Forbidden City

A Chinese imperial palace in use by the Ming Dynasty all the way to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City is considered the world's largest palace complex.  Built between 1406 and 1420, the complex includes 980 buildings, 8707 bays of rooms, and covers an area 720,000 square meters in size. Over 100,000 workers and artisans were involved in the construction of the site.  The pillars of the important halls were made of whole logs, the grand terraces and stone carvings taken from quarries near Beijing, and the halls were paved with golden bricks - smooth clay bricks that ring with a metallic sound.  The Forbidden City is enclosed in a larger walled area,  called the Imperial City, as well as a 6 metre deep and 52 metre wide moat.

The palace is broken down into two parts - the southern section, which is the other courts where the emperor performed his ceremonial duties, and the northern section, known as the inner courts, where the royal family lived.

From the entranceway through Meridian Gate, you enter a large square bisected by the Inner Golden Water River, which can be crossed by 5 bridges.  beyond that, is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which is the largest of the halls, rising 30 metres in height.  Other halls in the square include the Hall of Preserving Harmony, and the Hall of Central Harmony, as well as the halls of Military Eminence and Literal Glory.

The Inner Court also, features a number of three halls - the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, and the Hall of Earthly Tranquility.

Overall, the city was designed to reflect philosophical and religious principles.  Symbolic designs include the use of yellow to represent the colour of the Emperor, the use of groups of three, and the layout of the buildings in following with the Classic of Rites.