In the capital of China, Beijing is located Gugun - Forbidden City, as it is commonly called. It is one of the most beautiful and technological ancient palace complexes in the world. This building, which, no doubt, is unique, was built primarily of wood. The appearance of this building keeps in itself all the architectural traditions inherent in that era. The majestic Purple Forbidden City (Zijincheng), which is located in Beijing, simply conquers majesty of forms and architectural perfection. This place was truly worthy of the great Chinese emperors, the last of whom lived here in 1912. Gugong at the moment is a real pearl of ancient Chinese culture. Now there is a museum, which was included by UNESCO's initiative in a single register of the world's cultural heritage. The beginning of the construction of this cultural monument began in 1406. The construction was initiated by the Emperor Zhu Di, lasted for as long as 14 years. Later, it was from here that the government ruled the emperors for a whole 500 years! The area of the purple city exceeds 720,000 square kilometers. Its length from the north to the south is 1000 meters, from the west to the east - 800 meters. This place is perfectly protected: it is surrounded by walls 10 meters high, and another one is surrounded by a 50-meter-long moat filled with water.
History of the Forbidden City
This palace complex of impressive sizes totals 8707 rooms, although it can be judged from the legend that there were more than 9999. The construction of this complex involved more than 1 000 000 builders and by the smallest measure - 100 000 leading specialists of different profiles. The best masons, carpenters, artists, stone carvers from all over China took part in this colossal construction. The entrance to this grandiose complex is from Tiananmen Square (Gate of Heavenly Calm). This name is due to the availability of limited access to residents from other countries, because until the XIX century, the leg of the stranger did not go there. Only with the capture of Pikin in 1900 (at the then Boxing Insurrection) the first Europeans and Americans could visit this mysterious and majestic palace complex. And today every tourist knows where the Forbidden City is in Beijing.
Interesting features of the Forbidden City
Architectural decisions of the palace complex can not be called typical. The whole complex can not find a single chimney, because initially the system of room heating was planned in such a way as to pass under the floors of buildings. The sources of heat themselves were located far beyond the boundaries of the buildings, to which underground heating pipes were supplied, through which the heat flowed into the palace. For heating, a special coal was used, which did not give smoke and smell during combustion, and the design of the brazier was equipped with special caps that completely eliminated the accidental release of burning coals. This heating system was extremely safe and ecological at that time, but special attention was paid to the fire safety of the complex, because it was almost entirely made of wood.
Gugun in our days
After the last emperor of the Qin dynasty was expelled from the palace by the soldiers of General Feng Yuxiang, a museum was placed here, which has no analogues in the world. His artifacts were (and still are) a magnificent collection, collected by the ruling emperors for the debts of the rule of the century. In the exposition there are more than 1 170 000 unique exhibits, which have a huge historical value. After the capture of the palace, an inventory was held, then the museum was opened, which is symbolically called "The Former Palace of the Emperor."
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Another of Beijing's amazing sights is the Temple of Heaven .