The Forbidden City in Beijing is one of the greatest royal palaces in the world: and was the sacred centre of the Chinese empire. Despite political upheaval and social change in the rest of China, the life of rigid protocol and ritual in the Forbidden City remained unaltered, frozen in time, until the day when the modern world entered its long-closed gates and changed it for ever. This account is an insight into five centuries of Chinese history, from the beginnings of the palace in 1405 to its modern function as a museum.