The sheer scale of this royal palace complex is staggering: 72 hectares of pavilions, palaces and gardens right in the centre of Beijing. Construction began under the Yongle emperor in 1406 and it remains the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. With 980 buildings surrounded by 10-metre-high walls and a 52-metre-wide moat, the Forbidden City is so called because no-one was permitted to enter or leave the grounds without the emperor’s express permission. It was finally opened to the public in 1925 after Emperor Puyi, the last emperor of China, was evicted in a coup.

4 Jingshan Qianjie, Beijing