The Forbidden City in Beijing, commissioned by Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty in 1406 and completed in 1420, served as the imperial palace for nearly 500 years during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Covering 72 hectares (178 acres), it is a vast complex featuring 980 surviving buildings and around 8,886 rooms.
The design reflects traditional Chinese principles of symmetry and hierarchy, with sections divided into the Outer Court for state affairs and the Inner Court for the emperor and his family. Surrounded by high walls and a wide moat, its red and gold decorations symbolize power and prosperity, while yellow-tiled roofs denote imperial authority.
This film by the popular science channel PBS Nova looks into the construction of the city and how it has managed to survive so long. It has sometimes caught fire with devastating effect, but mainly its buildings survived earthquakes, even though Beijing is known for its high-intensity earthquakes. With the help of Chinese and Western scholars we get to understand how it was constructed in record time, and how it survived until today.
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