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1402
Why The Forbidden City was built
Yongle, the first emperor of the Forbidden City took power by force and crowned himself emperor in his stead. Some time later they decided to move its capital from Nanjing to Beijing. The idea was to get closer to the enemy, the Mongol of the Yuan Dynasty, so they made a strong rampart around the city, and there Yongle decided to start construction for his palace, The Forbidden City. -
1406
The start of constructing the Forbidden City.
Over 100,000 artisans were there to help along with a million labor workers. The finished construction was in 1420, 14 years later. -
1420
The opening of the Forbidden City
This was the finished construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. -
1421
The first fire at the Forbidden City
Lightning stuck three important halls, which happened to be ceremonial. A man named “Master Hu” predicted the exact day and hour of the event, and if he was wrong, he would be executed. But before he got to see that he was correct, he committed suicide by the consuming of poison. -
1440
The rebuilt main halls
In 1440 the three main halls were rebuilt 20 years after lightning struck them. -
1557
Another part of the city was burned down
The restoration of the burning took only 4 years, unlike the lighting that struck in 1421. -
The three main halls burnt down once again
Yet another fire burnt the three main halls down but instead it took 30 years to rebuild. -
The Ming Dynasty home to 24 emperors
The Forbidden City was home to 24 Emperors, their families and servants. This ended in 1644 -
The Ming Dynasty Ended
The Qing Dynasty took over the Forbidden City ending the Ming Dynasty. -
The worst fire and destruction to The Forbidden City by "The Peasant Uprising"
A leader of "The Peasant Uprising" almost burned the entire Forbidden City down. This person was named Li Zicheng, and he overthrew the Ming Dynasty. -
The rebuilding of The Forbidden City in the Qing Dynasty
From 1683 to 1695 building were restored and major buildings were back standing. -
The Qing Dynasty ends with the breakout of the Revolution of 1912
The Qing dynasty ends with a breakout of the Revolution and Emperor Puyi is no longer emperor but is still allowed to dwell in the inner court of the imperial palace. -
Puyi Secretly left the Forbidden City
He was forced to live there due to an abdication, but secretly left. -
The Forbidden City becomes a museum
This is the date when the Forbidden City became a museum and a tourist place. -
Buildings destroyed in a war with Japan
Though some buildings were destroyed, the site as a whole survived. War 1937-1945 -
“The Last Emperor" recorded in part of the Forbidden City
The movie was showing the life of Puyi, and the company used part of the forbidden city. -
