Forbidden City, so called because it was off limits to commoners for 500 years, is the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China. It was home to two dynasties of emperors -the Ming and the Qing - who didnt stray from this pleasure dome unless they absolutely had to.

The Beijing authorities insist on calling this place the Palace Museum. Whatever its official name, its open daily from 8.30 am to 5 pm (the last admission tickets are sold at 3.30 pm). Two hundred years ago the admission price would have been instant death, but this has dropped considerably to 85 Yuan includes rental of a cassette tape for a self guided tour, although you can enter for Y60 without the tape. For the tape to make sense, you must enter the Forbidden City from the southern gate and exit from the northern gate. The tape is available in several languages.

The basic layout of the Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420 by Emperor Yong Le, who commanded up to a million labourers. From this palace the emperors governed China - often rather erratically as they tended to become lost in this self-contained little word and allocated real power to the court eunuchs. One emperor devoted his entire career to carpentry - when an earthquake struck (an ominous sign for an emperor ) he was delighted, since it gave him a chance to renovate.

The buildings now seen are mostly post 18th century, as are a lot of restored of rebuilt structures around Beijing. The palace was constantly going up in flames - a lantern festival combined with a sudden gust of Gobi wind would easily do the trick, as would a fireworks display. The moat around the palace, now used for boating, came in handy since the local fire brigade was considered too lowly to quench the royal flames.

In 1664, the Manchus stormed in and burned the palace to the ground. It was not just the buildings that went up in smoke, but rare books, paintings and scrolls. In this century there have been two major lootings of the palace: by the Japanese forces and the Kuomintang. The latter, on the eve of the Communist takeover in 1949, removed thousands of crates of relics to Taiwan where they are now on display in Taipeis National Palace Museum. The gaps have been filled by bringing treasures (old, newly discovered and fake ) from other parts of China.

                                     Map of the Forbidden City

Travel tips:

1. At Meridian Gate, visitors can rent a guide tape in different languages with a player, which introduces the history and architecture of the palace. The tape and player can be returned at the north gate of the Palace Museum.

2. Dont forget to visit the Jingshan (Coal Hill) Park, on the opposite of the palaces north gate, from where you can see the splendid layout of the palace.

Opening hours: 8:00-16:00 (May-September); 8:30-15:30 (October-April);

Entry ticket: 60 yuan/person (busy season), 40 yuan/person (slow season);

Some of the museums have additional charges;

How to get there: Subways: Line 1: get down at Tiananmen East, Loop Line: get down at Qianmen; Bus No. 1, 4, 5, 10, 20, 22, 52, 57, 802;  It is within walking distance from Wangfujing, Xidan or Qianmen.

Tel: 86-10-65132255.

Recommended Tours: Beijing City Tour (4 Days)

                                   China Impression Tour (8 Days)