Forbidden City

The Forbidden City, now known as the Palace Museum, is a large historical palace and an art museum in the historical center of Beijing, China. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is very important to the history and architecture of China. The Forbidden City was the palace of the Emperor of China from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. For almost 500 years, it was as the home of emperors and their houses, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. 
Name.
The name "Forbidden City" is a translation of the Chinese name "Zijin Cheng" (). The name "Zijin Cheng" was used for the first time in 1576. Another English name for Zijin Cheng is "Forbidden Palace". The word "Zi" means "purple" in Chinese. It means the North Star. This is because in ancient China it was called the "Ziwei" Star. In Chinese astrology the North Star was the home of the Celestial Emperor. Because the Forbidden City was the home of the emperor on Earth, the Chinese thought that it was Earth's equivalent of the "Ziwei" Star. "Jin" means "Forbidden" in Chinese. This was because no one was allowed to go in or out of the palace without the emperor's permission. "Cheng" means city.
The Chinese don't call the Forbidden Palace "Zijin Cheng" anymore. They call it "Gùgōng" (故宫) now. This means the "Former Palace". The museum that is in the Forbidden City is called the "Palace Museum" ().
History.
After Zhu Di became the Yongle Emperor, the capital of China was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. In 1406 construction began on the Forbidden City. The construction of the palace went on for over 14 years and more than a million workers had to work on building it. (1406-1420)