precious-postcards

Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang

Seat of supreme power for over five centuries (1416-1911), the Forbidden City in Beijing, with its landscaped gardens and many buildings (whose nearly 10,000 rooms contain furniture and works of art), constitutes a priceless testimony to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang consists of 114 buildings constructed between 1625–26 and 1783. It contains an important library and testifies to the foundation of the last dynasty that ruled China, before it expanded its power to the centre of the country and moved the capital to Beijing. This palace then became auxiliary to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. This remarkable architectural edifice offers important historical testimony to the history of the Qing Dynasty and to the cultural traditions of the Manchu and other tribes in the north of China.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/439

The Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang with their grand palatial architecture represent the Chinese civilisation at the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty lies in Beijing, and is now commonly known as the Forbidden City because the general public had no access to it. When the capital of the Ming Empire was moved to Beijing in 1421, the emperors took up residence in the Imperial Palace. It was not meant to be a home for a mortal king but for the Son of Heaven. 

The architecture of the palace raised the court above all earthly things. Huge red walls enclosed the inner sanctum, an area forbidden to ordinary mortals. No building in the city was permitted to be taller than the walls of the palace. The exact, grid-like geometric pattern of the complex reflects the strongly hierarchical structural of imperial Chinese society. The buildings were aligned on north-south lines, the most important of them orientated to face south, towards the sun. 

The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang is a smaller complex dating from the 17th century. Its architecture shows Manchurian influences. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/imperialpalacemingqing.html