Forbidden City

Lonely Planet review

The Forbidden City, so-called because it was off-limits to most of the world for 500 years, is the best preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China. The old world of beautiful concubines and priapic emperors, ball-breaking (and broken) eunuchs and conspicuous wealth still hovers over the lush gardens, courtyards, pavilions and great halls of the palace.

Most of the buildings are post-18th century; there have been periodic losses due to an injudicious mix of lantern festivals and Gobi winds, invading Manchus and, in this century, pillaging and looting by both the Japanese forces and the Kuomintang. A permanent restoration squad takes about 10 years to renovate its 720,000 square metres, 800 buildings and 9000 rooms, by which time it's time to start all over again.

The palatial former living quarters now function as museums. Opening hours are irregular and no photos are allowed without prior permission. Special exhibits sometimes appear in other palace museum halls, so check the expat magazines, such as That's Beijing , for details.

Ignore unscrupulous characters who insist that you must have an official guide to see the palace; it isn't true. For around Y40 , rent a funky automatically activated audio tour instead.