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The Forbidden City
Forbidden City serves both a palace and a museum. As a palace, the Forbidden City served as residence and court for the emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, their eunuchs, wives and concubines. When the last emperor, Pu Yi, evacuated the palace in 1924, the imperial collections of paintings, bronzes, jade, ceramics, costumes, gold and silver objects were put on display under the name of the Palace Museum. Today there are nearly 20 halls filled with works of art.