The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was the ritual center of two important Chinese dynasties, the Ming and the Qing dynasties, and has been one of China's most revered and protected monuments since the State Council declared it in 1961. It has also been made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, and is now known as the Palace Museum, and hailed as a comprehensive Chinese museum.The Forbidden City has a rich cultural past and remains an important symbol for the Chinese people. The image of the entrance, Tiananmen, still appears on the seal of the People's Republic of China, and the Museum remains one of the most popular tourist sites both in China and the World.
 The Palace Museum ceased to be a center of Royalty after the republican revolution of 1914. It was only the declaration of "Articles of Favorable Treatment of the Qing House" that allowed the final Qing Emperor, Puyi, to continue to live in the Inner Court of the museum after his abdication. If this had not been in place, it is likely that the whole museum would have been sequested by the Nationalist government. Whilst many cultural relics from other Chinese palaces such as Rehe (modern Chengde) and Mukden (modern Shenyang) were moved to the Outer Court of the Forbidden City for display in the historical museum, Puyi was moving many of his own relics out of the forbidden city to pawn under the pretext of gifts for courtiers or getting the objects repaired..
Date:2008-3-29