Nanjing Forbidden City

Timeline

1. 1366–1375Yingtian Prefecture (Nanjing) · NanjingAfter Zhu Yuanzhang established the capital at Yingtian, he ordered Liu Ji and others to plan the palace city's location, building it southeast of the old Dadu foundations, excavating the moat, constructing walls and gates such as the Meridian Gate and Fengtian Gate, and establishing the north-south axial layout.
2. 1381–1390Nanjing Forbidden City · NanjingIn the middle and later Hongwu reign, the three great halls — Fengtian, Huagai, and Jinshen — along with the inner-palace Qianqing and Kunning palaces were successively completed, forming a complete 'court in front, residence behind' layout; it became the center of governance and court audiences under Hongwu, and its regulations were later emulated by the Beijing Forbidden City.
3. 1421–1441Nanjing Forbidden City · NanjingAfter the Yongle emperor moved the capital to Beijing, the Nanjing palace city was retained as a secondary capital with garrison officials stationed; some halls were converted into warehouses and government offices. Use declined after the Zhengtong era, and it was severely damaged by warfare and fire by the late Ming.