Imperial City

The world's largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures, including incredible statues and reminders of China's ancient civilisational past, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are important parts of Chinese culture. 

Located at the very centre of Beijing, the two structures were built at the beginning of the 15th century. The Forbidden City, separated from the Tiananmen Square by the Tiananmen Gate, was home to many Chinese emperors between the Ming and Qing Dynasties and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. 

The Forbidden City consists of some 980 buildings and covers an area of 720,000sq m. Inside is the Palace Museum, which has an impressive collection of artworks from both the Ming and Qing dynasties. Tiananmen Square is also surrounded by historical sites, such as the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong.