Forbidden City of China: The Greatest Palace Complex Ever Built

Everyday Beijing, about 45,000 people visit the forbidden city: The Greatest Palace Complex Ever Built in Human history. One million workers built it. Fourteen years of construction. Over 980 buildings arranged across 720,000 square metres, an area so large you could fit the entire Vatican City inside it three times over and still have space left. Twenty-four emperors lived here. Some of them barely ever left. One of them became emperor at the age of two and was still calling himself emperor from inside these walls at 18, even though the dynasty had already collapsed six years earlier. This video explains the entire history of China’s Forbidden City. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:29 What Is The Forbidden City? 02:22 Yongle - The Man Who Built the Forbidden City 05:11 The Architecture 10:22 Life Inside The Forbidden City 15:51 Dynasties And Drama 21:02 The Palace Almost Didn't Survive 25:14 The Palace Today 28:14 Conclusion Sources and References Primary Historical Sources Ming Shilu (明實錄) — Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty. The official day-by-day chronicle of the Ming imperial court, compiled by court historians after each emperor's reign. Qing Shilu (清實錄) — Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing equivalent of the Ming Shilu. Ming Shi (明史) — Official History of the Ming DynastyCompiled under the Qing Dynasty (completed 1739). Academic Books Geremie R. Barmé — The Forbidden City (2008)Harvard University Press / New Directions in Narrative History - Harvard University Press Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt — Chinese Imperial City Planning (1990),University of Hawaii Press Frederick W. Mote — Imperial China 900–1800 (1999)Harvard University Press. Publisher: Harvard University Press Mark C. Elliott — The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China (2001)Stanford University Press. Encyclopedic References UNESCO World Heritage List — The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)Inscription: 1987. Official UNESCO citation describing the complex as the largest and best-preserved wooden structure complex in the world, and an outstanding example of Chinese traditional architectural achievement. 🔗 UNESCO Official Entry Nexus Network Journal — Capozzi, R. et al. (2021). Encyclopaedia Britannica — Forbidden City. 🔗 Britannica: Forbidden City Association for Asian Studies (AAS) — China/Ming-Qing Resources. 🔗 Association for Asian Studies Smarthistory — Forbidden City (authored by Peng). Peer-reviewed open-access art history resource. 🔗 Smarthistory: Forbidden City Further Reading: Edward Dreyer — Early Ming China: A Political History 1355–1435 (1982)Stanford University Press. Shih-shan Henry Tsai — Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle (2001)University of Washington Press. Palace Museum Yearbook (故宫博物院院刊). Academic journal published by the Palace Museum itself. Online Databases JSTOR — Ming-Qing Studies. Access academic articles from the Journal of Asian Studies, Late Imperial China, Ming Studies, and other journals through JSTOR.🔗 JSTOR China Biographical Database (CBDB)Harvard University / Academia Sinica. A free database of biographical information on historical figures in Chinese history from 600–1900. 🔗 CBDB Digital Silk Road — Chinese Historical Maps. National Palace Museum Taipei — Digital Collection. The Taipei collection (the 2,972 crates evacuated in 1949) is partially digitised and searchable online. 🔗 NPM Taipei Digital Collection AI usage: All video ideas and topics on this channel are created by me. AI is used as a tool to assist with research and script development and voiceover. It’s also used to enhance historical images or paintings, and generate visuals for scenes where needed.