The Forbidden City

The universally accepted symbol for the length and grandeur of Chinese civilization is undoubtedly the Great Wall, but the Forbidden City is more immediately impressive.

A 720,000-sq.-m (864,000-sq.-yard) complex of red-walled buildings and pavilions topped by a sea of glazed vermilion tile, it dwarfs nearby Tian'an Men Square and is by far the largest and most intricate imperial palace in China.

The palace receives more visitors than any other attraction in the country (over seven million a year, the government says), and has been praised in Western travel literature ever since the first Europeans laid eyes on it in the late 1500s.

Yet despite the flood of superlatives and exaggerated statistics that inevitably go into its description, it is impervious to an excess of hype, and it is large and compelling enough to draw repeat visits from even the most jaded travellers. Make more time for it than you think you'll need.

The palace, most commonly referred to in Chinese as Gu Gong (Former Palace), is on the north side of Tian'an Men Square across Chang'an Dajie. It is best approached on foot or via metro (Tian'an Men Dong, 117), as taxis are not allowed to stop in front.

The palace is open daily from 8:30 am to 5 pm during summer and from 8:30am to 4:30 pm in winter. Regular admission (men piao) in summer costs 60 ($8), dropping to 40 ($5) in winter; last tickets are sold an hour before the doors close.

Various exhibition halls and gardens inside the palace charge an additional 10 ($1). All-inclusive tickets (lian piao) had been discontinued at press time, perhaps in an effort to increase revenues, but it's always possible these will be reinstated. Tip: If you have a little more time, it is highly recommended that you approach the entrance at Wu Men (Meridian Gate) via Tai Miao to the east, and avoid the gauntlet of tiresome touts and tacky souvenir stalls.

Ticket counters are clearly marked on either side as you approach.

Audio tours in several languages (40/$5 plus 500/$63 deposit; the English version is narrated by ex-007 Roger Moore) are available at the gate itself, through the door to the right.

Those looking to spend more money can hire "English"-speaking tour guides on the other side of the gate (200-350/$25-$44 per person, depending on tour length).

The tour guide booth also rents wheelchairs and strollers at reasonable rates. Note: Only the central route through the palace is wheelchair-accessible, and steeply so.

The Big Makeover

Beijing recently launched an immense $75-million renovation of the Forbidden City, the largest in 90 years, to be completed in two phases (the first by 2008, the second by 2020).

Work started on halls and gardens in the closed western sections of the palace in 2002, with the most effort concentrated on opening the Wuying Dian (Hall of Valiance and Heroism) in the southwest corner of the palace, followed by Cining Huayuan (Garden of Love and Tranquillity) next to the Taihe Dian.

No one can say exactly when visitors will be allowed in; all you can do now is peer through door cracks on the left side of the outer court.

Plans also call for the construction of new temperature-controlled buildings to house and exhibit what is claimed to be a collection of 930,000 Ming and Qing imperial relics, most now stored underground.

Welcome as the project is, China's track record of tacky restorations has made many people nervous. Shortly after the plans were announced, the China Youth Daily launched a call for public hearings to approve the details, claiming in typical language that any changes to the complex "will have psychological influences on all Chinese people."

The suggestion was politely rejected, but an incongruous coat of bright red paint recently slapped over parts of the palace's Gate of Heavenly Purity indicates that more input might not be a bad thing.

Background & Layout: Construction of the original palace buildings began in 1406, during the reign of the Yongle emperor, and took an army of workers 14 years to complete.

A single moat, 52m (171 ft.) wide and nearly 4km (2 1/2 miles) long, surrounds it. Between 1420 and 1923, the palace was home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The last of these was Aisin-Gioro Puyi, who was forced to abdicate in 1912 but was allowed to remain in the palace for several years afterward.

The Forbidden City is arranged along a north-south meridian, aligned on the Pole Star.

The Qing court was unimpressed when the barbarians designated Greenwich Royal Observatory as the source of the prime meridian in 1885; they believed the Imperial Way marked the center of the temporal world. Major halls open to the south.

Furthest south and in the center is the symmetrical outer court, dominated by immense ceremonial halls where the emperor conducted official business. Beyond the outer court and surrounding it on both sides is the inner court, a series of smaller buildings and gardens that served as living quarters.

The palace has been ransacked and parts destroyed by fire several times over the centuries, so most of the existing buildings date from the Qing rather than the Ming. The original complex was said to contain 9,999 rooms, testament to the Chinese love of the number nine, and also to an unusual counting method.

The square space between columns is counted as a room (jian), so the largest building, Taihe Dian, counts as 55 rooms.

The Inner Court

Using the Western method of counting, there are now 980 rooms. Only half of the complex is open to visitors (expected to increase to 70% after repairs are completed in 2020), but this still leaves plenty to see.

(Nei Ting)-Only the emperor, his family, his concubines, and the palace eunuchs (who numbered 1,500 at the end of the Qing dynasty) were allowed in this section, sometimes described as the truly forbidden city.

It begins with the Qianqing Men (Gate of Heavenly Purity), directly north of the Baohe Dian, fronted by a magnificent pair of bronze lions and flanked by a Ba Zi Yingbi (a screen wall in the shape of the character for "eight"), both warning non-royals not to stray inside. Beyond are three palaces designed to mirror the three halls of the Outer Court.

The first of these is the Qianqing Gong (Palace of Heavenly Purity), where the emperors lived until Yongzheng decided to move to the western side of the palace in the 1720s. Beyond is Jiaotai Dian (Hall of Union), containing the throne of the empress and 25 boxes that once contained the Qing imperial seals.

A considerable expansion on eight seals used during the Qin dynasty, the number 25 was chosen because it is the sum of all single-digit odd numbers. Next is the more interesting Kunning Gong (Palace of Earthly Tranquility), a Manchu-style bedchamber where a nervous Puyi was expected to spend his wedding night before he fled to more comfortable rooms elsewhere.

At the rear of the inner court is the elaborate Yu Huayuan (Imperial Garden), a marvelous scattering of ancient conifers, rockeries, and pavilions said to be largely unchanged since it was built in the Ming dynasty. Puyi's British tutor, Reginald Fleming Johnston, lived in the Yangxin Zhai, the first building on the west side of the garden (now a tea shop).

From behind the mountain, you can exit the palace through the Shenwu Men (Gate of Martial Spirit) and continue on to Jing Shan and/or Bei Hai Park. Those with time to spare, however, should take the opportunity to explore less-visited sections on either side of the central path. Most of this area is in a state of heavy disrepair, but a few buildings have been restored and are open to visitors.

Most notable among these is the Yangxin Dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation), southwest of the Imperial Garden.

The reviled Empress Dowager Cixi, who ruled China for much of the late Qing period, made decisions on behalf of her infant nephew, the Guangxu emperor, from behind a screen in the east room. This is also where emperors lived after Yongzheng moved out of the Qianqing Gong.