Chinese soldiers are among millions of natives and foreign tourists who visit the 7,400 acre imperial palace of the Forbiden City (Gu Gong) in the heart of the capital city of Beijing, China. One is carefully composing a photograph. Nearly 6,000 years old, and now known as the Palace Museum, it was the residence of fourteen Ming dynasty emperors and ten emperors who reigned in the Qing dynasty. Some one million workers, including a hundred thousand artisans completed the monumental task of construction in just thirteen years of hard labor, by 1420 AD. The palace holds 9,999 buildings and is surrounded by a moat, six meters deep. King Wu had appointed Bejing the capital in 1057 BC. At the time, the city was known as Ji, then Zhongdu, then Dadu, and finally Beijing under Emperor ChengZu in 1421 (Ming dynasty). Today, Bejing City has a population of around twelve million.

RELATED KEYWORDS: photography; pictures; snapshots; camera; photographers; photographing; Dongcheng; Xicheng; Xuanwu; Chongwen; Chaoyang; Haidian; Fengtai; Shijingshan; Fangshan; Mengtougou; Changping; Tongxian; Shunyi; Daxing; Huairou; Miyun; Pinggu; Yianqing; Peking; Asia; Asian; Orient; Oriental; countries; tourism; tours; tourists; touring; peoples; population; travel; destinations; adventure; economy; great; nations; world; global; economics; economies; foreign; races; ethnic; cultures; cultural; traditions; traditional; leading; leadership; superpowers; trade; international; Dynasties; sightseeing; scenic; wonders; world; highlights; history; historic; famed; Ages; world; wonders