Why is the Forbidden City still 'immortal' despite hundreds of fires?

Built mainly of wood, the Forbidden City has endured centuries with hundreds of terrible fires, but today this great work has stood the test of time, causing many people to question what the ancients had done. What to do to preserve the Forbidden City so firmly.

The Forbidden City is one of the best preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. But also because it is a giant wooden building, fire prevention is always a top priority. Every year, a large number of tourists visit the Forbidden City and they must comply with regulations such as smoking ban when visiting.

According to statistics, the Forbidden City has 94 high pressure fire fighting hydrants, 4,866 fire fighting equipments and 55 fire fighting plans have been set up. In the era of advanced technology, fire prevention for the Forbidden City is still a big difficulty. So in the feudal society without modern technology or equipment, how did the ancients protect this giant wooden structure?

The Forbidden City has experienced many fires

In fact, the Forbidden City has had many fires in this majestic palace complex. According to historical records, during the 24 dynasties of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were more than 50 fires, 3 main halls were also burned many times.

Talented carpenters built a magnificent wooden palace. The tenoned wooden slats have excellent earthquake resistance. But this very thing is a potential danger. In the event of a fire, the walls could not stop the fire, the wooden pillars and beams were easy to burn and break, causing the entire palace to collapse.

In addition to the lit torches, lightning is the leading culprit of many fires in the Forbidden City. Many ancient Chinese structures have towering roofs. These architectural features hide the danger of being struck by lightning when it rains. In addition, traditional Chinese feng shui patterns also make wood materials moldy and easy to get electricity.

Fire protection system of the Forbidden City

"Cut the ice in winter, water in summer, weed in spring and clear leaves in autumn" is the fire prevention tradition of the Forbidden City from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In spring and autumn, the vegetation in the Forbidden City will be watered and fully moistened. Weeds, leaves and moss on the dozens of meters high roof of the palace were also cleared to prevent them from catching fire causing a fire.

In addition, important areas in the palace will be roofed with glazed tiles, covering the wooden structures below to reduce the risk of lightning strikes and fires.

However, once a fire has occurred, it is necessary to take specific fire fighting measures. The Forbidden City has two water supply systems. Outside the Forbidden City is the Jinshui River. In addition to adorning the beauty of the Forbidden City, the river plays an important role in providing water to put out the fire. In the winter, soldiers would be sent to dig ice holes in the river's surface to be ready to draw water when needed.

Of course, the fire fighting inside the Forbidden City did not simply rely on this river. The Forbidden City is too big. If a certain corner of the palace caught on fire, it would be impossible to draw water from the river to put out the donkey.

Therefore, the emperors ordered the casting of various gilded iron, bronze and bronze jars. These jars are always filled with water year round. When there is a fire, the water in the jar will be used to put out the fire in time.

According to statistics, the Forbidden City has about 308 large jars scattered everywhere. Each jar can hold more than 3,000 liters of water. In winter, the eunuchs were responsible for lighting a fire at the bottom of the jar to prevent the water from freezing. Some of these jars are still used for water storage and fire fighting to this day.

The Forbidden City's fire brigade was established

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, he established a fire brigade named Jitong, It was the first fire brigade in the Forbidden City specifically responsible for fire prevention. Emperor Kangxi's emphasis on fire prevention made the number of fires during his reign very few.

By the reign of Emperor Ung Chinh, the fire brigade of the Forbidden City consisted of no less than 300 people. They use a simple mechanical fire fighting device. Thanks to this device, water can be sprayed up to 20 meters high, which plays an extremely important role in fighting fires. It also shows that the level of fire prevention and fighting in the Forbidden City at that time was relatively advanced.

Because it is a large construction, the Chinese still had difficulty moving in the Forbidden City at the time of the fire. Therefore, besides modern fire fighting equipment, old fire prevention methods are still being applied.

Bac Giang 'bends' before the fire: Ve Pagoda 'fades', antiquities 'destroyed? Nguyễn Khanh16:05:26 10/02/2025Ve Pagoda, an ancient pagoda more than 300 years old in Bac Giang, was burned down in a serious fire on the morning of February 10, 2025. Although there was no loss of life, the precious cultural heritage of the pagoda was severely damaged.