From 1422 to 1644, the Forbidden City was the seat of the Chinese Emperors. But I'll let you read the rest of the specifics on your own. It is quite resplendent and imperial. As it is being restored for the 2008 Olympics, I wonder it will lose a lot of its authenticity (like Bangkok) under all the new paint. The grounds are immense. Many in our group were tired from walking through the first courtyard, but that represented less than one-seventh of the entire length of the complex.
Things I especially liked ... the 81 knobs on the large doors that visitors rubbed for good luck and prosperity (the reachable knobs are shiny and untarnished), the jade carving that the imperial children practiced archery through, the bronze vats where fire-fighting water was stored, the crystal in the Rare Courtyard, and the lion deity pairs (the male with his right paw on a pearl representing earth/power, and the female with her left paw on a lion cub representing the future generation).
After passing through the main area, we also visited the Imperial Gardens, which were quite lovely after all the hard architecture of the buildings.
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