Construction of the palace began in 1406 and more than one million workmen were used on the project, which was completed in 1420. The palace covers an area of 72 hectares, with more than 9,000 building within it. Around the palace is a wall 10 metres high, protected by a moat 50 metres wide. Click here for a panoramic view of the Palace in around 1900.

The palace, known traditionally as the "Purple Forbidden City", was renamed as the Palace Museum in the 1920s.

Beyond Wumen is a large courtyard through which flows a canal crossed by a number of beautiful marble bridges.

Passing through the Gate of Supreme Harmony the visitor comes upon the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), the single most impressive piece of architecture in the palace. Important ceremonies, such as those to mark the emperor's birthday or the pronouncement of important edicts, were held here. Next comes the smaller Hall of Central Harmony (Zonghedian) where the emperors rehearsed the ceremonies, and then the Hall of Preserving Harmony in which were held banquets and imperial examinations. These three halls constituted the outer palace.

On either side of the three central halls are 12 courtyards that were once inhabited by concubines, maids and eunuchs. It is said there were 70,000 eunuchs working in an around the Forbidden City in one capacity or another.

Beyond it all to the north, through the Gate of Heavenly Purity, is the inner palace where the emperor and his retinue lived.

In 1933, the Nationalist government of Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek had the entire palace collection of treasures packed in crates and sent south to Shanghai and Nanking for safety in case of a Japanese invasion. From there, the treasures went to the wartime capital of Chungking and on to Taiwan with the Nationalists in 1949. They are now displayed in the Taipei Palace Museum.