Red, the symbolic color of imperial power, is a dominant theme throughout the Forbidden City.

1. Now called the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City is 3,150 feet long and 2,460 feet wide, the world’s largest palace complex covers a floor space of 7,749,000 square feet or 178 acres, having 9,999 buildings. The rectangular city is encircled in a 177 foot-wide, 20 foot-deep moat and a 32 foot -high, city wall which has one gate on each side. There are four unique and delicate structured corner towers overlooking the city inside and outside on the four corners. Generally, it was divided into two parts, the northern half, or the Outer Court where emperors executed their supreme power over the nation and the southern half, or the Inner Court where they lived with their royal family. Until 1924 when the last emperor in China was driven out of the Inner Court, 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. About 500 years being the imperial palace, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. It is now listed by the UN as World Cultural Heritage in 1987 and is one of the hottest tourist magnets.

2. Red, the symbolic color of imperial power, is a dominant theme throughout the Forbidden City.

3. Yellow tile roofs adorned with dragons were everywhere. The number of dragons determined the importance of a particular building--the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most important ceremonial building in the Forbidden City, has 12.

4. Each corner of the Forbidden City has a unique corner tower. Below is the moat surrounding the palace. Intruders were discouraged by guards in watchtowers with bow and arrows.

5. Construction of the palace complex started in 1407 and was completed 14 years later in 1420. It was said that a million workers including 100,000 artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor.

6. Imperial City Staircase

7. The Northwest Tower

8. One of the Imperial Thrones

12. This is the square between theMeridian Gate and the Gate of Supreme Harmony, just ahead. Guards of honor would line up in this square (the largest in the palace complex) before important ceremonies.

13. The Hall of Medium Harmony is where the emperors rested before major ceremonies

15. The Forbidden City has undergone dramatic renovations. Although great effort has been put forth to prevent the commercialization of the palace, a Starbucks has been placed inside it , rousing controversy