<P> After being the home of 24 emperors -- 14 of the Ming dynasty and 10 of the Qing dynasty -- the Forbidden City ceased being the political centre of China in 1912 with the abdication of Puyi , the last Emperor of China . Under an agreement with the new Republic of China government , Puyi remained in the Inner Court , while the Outer Court was given over to public use , until he was evicted after a coup in 1924 . The Palace Museum was then established in the Forbidden City in 1925 . In 1933 , the Japanese invasion of China forced the evacuation of the national treasures in the Forbidden City . Part of the collection was returned at the end of World War II , but the other part was evacuated to Taiwan in 1948 under orders by Chiang Kai - shek , whose Kuomintang was losing the Chinese Civil War . This relatively small but high quality collection was kept in storage until 1965 , when it again became public , as the core of the National Palace Museum in Taipei . </P>
<P> After being the home of 24 emperors -- 14 of the Ming dynasty and 10 of the Qing dynasty -- the Forbidden City ceased being the political centre of China in 1912 with the abdication of Puyi , the last Emperor of China . Under an agreement with the new Republic of China government , Puyi remained in the Inner Court , while the Outer Court was given over to public use , until he was evicted after a coup in 1924 . The Palace Museum was then established in the Forbidden City in 1925 . In 1933 , the Japanese invasion of China forced the evacuation of the national treasures in the Forbidden City . Part of the collection was returned at the end of World War II , but the other part was evacuated to Taiwan in 1948 under orders by Chiang Kai - shek , whose Kuomintang was losing the Chinese Civil War . This relatively small but high quality collection was kept in storage until 1965 , when it again became public , as the core of the National Palace Museum in Taipei . </P>
when was the forbidden city opened to the public
when was the forbidden city opened to the public
1912
1912