The Forbidden City is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. It houses the Palace Museum, was the former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty; the Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for 500 years. Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex covers 72 hectares; the palace exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums were split after the Chinese Civil War.

Since 2012, the Forbidden City has seen an average of 14 million visitors annually, received more than 19 million visitors in 2019. The common English name "Forbidden City" is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng; the name Zijin Cheng first formally appeared in 1576. Another English name of similar origin is "Forbidden Palace"; the name "Zijin Cheng" is a name with significance on many levels. Zi, or "Purple", refers to the North Star, which in ancient China was called the Ziwei Star, in traditional Chinese astrology was the heavenly abode of the Celestial Emperor; the surrounding celestial region, the Ziwei Enclosure, was the realm of the Celestial Emperor and his family. The Forbidden City, as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. Jin, or "Forbidden", referred to the fact that no one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor's permission. Cheng means a city. Today, the site is most known in Chinese as Gùgōng, which means the "Former Palace"; the museum, based in these buildings is known as the "Palace Museum".

When Hongwu Emperor's son Zhu Di became the Yongle Emperor, he moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, construction began in 1406 on what would become the Forbidden City. Construction required more than a million workers. Material used include whole logs of precious Phoebe zhennan wood found in the jungles of south-western China, large blocks of marble from quarries near Beijing; the floors of major halls were paved with "golden bricks", specially baked paving bricks from Suzhou. From 1420 to 1644, the Forbidden City was the seat of the Ming dynasty. In April 1644, it was captured by rebel forces led by Li Zicheng, who proclaimed himself emperor of the Shun dynasty, he soon fled before the combined armies of former Ming general Wu Sangui and Manchu forces, setting fire to parts of the Forbidden City in the process. By October, the Manchus had achieved supremacy in northern China, a ceremony was held at the Forbidden City to proclaim the young Shunzhi Emperor as ruler of all China under the Qing dynasty.

The Qing rulers changed the names on some of the principal buildings, to emphasise "Harmony" rather than "Supremacy", made the name plates bilingual, introduced Shamanist elements to the palace. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, Anglo-French forces took control of the Forbidden City and occupied it until the end of the war. In 1900 Empress Dowager Cixi fled from the Forbidden City during the Boxer Rebellion, leaving it to be occupied by forces of the treaty powers until the following year. 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 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 of Chiang Kai-shek, whose Kuomintang was losing the Chinese Civil War. This 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. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, some damage was done to the Forbidden City as the country was swept up in revolutionary zeal. During the Cultural Revolution, further destruction was prevented when Premier Zhou Enlai sent an army battalion to guard the city; the Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO as the "Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties", due to its significant place in the development of Chinese architecture and culture. It is administered by the Palace Museum, carrying out a sixteen-year restoration project to repair and restore all buildings in the Forbidden City to their pre-1912 state.

The Forbidden City is a rectangle, measuring 961 metres from north to south and 753 metres from east to west. It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,886 bays of rooms. A common myth states that there are 9,99

Herod is a heavy metal band from the United States. The band was formed in 2000 in New York by Jesse Benker and Mike Jeffers, their first release was "Sinner's in the Eye's of an Angery God" in 2001, followed by Execution Protocol in early 2002 through Too Damn Hype Records. In 2003 the band was signed by Lifeforce Records. Since being signed, the band has released two albums with Lifeforce, the first being For Whom the Gods Would Destroy. Jason Russo replaced vocalist Judah Nero in 2005. Shortly afterward the band went into the studio to record their second album with Lifeforce Records, Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight, with producer Doug White; the record was released in March 2006. Late 2008 Herod joined Dark Harvest Records, and began recording their label debut Curse of The King, follow up Self Titled CDEP. The band is in the process of recording their 7th album to be released on Dark Harvest Records in 2015 and is planning a European tour in support of the album. Jesse Benker - Vocals and lead guitar Andy Huefner - Bass Mike "Union" Jeffers - Drums Jason Russo - Vocals Nate Seibel - Vocals Bryce March - Guitar Chuck Palisano-Guitar Jeremy Partlow - Bass Judah Nero - Vocals Tom Broucksou - Bass Greg DiPasquale - Guitar Matt Backlass - Bass Sinners in the Eyes of an Angry God - 2001 Execution Protocol - 2002 For Whom the Gods Would Destroy - 2004 Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight - 2006 Curse of the King - 2009 Self Titled - 2013 Split 7" -2014 http://www.darkharvestrecords.com/artists/herod.html The band's page on LIFEFORCERECORDS.com

Kelly Kovach Schoenly is an American softball coach and former softball player. She has been the head softball coach at Ohio State since June 2012, she served as the head softball coach at Miami from 2006 to 2012. She has been an assistant coach at Michigan and Penn State. Kovach Schoenly played college softball at the University of Michigan from 1992 to 1995, she was selected as a first-team NFCA All-American in 1995 and a CoSIDA Academic All-American for 1994–1995. She was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year in 1992 and Pitcher of the Year in 1992 and 1995. Kovach Schoenly grew up in western Pennsylvania and played softball and volleyball at Baldwin High School in suburban Pittsburgh. In 2012, she was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Hall of Fame. Kovach Schoenly played college softball at the University of Michigan from 1992 to 1995. In four years at Michigan, she appeared including 112 starts, she ranks among Michigan's all-time leaders in career wins, career strikeouts, career shutouts, innings pitched, career complete games.

She was selected as a first-team NFCA All-American in 1995 and a CoSIDA Academic All-American for 1994–1995. She was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year in 1992 and Pitcher of the Year in 1992 and 1995, she was a co-captain of Michigan's 1995 softball team. Kovach was a solid batter in college. On April 1, 1995, she hit a grand slam against Indiana, only the second grand slam in Michigan softball history, she had 61 RBIs and 21 doubles in 1995, both of which were Michigan single-season records at the time. Kovach received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Michigan in 1995, she received a master's degree in elementary mathematics education from Michigan in 1998. Kovach Schoenly was encouraged to pursue coaching rather than elementary education by her collegiate coach at Michigan, Carol Hutchins, she began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Michigan from 1995 to 1998. The Wolverines advanced to the Women's College World Series in all three years while Schoenly was an assistant coach.

From 1998 to 2006, Schoenly was an assistant softball coach at Penn State. During her eight years at Penn State, the softball team received six NCAA Tournament berths. In 2006, on the recommendation of Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins, Kovach Schoenly was hired as the head softball coach at Miami, she was compiled a 188 -- 152 -- 1 in six seasons at Miami. She is Miami's all-time winningest coach with 188 career victories, her teams at Miami won two MAC tournament titles and received two NCAA Tournament berths. In June 2012, she was named head softball coach at Ohio State. In her first season at Ohio State, she led the Buckeyes to a 34–22 record. Kovach Schoenly is married to tennis pro Doug Schoenly, they have a daughter, Danielle