Introduction
The Forbidden City is the vast imperial palace complex in central Beijing that served as the residence of Ming and Qing emperors and the political center of China from 1420 to 1924. Enclosed by 3.5km of walls and a moat, it now houses the Palace Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with one of the world's largest collections of ancient Chinese art and architecture. It is worth visiting as China's largest and best-preserved complex of ancient wooden buildings, drawing around 16 million visitors annually.