The complex, which takes up close to two acres of the northeast quadrant of the Forbidden City, has four courtyards, 27 different pavilions and structures, and eye-catching rock gardens.

Beijing’s Forbidden City – traditionally off-limits at night for anyone except emperors, ghosts and visiting dignitaries – was lit up with lanterns and gasps after dark Tuesday as China ...

Though wary of establishing himself in the imperial heart of Beijing — it is said that he refused ever to enter the Forbidden City, for fear of being associated with the power structures of old ...

The Qianlong Garden, in the northeast section of the Forbidden City, was constructed in the 1770s as a private retreat for the emperor, who abdicated after a 60-year reign.

During China's Ming Dynasty, only government officials and royalty were granted access to the Forbidden City, a sprawling palace complex commissioned by the emperor in the early 15th century.

On his pre-Olympic tour of Beijing, TODAY's Matt Lauer was granted unprecedented access to the newly restored emperor's inner sanctum in the Forbidden City. Here, an exclusive peek into China's past.

The Forbidden City, built in 1420, is a 178-acre complex of villas, chapels and gardens that was home to 24 emperors before the end of imperial rule in 1911. It is China's top tourist attraction ...

Even as recently as the mid-20th century, the fate of the Forbidden City looked far from secure. After taking control of China in 1949, the country’s communist rulers engaged in fierce debate ...

November 13, 1996: On this day, Forbidden Gardens, and outdoor museum modeled after China's historic sites told the Houston Chronicle that it would be open full-time. Located on an 80-acre spread ...

A paramilitary police officer stands guard during a light show inside the Forbidden City to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the end to the Lunar New Year festivities, in Beijing on Feb. 19.