The Forbidden City has more than nine thousand rooms.
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history
紫 (purple) alludes to 紫微星 — the Pole Star, seat of the celestial Emperor in Chinese cosmology. 禁 (forbidden) marked the palace as closed to commoners. Same place is more casually called 故宫 (the Old Palace) today.
The imperial palace complex in central Beijing, built 1406-1420 under the Ming Yongle Emperor and home to 24 emperors through 1912. Today it houses the Palace Museum (故宫博物院) and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
