Built from 1406-1420 during the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Palace, popularly known as the Forbidden City, was the permanent residence of the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911). It covers over 720,000 square meters of floor space, with more than 8,700 rooms, surrounded by city wall as high as ten meters and a city moat as wide as 52 meters. It can be divided into the front and the back parts.
The front part or the Outer Court where emperors held important ceremonies consists of the three great halls of Tai He Dian, Zhong He Dian and Bao He Dian, which form the main body, and Wen Hua Dian and Wu Ying Dian, which are arrayed like wings on the sides. The back part or the Inner Court, where emperors handled routine state affairs and lived with their wives and concubines, consists of Qian Qing Gong, Jiao Tai Dian, Kun Ning Gong, Yang Xin Dian as well as six east and west palaces and the imperial garden--Yu Hua Yuan......                       More