The Forbidden City on Wikimaia

The Forbidden City is really interesting I think. Right in the heart of Beijing, China, the Forbidden City houses the ancient imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (built 1406-1420).

For this installment of Matt’s Wikimapia Blog’s Fun Places I will be using the Wikimapia layer in Google Earth for a slightly different vantage than the normal Wkimapia view. Click the images for the larger versions (which are really helpful for this post).

The Forbidden City on Wikimaia

Even from this high altitude the square Forbidden City can be seen in the middle of the city.

The Forbidden City on Wikimaia

Here we see the city with its moat clearly visible. The bottom left of the image (the South) is the center of the city with the Tiananmen Gate and Tiananmen Square.

The Forbidden City on Wikimaia

To the South of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square and contains the Mausoleum of Mao and the Monument to the People’s Heroes (whose shadow can clearly be seen).

The Forbidden City on Wikimaia

This vantage is the overhead view (with North on the right) showing how the Forbidden city and Tiananmen Square are oriented in relation to each other.

The Forbidden City on Wikimaia

This is the Southern most gate, the Meridian Gate, looking North into the city.

The Forbidden City on Wikimaia

This is a close up view of the Northwest corner of the Forbidden City. Among other things, the Supreme Harmony Hall and the Heavenly Purity Palace can be seen.

The Palace Museum, as it is now called, covers some 720,000 square meters with 800 buildings and is surrounded by a 6 meter deep moat. You can visit the Forbidden City at Wikimapia. And visit the Wikipedia article for other interesting information and links.