CHINAEUROPE AFRICAASIA 中文双语Français
Rss\China Watch\life_rss\Life

BBC documentary reveals secrets of Forbidden City

By Gu Xin | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-08-11 14:21

BBC documentary reveals secrets of Forbidden City

A scene from Secrets of China's Forbidden City. [Photo/Screen capture of Secrets of China's Forbidden City]

Earthquakes

Beijing sits in a very active seismic hub.

In its 600 years, the Forbidden City has withstood over 200 devastating quakes, including the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century in Tangshan, which centered around 153 km east of the capital. The Tangshan earthquake in 1976, 7.8 in magnitude, obliterated the city and killed nearly one quarter of a million people in just 15 seconds.

In a stark contrast, the Forbidden City suffered minimal damages.

Experts believe the secrets lie in dougong, an architectural element commonly found in traditional East Asian architecture.

BBC documentary reveals secrets of Forbidden City

A dougong (highlighted in white). [Photo/Screen capture of Secrets of China's Forbidden City]

A dougong is a complex bracket that supports the huge roof. At first glance, it looks like an elaborate decorative feature. But the unique design is the structural key to every Forbidden City building.

In traditional Chinese architecture, there are no nails or glue, nothing holding it together other than blocks of craftily designed pieces of wood locking against one another, and sheer ingenuity.

BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US