The Forbidden City

Planning to move the capital city from Nanjing to Beijing, Ming Emperor Yongle ordered the building of a royal palace in Beijing

The construction work of the royal palace was finished.

The three main halls in the outer court were burned down in a fire.

The three main halls in the outer court and the Palace of Heavenly Purity were rebuilt

The palaces in the west wing were built.

A big fire burnt down the three main halls in the outer court, the Meridian Gate, and many other buildings in the palace

The restoration work was finished.

The three main halls in the outer court and the three main halls in the inner court were burnt down in a big fire

The restoration work was finished.

Li Zicheng, the leader of a peasant uprising, overthrew the Ming Dynasty and burned most of the palace architecture before retreating. In the same year, Emperor Shunzhi of the successive Qing Dynasty moved the capital city form Shenyang to Beijing and begun his rule of the country in the Forbidden City