Behind me is the Imperial Palace, part of the Forbidden City (or Gu Gong) in Beijing. This place, home to the Chinese emperor and his family, is over 550 years old! The city is made up of several palaces surrounded by a wall and a moat (a long ditch filled with water) to keep people out. Ordinary people were not allowed inside the city unless they worked there, and the royal family was not allowed to go outside of the city.