City Wall and Corner Tower in the Forbidden City

The city wall of the Imperial Palace was traditional Chinese city-defending installation. It is 9.9 meters high, 8.62 meters wide at the bottom and 6.66 meters wide at the top, on which five or six horses could gallop abreast. Every 20 meters under the wall is a drain mouth. The wall is tamped with tight earth and covered with over 12 million fine-quality bricks fired in Linqing, Shandong, each of which is 48 centimeters long, 24 centimeters wide, 12 centimeters thick and 24 kilograms heavy.

He corner tower is a charming view of the Forbidden City. With ingenious design and exquisite structure, it may he rated as a miracle in the architectural history of China.

It is said that after Zhu Di seized the throne from his nephew he was distracted all the time. One night, an immortal said to him in his dream: ‘if you want to keep p the throne, you have to build a tower with 9 beams, 18 pillars and 72 ridges to stabilize the Palace.’ Zhu Di hastily asked how to build it. The immortal smiled and kept silent. The Emperor became so anxious that he awoke. As a result, he ordered his Board Works to build a tower with 9 beams, 18 pillars and 72 ridges at each corner of the Imperial Palace, so that his Pal-ace could be stable and carried forward by his posterity. The artisans racked their brains and finally got inspired by cricket cage and succeeded in building the towers.

Corner tower witnessing the vicissitudes of the history of the Forbidden City

Exquisite and splendid Corner Tower as a classic work of ancient Chinese architecture

Southeastern Corner Tower in 1922

Outer Golden Water River

Relevant attractions in the Forbidden City

Meridian Gate: the Gate with Five Phoenixes
Gate of Spiritual Valor
Gate of Eastern Flower
Gate of Western Flower
City Wall and Corner Tower
Moat
Golden Water River