The Palace Museum

The Palace Museum in Beijing, formerly known as the Forbidden City, was a royal palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1420-1912 AD), located at the center of Beijing's central axis. It is the largest and most well preserved wooden structure ancient architectural complex in the world, and also the pinnacle of ancient Chinese palace architecture. In 1987, it was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO and is known as the top of the world's five palaces.

Outer Court and Inner Court:
Outer Court: centered around the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, it is an area where the country holds grand ceremonies (such as coronation, weddings, and military campaigns), symbolizing the majesty of imperial power.
The Inner Court: centered around the Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Palace, Kunning Palace, and the six palaces of the east and west, it is a place where the emperor and empresses live and handle daily affairs, full of vitality.

24 emperors have lived here, and it has been the core of political power in China for nearly 500 years, witnessing countless major decisions, palace struggles, and daily life that have influenced the course of history.

As a museum, the Palace Museum has a complete collection of Tibetan objects, covering almost all art forms, with a total of over 1.86 million pieces, accounting for 42% of the country's precious cultural relics.

Must see treasures:
Calligraphy and painting: "Along the River during Qingming Festival", "Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers", "Five Bulls", etc.
Ceramics: Five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty and official kilns of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Bronze ware: Heavy ceremonial vessels from the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
Jade artifacts: Collected by the royal families of the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as Yu the Great's flood control painting of Yushan.
Watches: The collection of Western watches is particularly exquisite and unparalleled.
Gold ware, lacquerware, enamel ware, and so on are all included.