Forbidden City China

The Forbidden City in Beijing, China is the largest palace complex in the world. Although the name is forbidden, tourists are more interested in entering this city. It is difficult to find a tourist who does not set foot in this city of great beauty full of cultural significance when visiting China . 14 million tourists visit the Forbidden City every year.

For 500 years, the city was the center of ceremonial and political activities for the 24 emperors of China and their families. During the Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties, it was forbidden for the general public to enter without permission. Only members of the emperor's family and invited high officials could enter here. Not even a male relative of the royal family could come here, as the emperor granted all access to the city to protect his wives and concubines from the outside world. And now people from all over the world can come here, but the name of this city is still valid in view of the events of that time. Although still this forbidden city is not completely open to the public. Currently, 60% of the palace can be visited by tourists. And work is going on in the remaining 40 parts. By 2020, perhaps 80% of the palace will be open to tourists.

Another name of this city is the Palace Museum, which is located in the center of Beijing (Beijing) and covers an area of ​​180 acres. There are more than 90 palaces, as many as 980 squares and as many as 8,728 rooms. Basically no one can understand the dignity and glory of the emperors without seeing this palace. This city is another example of the most beautiful architecture in the world. The palace was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1987 for its magnificent architecture.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern part is basically the outer part. Along with performing various official duties, the emperor here used to arbitrate in public. Among the entire complex, this place is a favorite for tourists to take pictures. And the northern part is the inner court, where the emperor lived with his family.

Take a good look at the details of each building here, the strange beautiful craftsmanship, the mixture of colors and some symbolic things have been revealed, which is enough to fascinate any tourist.

Among the buildings here, the Gate of Great Harmony, the Hall of Great Harmony, the Palace of Heavenly, the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Gate of Divine Might, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the Hall of Literary Glory are particularly noteworthy.

In this museum, some special things of the Qing Dynasty are preserved. Such as paintings, ceramics, seals, sculptures and engravings on bronze and enamel.

When visiting here, many people prefer to take a tour with a guide, the advantage in that case is that the guide will tell you the history of each building, while many people prefer to go around with a guidebook to learn the history of the whole place. Tourists also like to visit the Imperial Garden here.

Located inside Beijing, you can go to this forbidden city by bus, subway or private car. Take the bus and get off at the north side of Tiananmen Square to find the southern gate to the Forbidden City.

There are two ways to go to this city by metro rail. For Metro Line 1, first get off at Tiananmen West or Tiananmen East Station on the metro line, then walk north from Tiananmen Tower to the Forbidden City Gate of Heavenly.

For Metro Line 2, get off at Qianmen Station and walk north from Tiananmen Tower to the Palace Entrance Gate. There are two gates to enter, the front gate of the Forbidden City is called the Meridian Gate. It is better to go inside the city through this gate, then you can visit Jingshan Park next to this palace from the Gate of Divine.

The city is open for tourists daily from 8.30 am to 3.30 am. Tickets are sold until 3.30pm in summer, priced at 60 Chinese Yuan (737 BDT). And in winter, tickets for tourists are sold here until 3.30 pm, the price is 40 Chinese Yuan (Bangladeshi Taka 492). This palace is closed every Monday.

There are several good hostels and guest houses to stay in Beijing. For example - Sunny Guest House, Golden Guest House, Beijing 161 Drum Tower Hotel, Beijing Lanting Youth Hostel, Leo Hostel can accommodate 2 people for Tk 1500-4500. There are also several apartments to stay here. You can even share a room in someone's house. In that case the cost would be quite low.

Also Read: Great Wall of China Travel Guide

Feature Image: Telegraph.co.uk / Getty