World Cultural Heritage: The Imperial Palace

Watch Video: Forbidden City

Date of Inscription: 1987

Evaluation of the World Heritage Committee:

The Forbidden City has been the center of the highest authority for more than 500 years in China. With garden landscapes and an enormous architectural complex consisting of 9,000 chambers and halls containing furniture and works of art, it has become the historical landmark witnessing invaluable Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

World cultural heritage: The Imperial Palace

Chinese Name: Ming Qing Gu Gong

English Name: Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Approval Date: December 1987

Category: Cultural heritage

Selection criteria: According to cultural and natural heritage selection criteria C(III)(IV), the Imperial Palace was included in the World Heritage List."　　

Introduction:

The Imperial Palace, also known as the Forbidden City, is located in the heart of Beijing. It has served as the residence to 24 emperors throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties between 1368 A.D. and 1911 A.D. but is now used as the Palace Museum. The monolithic architecture of the Imperial Palace is resplendent, magnificent, and solemn, and is hailed as one of the world's five major palaces which are the Imperial Palace in Beijing, the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in England, the White House in the United States, and the Kremlin in Russia. It was also included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

The grand architecture in the Imperial Palace is the largest and the most complete imperial building currently existing in China. It occupies a total area of more than 720,000 square meters and has more than 9,999 chambers and halls. Therefore, it has also been referred to as "the ocean of palaces." It looks imposing and spectacular, and can be called an incomparable masterpiece judging from the layout, the imperial architectural features, and other aspects.