Forbidden City Forbidden City lies at the city center of Beijing and it once served as the palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is also known as the Palace Museum, and Gu Gong in Chinese. The name source of Forbidden City is that common people were forbidden to enter or leave without special permission (允许) of the emperor. Forbidden City was first built from 1406 to 1420. It was here that the emperor exercised his supreme power and it was also home to the royal family till 1911. Based in these buildings, the Palace Museum was established in 1925. Now i t is the world's largest palace complex (建筑群) with 980 buildings with more than 8000 rooms. As a typical example of traditional Chinese palatial architecture, it has influenced cultural and architectural (建筑的) developments in East Asia and elsewhere. As it had been the seat of imperial power for 500 years, this palace houses numerous treasures and curiosities attracting tourists. The Forbidden City was declared (宣布) a World Heritage Site (世界物质文化遗址) in 1987. It is considered as one of the most important palaces in the world and it is standing on the first positions of the top ten China attractions list. (198 words) Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911) Ming Dynasty (1368-14)