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The Forbidden City (Chinese: 紫禁城; pinyin: Zǐjinchéng; literally "Purple Forbidden City") was the Chinese imperial palace during the mid-Ming and the Qing Dynasties. The Forbidden City is located in the middle of Beijing, China. It is now known as the Palace Museum. Rectangular in shape, the Forbidden City is the world's largest palace complex still in existence and covers 720,000 square meters (178 acres, or 0.28 square miles). It is surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall. The Forbidden City includes five halls, seventeen palaces, and numerous other buildings. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The Outer Court, which includes the southern and central sections, centers on three halls which were used for ceremonial purposes, such as coronations, investitures, and imperial weddings. The three halls include the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿), itself fronted by the Gate of Supreme Harmony ( 太和). Apart from ceremony, the Outer Court also houses the Imperial Library, archives, and lantern storage. The Inner Court includes the northern, eastern, and western parts of the Forbidden City, and centres on another three halls which were used for the day-to-day affairs of state. The most important among these is the Palace of Heavenly Purity (乾清宫). The Inner Court was where the Emperor worked and lived with his family, eunuchs and maid- servants. The wall around the Forbidden City has a gate on each side. At the southern end is the Meridian Gate. To the north is the Gate of Divine Might, which faces Jingshan Park. The Gate of Divine Might is also called the Gate of Divine Military Genius. This is the main gate, used by everyone but the emperor (because he used the Meridian Gate). The distance between these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the gates in the east and west walls is 750 meters. The walls are thick and squat and were specifically designed to withstand attacks by cannons. There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the surrounding wall. These towers afford views over both the palace and the city outside. Outside the main gate to the Forbidden City, the Meridian Gate faces a square where imperial corporal punishments were sometimes carried out. To the south of that square stands Tiananmen Gate. At the northern end of the Forbidden City is the imperial garden. It is home to many trees aging 100 to 300 years old and many rare plants. The royal color was yellow, and that color dominates the rooftops. On each corner of the roofs, there are small statuettes, the number of which designated the power of the person living within the building. The number 9 was reserved for the emperor. Only one building has 10 statues at each corner. The Forbidden City is surrounded by royal gardens. To the west lies Zhongnanhai, the complex of buildings centred on two lakes which serves as the central headquarters for the Communist Party of China. To the north-west lies Beihai Park, which also centres on a lake and is a popular park. To the north lies Jingshan Park, also known as Jing Shan or Coal Hill, where the last Ming emperor hanged himself as the rebel army overran his palace.
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