The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is a giant palace complex in Beijing, China. It was home to Chinese emperors for almost 500 years. Ordinary people were not allowed to enter, which is why it was called 'forbidden.' Today, it is a museum that millions of people visit every year.

An Enormous Palace

The Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world. It has 980 buildings and about 8,700 rooms! A wide moat and a tall wall surround the entire complex. The buildings have golden-yellow roofs because yellow was the emperor's special color. It covers about 178 acres, which is bigger than 130 football fields.

Life Inside the Walls

The emperor lived in the inner part of the Forbidden City with his family. Thousands of servants, guards, and officials also lived and worked inside. The emperor held meetings and ceremonies in the grand outer halls. Everything in the palace was designed to show the emperor's great power.

Fun Facts

• Legend says it took 1 million workers and 14 years to build the Forbidden City.
• The Forbidden City has a collection of about 1.8 million works of art.
• Bronze lions guard the entrances to important buildings inside the complex.

Did You Know?

The roofs of the Forbidden City were designed to keep birds away. The smooth, glazed tiles made it too slippery for birds to land on!