Beijing’s Forbidden City is an icon of the Chinese Empire and modern China’s greatest tourist attraction. It is the seat of two great dynasties and 24 Emperors, of hundreds of thousands of eunuchs, concubines and officials. Once the centre of the world, the Forbidden City bore witness to the magnificent display of imperial power, grandiose triumphs and ultimately to humiliating demise.

This docudrama reveals the master plan behind the biggest palace complex in the world and explains its fascinating political universe. How was this city built? How did it work? What really went on behind its impenetrable walls? How did it slip out of control and who was responsible for its decline?

As the Beijing Olympics approach, the Forbidden City will once more become the centre of the world. This is a definitive account of the 600-year history of this magic place.

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