A Good Look at Chinese Architecture

The Chinese have been known to be pioneers of a lot of things around the world. This 2,000 year old civilization has heavily influence Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean cultures. The mysticism of the East can be largely attributed to them with their philosophical thoughts, martial arts, and astrology.

If you’d notice, a lot of architectural structures in Asia look quite similar. This is because of the influence of Chinese architecture. Imagine that their architectural styles are as old as their civilization and ever since the Tang dynasty; it had become a big influence of Asian architecture as a whole.

Characteristics of Chinese Architecture

You would notice that a lot of Chinese structures put a lot of emphasis on its horizontal axis. This is why their buildings look like Christmas trees or mushrooms that are stacked on one another. This makes it very distinguishable with Western architecture, which usually grows in height. The houses of the Chinese during older periods were different depending on their place in society. Common folk such as merchants and farmers had homes that had a shrine for gods in the center. Imperial housing was marked by yellow roof tiles because yellow was considered to be the Imperial color.

The Forbidden City: Ambassador of Chinese Architecture

One of the most famous structures of Chinese Architecture has to be the Forbidden city (aside from the Great Wall of China). It is located in Beijing and was the seat of power during the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty. It was constructed in about 14 years around the 14th century and the complex consists of 980 buildings. Ordinary peasants were not allowed inside the Palace walls and this is the reason why it was called the Forbidden city. Only soldiers, palace officials, and members of the royal family were allowed inside its gates. Nowadays, it is one of China’s famous tourist spots and it is where you will find the Palace Museum.