinary people were prohibited from even approaching the palace gates, giving it a sense of mystery and reverence.

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