Constructionofthepalacecomplexbeganin1407，the5thyearoftheYonglereignofthethirdemperoroftheMingdynasty.Itwascompletedfourteenyearslaterin1420.Itwassaidthatamillionworkersincludingonehundredthousandartisansweredrivenintothelong-termhardlabor.StoneneededwasquarriedfromFangshan，asuburbofBeijing.Itwassaidawellwasdugeveryfiftymetersalongtheroadinordertopourwaterontotheroadinwintertoslidehugestonesoniceintothecity.Hugeamountsoftimberandothermaterialswerefreightedfromfarawayprovinces.AncientChinesepeopledisplayedtheirveryconsiderableskillsinbuildingtheForbiddenCity.Takethegrandredcitywallforexample.Ithasan8.6meterswidebasereducingto6.66meterswideatthetop.Theangularshapeofthewalltotallyfrustratesattemptstoclimbit.Thebricksweremadefromwhitelimeandglutinousricewhilethecementismadefromglutinousriceandeggwhites.Theseincrediblematerialsmakethewallextraordinarilystrong.
Sinceyellowisthesymboloftheroyalfamily，itisthedominantcolorintheForbiddenCity.Roofsarebuiltwithyellowglazedtiles;decorationsinthepalacearepaintedyellow;eventhebricksonthegroundaremadeyellowbyaspecialprocess.However，thereisoneexception.Wenyuange，theroyallibrary，hasablackroof.Thereasonisthatitwasbelievedblackrepresentedwaterthenandcouldextinguishfire.
Nowadays，theForbiddenCity，orthePalaceMuseumisopentotouristsfromhomeandabroad.Splendidpainteddecorationontheseroyalarchitecturalwonders，thegrandanddeluxehalls，withtheirsurprisinglymagnificenttreasureswillcertainlysatisfy"moderncivilians".
Everybodyisgood!WelcometothePalaceMuseumtouristssightseeing.Today,IwilltakeyouvisittheForbiddenCity,inthehopethatvisitorscanenjoyme!!!!!!!
Thetourists!ThePalaceMuseumisintheMingandqingdynastiesimperialpalace,theForbiddenCitybuiltonthebasisofacollectionofancientbuildings,collection,imperialpalacecultureartasoneofthelarge-scalecomprehensivemuseum.TheForbiddenCitycoversanareaofaboutmorethan100squaremeters,constructionareaofabout1squaremeters.Atotalof24emperorslivedintheForbiddenCity,thefirstistheMingdynastyyongleemperorzhudi,thelastoneistheqingdynastyxuantongemperor,puyi,ruledthecountryfor491years.SothePalaceMuseumofhistoryisverylong!
Visitors,pleaselookup,thisisthemeridiangate,inancienttimes,whatkillpeopletokillinfrontofthemeridiangate!Fromthemeridiangate,wecanseethejinshuibridge.Fromthejinshuibridgeinthepast,agate,canseethePalaceMuseumoftaihepalace,zhonghepalaceandBaohePalace,istheplacewheretheemperoremperor,verygrand.OutofBaohePalace,agateofheavenlypurity,cametothepalaceofheavenlypurity,thistempleandpalaceofearthlytranquility,legendbuilttheForbiddenCity,isinordertoworldpeace,totakethesethreeplacesKunningdoor,istheimperialgarden,thegardenscenerybeautiful,thereareanumberofstrangestone,comeacrossthesestones,rememberpicturestocommemorate!
Beforethegateishervirginityandcreaturedoor,ourtriptotheForbiddenCityisover.Lookatthismagnificentpalace,andsomeloathetogiveup
LadiesandGentlemen:
Iampleasedtoserveasyourguidetoday。
Thisisthepalacemuseum;alsoknowasthePurpleForbiddenCity。ItisthelargestandmostwellreservedimperialresidenceinChinatoday。UnderMingEmperorYongle，constructionbeganin1406。Ittook14yearstobuildtheForbiddenCity。ThefirstrulerwhoactuallylivedherewasMingEmperorZhudi。Forfivecenturiesthereafter，itcontinuedtobetheresidenceof23successiveemperorsuntil1911whenQingEmperorPuyiwasforcedtoabdicatethethrone。In1987，theUnitedNationsEducational，ScientificandCulturalOrganizationrecognizedtheForbiddenCitywasaworldculturallegacy。
ItisbelievedthatthePalaceMuseum，orZiJinCheng(PurpleForbiddenCity)，gotitsnamefromastronomyfolklore，TheancientastronomersdividedtheconstellationsintogroupsandcenteredthemaroundtheZiweiYuan(NorthStar)。TheconstellationcontainingtheNorthStarwascalledtheConstellationofHeavenlyGodandstaritselfwascalledthepurplepalace。Becausetheemperorwassupposedlythesonoftheheavenlygods，hiscentralanddominantpositionwouldbefurtherhighlightedtheuseofthewordpurpleinthenameofhisresidence。Infolklore，theterm“aneasternpurplecloudisdrifting”becameametaphorforauspiciouseventsafterapurplecloudwasseendriftingeastwardimmediatelybeforethearrivalofanancientphilosopher，LaoZi，totheHanghuPass。Here，purpleisassociatedwithauspiciousdevelopments。Thewordjin(forbidden)isself-explanatoryastheimperialpalacewasheavilyguardedandoff-explanatoryastheimperialpalacewasheavilyguardedandoff-limitstoordinarypeople。
Theredandyellowusedonthepalacewallsandroofsarealsosymbolic。Redrepresentshappiness，goodfortuneandwealth。YellowisthecoloroftheearthontheLoessPlateau，theoriginalhomeoftheChinesepeople。YellowbecameanimperialcolorduringtheTangdynasty，whenonlymembersoftheroyalfamilywereallowedtowearitanduseitintheirarchitecture。
TheForbiddenCityisrectangularinshape。Itis960meterslongfromnorthtosouthand750meterwidefromeastwest。Ithas9，900roomsunderatotalroofarea150，000squaremeters。A52-meter-wide-moatencirclesa9。9-meter—highwallwhichenclosesthecomplex。Octagon—shapedturretsrestonthefourcornersofthewall。Therearefourentrancesintothecity:theMeridianGatetothesouth，theShenwuGate(GateofMilitaryProwess)tothenorth，andtheXihuaGate(GateofmilitaryProwess)tothenorth，andtheXihuaGate(WesternFloweryGate)tothewest，theDonghua(EasternFloweryGate)totheeast。
ManpowerandmaterialsthroughoutthecountrywereusedtobuildtheForbiddenCity。Atotalof230，000artisansandonemillionlaborerswereemployed。MarblewasquarriedfromfangshanCountryMountPaninJixianCountyinHebeiProvince。GranitewasquarriedinQuyangCountyinHebeiProvince。PavingblockswerefiredinkilnsinSuzhouinsouthernChina。BricksandscarletpigmentationusedonthepalatialwallscamefromlinqinginShandongProvince。Timberwascut，processedandhauledfromthenorthwesternandsouthernregions。
Ladiesandgentlemen:
Ittook14yearstocompletethemagnificentpalace.Constructionbeganin1406andfinishedin1420.Thefollowingyear,in1421thecapitaloftheMingDynastywasmovedfromNanjingtoBeijing.StartingfromthethirdemperoroftheMingDynastyZhuDitothelastemperoroftheQingDynastyPuYi,altogether24emperorslivedhereforatotalof491years.14ofthenwereMingemperorsand10wereQingemperors.
TheForbiddenCitycoversanareaof72hectareswithatotalfloorspaceofabout163,000squaremeters.Itisrectangularinshape,960meterslongfromnorthtosouthand750meterswidefromeasttowestwitha10-meterhighcitywallsurroundedandencircledbya52meter-widemoat.Ateachcornerofthesurroundingwall,thereisamagnificentwatchtowerwhichwasheavilyguardedintheolddays.
TheForbiddenCitynowconsistsofmorethan90palacesandcourtyards,980buildingswithroomsof8,704.MostofthestructuresintheForbiddenCityweremadeofwoodwithwhitemarble,stoneorbrickfoundations.Thebuildingmaterialswerefrompartsofourcountry.ThetimbercamefromSichuan,Guizhou,Guandxi,HunanandYunnanprovincesinsouthwestChina.ButintheQingDynasty,thetimbersweretransportedfromnortheastChina.Otherconstructionmaterials,includingbrick,stoneandlime,wereusedbybothDynasties.ThegoldenbricksthatpavedthehallsweremanufacturedinSuzhou,refinedbricksusedtobuildthefoundationofhallsweremadeinLinqing,andlimecamefromYizhou.WhitemarblewasprovidedregularlybyFangshanCountyandglazedtilesbySanjiadian.
TheForbiddenCitycanbedividedintotwoparts:theOuterCourtandtheInnerPalace.TheOuterCourtconsistsofthreemainbuildingswheretheemperorsattendedthegrandofrearthreemainbuildingsandthesixeasternpalacesandsixwesternpalaceswheretheemperorusedtohandledailyaffairsandthelivingquartersfortheemperor,empressandimperialconcubinestolivein.
TheForbiddenCityisthebest-preservedimperialpalaceinChinaandthelargestancientpalatialstructureintheworld.In1987itwaslistedastheworldculturalheritagebyUNESCO.
TheMeridianGateisthemainentrancetotheForbiddenCity.ItiscalledMeridianGatebecausetheemperorbelievedthatthemeridianlinewentrightthroughtheForbiddenCityandhisimperialresidencewasthecenterofthewholeuniverse.Itis35.6metershighwithfivetowersonthetop,soitisalsonicknamesasthe“Five-PhoenixTower.”
TheMeridianGatewastheplacetoannouncethenewlunaryearcalendaronthefirstdayof10thlunarmontheveryyear.LanternswouldalsobehungupontheMeridianGateonthe15thdayofthefirstlunarmonthduringtheMingDynasty,whenalltheofficialswouldhaveafeastintheForbiddenCityandordinarycitizens,whenalltheofficialswouldhaveafastintheForbiddenCityandordinarycitizenswouldgototheMeridianGatetolookatthebeautifullanterns.Whenageneralreturnedfrombattle,theceremonyof“AcceptingCaptivesofWar”washeldhere.The“CourtBeating”alsotookplacehere.
Thegatehasfiveopenings.Thecentralpassagewaywasfortheemperorexclusively.Butapartfromtheemperor,theempresscouldusethecentralpassagewayonthedayoftheimperialweddingceremony.However,afterthepalaceexamination,thefirsttopthreeoutstandingscholarswereallowedtogothroughthecentralgate.Thehigh-rankingcivilandmilitaryofficialswentinthroughthesidegateontheeast.Thetwosmalleronesonbothsidesatthecornerwereforthelowrankingofficials.DuringthePalaceExaminationallthecandidateswentinfromthesetwoside-gatesaccordingtotheoddnumberorevennumber.
Everybodyisgood!Mynameiswang,cancallmethekingtourguide.TodaywearegoingtoswimthePalaceMuseum,itwaslistedasaworldheritagesitein1987.
Ok,wecansaynow.Becausewecametothecenteroftheimperialpalace,afterthreepalace,thepalaceofheavenlypurity,alternatingbetweentaitemple,palaceofearthlytranquility.Imperialpalaceflanksareyangxintemple,eastsixth,westsixthpalace,thehallofabstinence,mincitypalace.Althoughtheylikeinfrontofthethreemainhalls(yellowglassroofandgreenwhitestonebase),buttheinternalstructureoftheeasttothetable,teatable,westculturalrelicsforthechair.Threepalace,theimperialandcreaturedoor,afterthecreaturedoortothenorthgate,eastgateDongHuaMen,Simoncalledxihuagate,mainentranceisthemeridiangate.
Okay,nowintothefreebrowsingtime,timeforthreehours,pleasepayattentiontothepoints:
1.Notcall,donotrun,donotdisorderlytouch,donottamperwith,donotlitter;
2.Keepquiet;
3.Nowbacktothelocationofthesetontime.
Howtimeflies,suddenlythesaygoodbye.Thetourists,goodbye!HopethenexttimeyoucometoBeijingtovisittheForbiddenCity!
Dearfriendsfromthetourists:
Today,IleadyoutovisitthePalaceMuseum.
Legendhasittheimperialpalace,9999.5rooms,someonedidimageanalogy:ifsomeonefromnewborntobegintolive,toliveto27yearsoldcanbefinished.Accordingtotheactual1973expertsandfieldmeasurementoftheForbiddenCityroomis8704.
TheForbiddenCityhasfourdoor,frontdoornamedwumen.Meridiangatehasfivehole.Itssurfaceisconcave,magnificent.MeridiangateafterfivedelicatewhitemarbleBridgestothegate.DongmenDongHuaMen,Simonxihuagate,northgateofcreature.Eventhepalaceofthefourcornerhaschoicenessexquisitewatchtower,the27.5meters,crossridge,threedouble-hippedroof,allbrightmountain,polygonal,buildingisamagnificentstructure.
DongHuaMencorrespondtogatexihuaremotedoorhasdismountmonument,gate,northandsouth,thegoldenstreamflow,1onstonebridge,bridge,thenorthgateofthree.DongHuaMenthesameasthexihuagateshape,flatrectangular,redChengTai,whitejade须弥座,constructthreecouponsdoor,amongforeignstampsholeinsidethecircle.Onthecitybuilttowers,yellowglazedtiledouble-hippedrooftophiproof,thegatewidth5,depthbetweenthethree,allaroundthegallery.
Ok,youcanfreeactivities,playwhileyoupayattentiontosafety,keeptheattractionsofhealth,Iwishyouallhaveagoodtime.
Firstcametothehallofsupremeharmony.Thehallofsupremeharmonycommonlyknownasduringwhich,inthecenteroftheForbiddenCity,isoneofthethreemainhallsoftheimperialpalace.ThetemplewithgoldQiMuZhuanddelicatepanlongsunkpanel,"legitimate"plaquehangingontheend,wordsaboutheirtodiebeforetheyslipintotablets.Themiddleisthesymbolofthefeudalimperialpower,goldendragonthronecarvedlacquerware.ThehallofsupremeharmonyHuangWaeastward,glitteringinthesun,istheimperialpalaceisoneofthemostspectaculararchitecture.
Aftervisitingthehallofsupremeharmony,cametozhonghepalace.Zhonghepalaceisoneofthethreemainhallsoftheimperialpalace,locatedinthehallofsupremeharmony.Flatsquare,yellowglazedtile,thecornersofsavingpointedtothemiddlegold-platedtreasureofaroof.Form,anarchitectural.
BaohePalaceisoneofthethreemainhallsoftheimperialpalace,andbehindthehouse.Flatrectangle,architecturaldecorationandcoloureddrawingorpatternisveryfine.
PalaceofheavenlypuritythefrontChambersinthePalaceMuseum.Onceuponatimefortheemperorkangxitolivehereandhandleaffairs,aftertheqingyongzhengemperorhadmovedtoyangxindian,butstillplayedinthereviews,appointedofficialsandsummonedliegeman.
Againcametotheechowall,itisthepeakofChinesewoodenstructure,withonlyawoodentenonknot,shouldsupport,fullusewoodhadcompletedastunningmasterpiece.Anotherbeautifulplace,thetempleofheavenistheechoofthewonderful.Standinthecenterofthecircularmoundaltaraltarcallasound,youwillhearfromthedepthsoftheformationofbrightanddarkechoes,thesoundasiffromthecenteroftheearth,andseemstohavecomefromthesky,sopeopleforittookafullofmysteriousname:"heavenlyheartstone".Thedomeinemperoryuwassurroundedbyathickabout0.9metersfence,youstoodwhisperingthewallatoneend,ontheothersideofthepeopleaslongasabnormalearsstickmetopecanhearclear,andthereisastereoeffect,thisisthe"echochamber",itcanprovethat,500yearsago,theChinesehavebeenabletouseacousticprinciple.
Thepalaceisahugecomplex,Isaidalsosaidnotover,willpleaseyougotouring.