The Forbidden City was built between 1402 and 1420 by the Ming Dynasty and has 980 buildings and covers 7.8 million square feet. It is an awesome place and really would take several visits with a good historian of the site to really absorb it all. The two Qing Dynasty emperors I often teach about and have students read books about are Kang-Hsi and his grandson, Qianlong. The were probably the most powerful men in the world during their reigns. The location had actually been the imperial city of the Yuan Dynasty, which were actually the Mongols. When the Ming established their dynasty they temporarily moved the capital ot Nanking but an early emperor moved it back.
There are a series of massive imperial buildings through which any visitor would be brought to see the emperor. Along the sides are buildings that would have housed imperial bureaucrats, concubines, diplomats, Confucian scholars, and all those needed for the functioning of the empire.
Because all the Chinese tourists all funneled right through the center, it was possible to get away from the crush of people by walking along the sides and viewing the treasures and artwork housed in those buildings.
The photos here are primarily of the Gate of Supreme Harmony. The next to last photo is of the office of the Imperial Secretary.
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