Khan Academy: The Forbidden City

In 1420, in an effort to consolidate his control over the throne, the emperor of the Ming dynasty [1368-1644] moved China's capital to a site in the North, now known as Bejing. There, he built a vast complex of palaces and administrative buildings now covering 178 acres. Because access was restricted to the imperial family and to those who had business with them, it came to be known as the Forbidden City. The end of China's empire in 1911 when six-year-old Puyi abdicated the throne. For the first time in China's history, ordinary people were able to enter the Forbidden City; the once inaccessible palace is now a museum and a monument to China's glorious past. [4:23]