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The Palace Museum - The Corner Tower And Moat

Architecture Marvel

The walls of the Forbidden City are surrounded by a 3.3 km long moat, with a corner tower at each corner. The corner towers are triple-eave-pavilion-style buildings, each with 28 wing corners and 72 roof ridges, and are the most complex architectures in the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was the imperial city of the Ming and Qing dynasties, in order to protect the emperor, empress and the princes, concubines and others, the Forbidden City is surrounded by a high city wall, and outside there is a Moat around the Wall.

The Forbidden City was built in a south-north direction, with a triple eave building at each corner of the wall, named Corner Tower 角楼. According to the location of the building, it was built to strengthen the Imperial City’s defensive functions, but the interior of the building is only one floor, and there are no archery holes on the four walls, the towers may be used as watchtowers only.

All those who first saw the Corner Towers will be impressed by their Complex and Unique Structure and graceful and dynamic curves, they might be the most complex design among all the buildings in the Forbidden City. The building is 27 meters high, its roof is divided into three levels, the top is a cross-type saddle roof with a gilt top, the lower two levels are double-eaved saddle rooves. One corner tower has 28 wing corners and 72 roof ridges, which make it the most complex form of all ancient Chinese architectures.

The moat that surrounds the city is 3.3 kilometers long and 52 meters wide, and is named “Tongzi River 筒子河” because it looks like a tube. In the center of the Forbidden City, only four gates are connected to the outside world, the rest of the city is Isolated by the Moat and City Walls to prevent assassinations. In the Qing Dynasty, lotus roots were planted in the moat, and the fruit produced for consumption in the palace, or sold in the market.

Finally, this is the last chapter of the Forbidden City series. One City, two Dynasties. From the Eighteen years of Yongle (1420) until now, here had lived 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, some of them were heroic, some cowardly, some were diligent, some greedy … … Because of this, it has become the symbol of the grand and winding history of China.