[2025 Xiamen Attraction] Travel Guide for Kulangsu Gallery of Foreign Artefacts from the Palace Museum Collection (Updated Oct)

The Forbidden City (紫禁城 Zǐjìn chéng) was the residence of the imperial family during the last two Ming and Qing Dynasties. Its name comes from the fact that entry is prohibited for foreigners to the palace and its organization is like a small town. The architecture of the complex is impressive, but most of the valuable items such as paintings and porcelain were brought to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek (Jiǎng Jieshi in Mandarin) and displayed in the Taipei museum ((Taibei in Chinese) The Forbidden City is located north of downtown Beijing. It is towards the south and a small artificial hill, Coal Hill, is raised north of the Forbidden City to meet the demands of Chinese geomancy, Fengshui (literally wind and water). The Forbidden City is 960m long and 750m wide. The walls are from 7 to 10m high and the moat is 52m wide. During the occupation by the emperors of the last two dynasties for five centuries, no other building in Beijing could not exceed those of the Forbidden City. The Courtyard is paved with nearly 12 million bricks and the Forbidden City consists of about 9,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is also known as the Old Palace (故宫 Gùgōng) but rather refers to the central part of the Forbidden City without the passage between the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiān'ānmén) and the South Gate (Wǔmén). This was the Yongle emperor, who decided to move the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. Construction of the Forbidden City began in 1406 and lasted fourteen years, which is very fast for a building of this size. More than 200,000 craftsmen participated in the construction. Materials came from all over the empire: stone from Beijing, marble from Shanghai, wood from Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and bricks from Shandong. Construction allied to the modern techniques of the time while retaining the aesthetic and symbolic features of tradition. The Forbidden City was more or less cut off from the outside world until 1924 when Puyi, the last emperor, was expelled. The Forbidden City burne #themeparks#nationalpark#lakes#beaches#infinitypool

Getting There - by ferry Attractions - tunnel, cat island Hotels - homestay Food & Restaurants - cat island Shopping - gulangyu

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Gulangyu Island is just opposite Zhongshan Road.

The Palace Museum's Collection of Foreign Artifacts Exhibition is held at the Gulangyu Foreign Artifacts Museum of the Palace Museum, displaying more than 200 artifacts from 23 countries and regions, including gifts to the emperor from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and others. The museum was originally the 'Gulangyu Salvation Hospital', established by the American missionary John Rabe in April 1898 on Gulangyu Island.