面试外企英文自我介绍简单20篇

各位考官好，这天能够站在那里参加面试，有机会向各位考官请教和学习，我感到十分的荣幸。期望透过这次面试能够把自己展示给大家，期望大家记住我。我叫。，今年。。岁。汉族，法学本科。我平时喜欢看书和上网浏览信息。我的性格比较开朗，随和。能关系周围的任何事，和亲人朋友能够和睦相处，并且对生活充满了信心。我以前在检察院实习过，所以有必须的实践经验。在外地求学的四年中，我养成了坚强的性格，这种性格使我克服了学习和生活中的一些困难，用心进去。成为一名法律工作者是我多年以来的强烈愿望。如果我有机会被录用的话，我想，我必须能够在工作中得到锻炼并实现自身的价值。

同时，我也认识到，人和工作的关系是建立在自我认知的基础上的，我认为我有潜力也有信心做好这份工作。公务员是一个神圣而高尚的职业，它追求的是公共利益的最大化，它存在的根本目的是为人民服务，为国家服务。雷锋说过：人的生命是有限的，而为人民服务是无限的，我要把有限的生命投入到无限的为人民服务当中去。这也是我对公务员认知的最好诠释。所以，这份工作能够实现我的社会理想和人生价值，期望大家能够认可我，给我这个机会！

面试自我介绍是很关键的环节，那么大家知道面试自我介绍礼仪吗？下面小编为大家整理了面试自我介绍礼仪，希望能帮到大家！

现代人要生存、发展，就需要与他人进行必要的沟通，以寻求理解、帮助和支持。介绍是人际交往中与他人进行沟通、增进了解、建立联系的一种最基本、最常规的方式，是人与人进行相互沟通的出发点。

在社交场合，如能正确地利用介绍，不仅可以扩大自己的交际圈，广交朋友，而且有助于自我展示、自我宣传，在交往中消除误会，减少麻烦。

自我介绍：在社交活动中，如欲结识某些人或某个人，而又无人引见，如有可能，即可向对方自报家门，自己将自己介绍给对方。如果有介绍人在场，自我介绍则被视为不礼貌的。

一、什么场合有必要进行自我介绍

自我介绍的时机：应当何时进行自我介绍？这是最关键而往往被人忽视的问题。在下面场合，有必要进行适当的自我介绍。

1、应聘求职时。

2、应试求学时。

3、在社交场合，与不相识者相处时。

4、在社交场合，有不相识者表现出对自己感兴趣时。

5、在社交场合，有不相识者要求自己作自我介绍时。

6、在公共聚会上，与身边的陌生人组成的交际圈时。

7、在公共聚会上，打算介入陌生人组成的交际圈时。

8、交往对象因为健忘而记不清自己，或担心这种情况可能出现时。

9、有求于人，而对方对自己不甚了解，或一无所知时。

10、拜访熟人遇到不相识者挡驾，或是对方不在，而需要请不相识者代为转告时。

11、前往陌生单位，进行业务联系时。

12、在出差、旅行途中，与他人不期而遇，并且有必要与之建立临时接触时。

13、因业务需要，在公共场合进行业务推广时。

14、初次利用大众传媒向社会公众进行自我推荐、自我宣传时。

二、自我介绍的具体形式

自我介绍时应先向对方点头致意，得到回应后再向对方介绍自己的姓名、身份、单位等。自我介绍的具体形式：

1、应酬式：适用于某些公共场合和一般性的社交场合，这种自我介绍最为简洁，往往只包括姓名一项即可。

“你好，我叫张强。”

“你好，我是李波。”

2、工作式：适用于工作场合，它包括本人姓名、供职单位及其部门、职务或从事的具体工作等。

“你好，我叫张强，是金洪恩电脑公司的销售经理。”

“我叫李波，我在北京大学中文系教外国文学。”

3、交流式：适用于社交活动中，希望与交往对象进一步交流与沟通。它大体应包括介绍者的姓名、工作、籍贯、学历、兴趣及与交往对象的某些熟人的关系。

“你好，我叫张强，我在金洪恩电脑公司上班。我是李波的老乡，都是北京人。”

“我叫王朝，是李波的同事，也在北京大学中文系，我教中国古代汉语。”

4、礼仪式：适用于讲座、报告、演出、庆典、仪式等一些正规而隆重的场合。包括姓名、单位、职务等，同时还应加入一些适当的谦辞、敬辞。

“各位来宾，大家好！我叫张强，我是金洪恩电脑公司的销售经理。我代表本公司热烈欢迎大家光临我们的展览会，希望大家……。”

5、问答式：适用于应试、应聘和公务交往。问答式的自我介绍，应该是有问必答，问什么就答什么。

“先生，你好！请问您怎么称呼？（请问您贵姓？）”

“先生您好！我叫张强。”

主考官问：“请介绍一下你的基本情况。”

应聘者：“各位好！我叫李波，现年26岁，河北石家庄市人，汉族，……。”

三、自我介绍的注意事项

1、注意时间：要抓住时机，在适当的场合进行自我介绍，对方有空闲，而且情绪较好，又有兴趣时，这样就不会打扰对方。自我介绍时还要简洁，尽可能地节省时间，以半分钟左右为佳。为了节省时间，作自我介绍时，还可利用名片、介绍信加以辅助。

2、讲究态度：进行自我介绍，态度一定要自然、友善、亲切、随和。应落落大方，彬彬有礼。既不能委委懦懦，又不能虚张声势，轻浮夸张。语气要自然增长率，语速要正常，语音要清晰。

3、真实诚恳：进行自我介绍要实事求是，真实可信，不可自吹自擂，夸大其辞。

尊敬的学校领导：

您好！

我知道自己能够来参加这次面试，是几辈子修来的福气，我也明白幼师这个职业并不是那么简单的，我需要具备很好的耐心，同时我还需要细心，这样才能把每一个孩子都照顾好，为了让大家看到我的优点，我简单的来介绍一下我自己。

我叫XX，我来自美丽的XX。性格开朗，形象可爱有一张娃娃脸，天生有一颗坦然，善良的心，在校专业技能良好，思想积极向上，通过几年来的学习，对幼教工作有了更大的信心，我热爱孩子，我的性格和年龄是我从事行业的优势，我想要找一份幼师的工作，毕竟这几年我一直学习学前教育专业，还是希望能成为一名优秀的幼儿教师，虽然我是应届毕业生，不过在之前我也去幼儿园实习过，工作过，就是想多增加个人的经验，总结怎样更好的使幼儿快乐的学习，怎样保护好幼儿等。希望给予幼儿的是最好的教育。希望您能给我一次机会，你将会看到一个更优秀的我。

大家好，我是××的，现就读于××学校，身高××。今天很荣幸能站在这里向大家做自我介绍。

我的兴趣爱好是听音乐、有空看下课外书、还有和朋友一起外出游玩。我性格活泼开朗，容易和大家打成一片…我自认为责任感和时间观念都较强。

参加这次志愿者活动的目的有两个：第一是，作为**的一份子，我应该为××贡献我的一份力量;第二个是，我想利用这次机会，多一份经历以增加自身的见识，学习新技能、提升自我价值。

在这几年里我都有利用暑假的时间去做暑期工，这学期，在老师的介绍下，有在马会家居Admonter做过礼仪小姐。最后我想说就算考核我无法通过，我还是会以其它的方式微笑着为××贡献属于我自己的一份力量!谢谢，我的自我介绍完毕!

我的个子比较高，圆圆的脸蛋，大大的眼睛，这就是我??谭绶。

我的优点很多，比如我的体育很好，上体育课的时候，我要负责整队，领操等等，整天都很忙，你明白为什么吗？因为我是体育委员。我的数学成绩也算是比较好的，还有写毛笔大字的时候写的字也很好。

虽然有了这么多的优点，但是我的缺点也有很多，比如，我不爱看课外书，一到写作的时候，就门儿也摸不到了；我还有一个毛病就是爱看动画片，我一看就是几个小时，常常把写作业的事情给忘了，还得我半夜才写作业；我还有个最大的毛病。那就是粗心大意，每次写作业的时候，都擦了几个大洞，唉，我可真倒霉呀！

但是请放心，我必须改掉这些毛病。

Gooda fternoon, teachers! My name is XuLulu. I`m 11. I come from Class1 Grade 5 of TongPu No.2 Primary School. There are 4 people in my family. My father is tall. My mother is pretty.My sister has a long hair. And I`m a good student. However, my home is near the school, I often get up early. Because I must work hard. after school, I like playing computer games and reading books. I`d like to eat apples. They are sweet and healthy. And I like Tuesday best. We have English, music, computer and P.E. on Tuesdays. My math teacher is Miss Huang. Her class is so much fun. So my favourite class is math. And I like Chinese and English, too. This is me. An active girl. Please remember XuLulu. Thank you very much!

Good morning. I am glad to be here for this interview. First let me introduce myself. My name is xx 24. I come from Nanchang,the capital of Jiangxi Province. I graduated from the ****** department of *****University in July ,2001.In the past two years I have been prepareing for the postgraduate examination while I have been teaching *****in NO.****middle School and I was a head-teacher of a class in junior grade two.Now all my hard work has got a result since I have a chance to be interview by you.

I am open-minded ,quick in thought and very fond of history.In my spare time,I have broad interests like many other youngers.I like reading books, especially those about ****.Frequently I exchange with other people by making comments in the forum on line.In addition ,during my college years,I was once a Net-bar technician.So, I have a comparative good command of network application.I am able to operate the computer well.I am skillful in searching for information in Internet.I am a football fan for years.Italian team is my favorite.Anyway,I feel great pity for our countrys team.

I always believe that one will easily lag behind unless he keeps on learning .Of course, if I am given a chance to study ****** in this famous University,I will spare no effort to master a good command of advance ******.

Elder sister, my name is XXX, I think I was a lively and cheerful, sunny boy positive. My motto is: simple life, practical work, to do their best. What is the simple life?

Is easy, communication with the people to be polite and friendly, but also keep a smile, with a sincere heart. What is the practical work? Is the treatment of learning and work, have to be out laughing and smiling face, conscientious, strict in demands, for what they are doing to take their share of responsibility. And what is called best? That is the last person to form their own the style, then this Style provides a reference for others to learn and live by themselves and others

Of course, I also have their own shortcomings and deficiencies, such as lack of social experience, not enough work experience, and this is the main reason why I want to join in this department, hope the skills take quite high on their own, to broaden its scope of communication, but also a strength of their own community contributions.

It is really my honor to have this opportunity for an interview,

I hope i can make a good performance today. Im confident that I can succeed.

Now i will introduce myself briefly

I am 26 years old,born in shandong province . I was graduated from qingdao university. my major is electronic.and i got my bachelor degree after my graduation in the year of xx. I spend most of my time on study,i have passed CET4/6 . and i have acquired basic knowledge of my major during my school time.

In July xx, I began work for a small private company as a technical support engineer in QingDao city.Because Im capable of more responsibilities, so I decided to change my job. And in August xx,I left QingDao to BeiJing and worked for a foreign enterprise as a automation software test engineer.Because I want to change my working environment, Id like to find a job which is more challenging. Morover Motorola is a global company, so I feel I can gain the most from working in this kind of company ennvironment. That is the reason why I come here to compete for this position.

I think Im a good team player and Im a person of great honesty to others. Also I am able to work under great pressure.

That’s all. Thank you for giving me the chance.

hello every one, first let me introduce myself. my name is ***, ** yearsold. i am from ******,a beautiful city in henan province. it is famous as the"capital of ****" and enjoy yhe honer that l***** peony is the best in theworld. ****** played a very important role in chinese history. so it has aprofound cultural background and many great heritagesites have been wellreverved. such as longmen grotto, one of the three grottoes in china ang whitehorse temple, being regarded as the cradle of chnese buddhism.****** peony isworld-famous. every year, many tourists travel to ****** to see the beauty ofpeony .the people in my hometown are friendly, they welcome the travellers fromall over the world.i like my hometown very much. i am very glad to be here forthis interview. i graduated from****** college in july,**** and major infinance. then, i was a teacher in abc, when i was a senior school student, i aminterested in thought and began to read a certain classic work of marxism,especially i finished reading “the florilegium of mao zedong”. from then on, ihave dabbled in more and more theoretical works and accumulated great interestsin theory study, especially in marxism.i have a dream, a dream of my study. iwish devote my whole life and energy into the development of the marxism. if ihave the opportunity to study in abc university, i’ll dabble in as much asdocument about the specialty as possible. if

it is possible, i want to get theprimary accomplishment in my major, at least, a stable basis.personally, fortoday’s china, the first task to the development of marxism is a process ofconstruction. that’s to say, we should understand marxism mostly from the aspectof construction and development of social society. only when our socialisticcountry has a more rapid and balance development than the capitalistic, we canenhance the attractiveness and persuasion of marxism eventually. thank you !

尊敬的领导们：

大家好!

我叫×××，毕业于××学校××专业，选修***。

在学校期间，主修的专业课有×××(此处添加应聘职位相关专业课或说成选修课为应聘职位所需课程，尤其重要)，根据所学的知识，也参加过一些具体项目的事实，比如学院独有的精品课×××，在其中负责××主模块或者担任××组长工作，应用了×××(应聘相关的课程)技能及财务知识等，取得了×××什么样的成果。并在实践中，加深了对××的认识，提高了此类工作的实际操作能力。

另外，在学校中也参加过一些社团活动，比如××(此处最好说1-2样如学院××周年校庆活动或院运会)，在其中加强了和同学们的交流，全方面认识了团队协作的带来的效率，对团队合作和责任感有了新的感受和知识。

个性上，首先是比较诚实、乐观、热情。其次，具有团队精神，踏实努力，很强的责任心。

在这里应聘贵公司的××职位，是想将自己的所学得到充分发挥，并在这里学习成长。希望有这样的机会，能和诸位成为同事。

我的情况大概就是这样，请问有什么其他方面想要了解的么?我会如实一一回答您的提问。谢谢

[面试自我介绍5篇

hello!just call me little monkey,i am a new one here. i graduated from hebei tv university,but i major in nuresing.now,i fond a new job at shijiazhuang that is the capitl of hebei.

i want to introduce my hospitl to evryone,she is an old hospitl and the first one in shijiazhuang city.thank goodness, i have this chance to know evryone.i like make friends,so if you are free please talking to me.i am so sorry to that i have forgot some of the words.bye,i must go home my boyfriend is calling me.

Respected business leaders:

My name is ××× , and I will graduate from Xian FanYi University in the year 2015, My major is secretary in English department.

It’s my great pleasure to have this opportunity to improve our mutual understanding. During the three –year college study, I tried my best to learn all kinds of knowledge, and weigh the hard work of my teachers and myself; I have mastered English listening, speaking, writing and reading skills.

Moreover, I have a good command of business English and the basic theory, public relationship of secretary. Meanwhile, in order to enlarge my knowledge, I always read some newspapers and magazines about business and trade, and I used to do some representative of business in my spare time. At the same time, I learnt computer skills during my summer vacation, and now Im familiar with Office 2007. It is my three –year college life that makes me form my life attitude. Also my three-year college life that makes me rich in knowledge, and its also my three-year college life that makes me form my life attitude. Honesty, Trust, Diligence is principle of how to be a man.

As a college graduate, I believe "where there is a will, there is a way", and I will try my best to do a good job in my business. So I sincerely hope that I can make a position in your company so that I can serve for the company in the future.

Yours faithfully

尊敬的xxx： 您好!

我叫xxx，在xx大学的法语系学习，有相当好的语言功底，和外教沟通很好，热情开朗，喜欢交朋友。我从小立志刻苦学习，将来一定要成为国家栋梁之才。我决心要成为一名世博会志愿者。

我在中学学习期间不但是一名学习认真，品学兼优的好学生，而且是一个小有名气的“交友家”。 此外，我的特长是英文，爱好是篮球，特别是在比赛场上更能表现我的不怕苦不怕累和团队精神。

世上最怕的就是“认真”二字，我是一个做事认真的人，总是执着地带着激情学习 。自我认为可塑性强，接受新知识新环境的能力强，可以认真地说，你教我什么，我懂什么，你让我做什么，我能做好什么，这就是我的可塑性。

尽管我煞费苦心把自己介绍给x，用意是不言而喻的：希望您能赏识我，接收我。如果您在录取的审核过程中，左右不定难以取舍的时候，请选择我吧，我会证明给你看：你选对了。 祝：您工作顺利!

各位考官，上午好!

我叫xxx,今年**岁。来自xxx,**年毕业于xx学校金融专业。毕业后在工商银行工作1年，后又在商业银行工作过一年的时间。人往高处走，水往低处流。前两份工作因没有太大的发展潜力，故我辞去工作，以谋求更好，更有发展前途的工作。

今天，我想通过此次考试重新走上工作岗位的愿望是那样迫切!我曾开过铺子，先是经营工艺品，后又经营服装。但不论生意做得如何得心应手，当一名银行职员终是我心向往之并愿倾尽毕生心血去追求的事业。我曾多次参加考试，但都由于各种原因而未能实现梦想，但我暗下决心，只要有机会，我就一直考下去，直到理想实现为止。

如今的我，历经生活的考验，比起我的竞争对手在年龄上我已不再有优势，但是我比他们更多了一份对工作的责任心、耐心和对单位的诚心，更多了一份成熟和自信。

您好，很荣幸能参加公司的这次面试。我叫xxx，是一名会计专业应届毕业生，四年的专业学习让我扎实的掌握了专业知识。能熟练操作word、excel、用友U8财务软件以及ERP管理系统。

我是一个性格稳重、做事有耐心的人，具有踏实勤恳、吃苦耐劳、积极向上的心态。会计专业学习更培养了我细心、严谨的学习生活态度。在校与师生关系良好，富有团队合作精神，有较强的逻辑思维能力和极强的责任心，并在以后的工作中会继续保持。正是由于这种性格因素，我非常喜欢会计工作。

实践方面，在财务软件练习课上，我们对客户员工资料输入修改、业务处理、凭证的填制、以及报表的制作输出都做了大量练习。通过会计账务流程模拟实践，了解了从收集原始凭证、填制记账凭证、登记账簿、结账，到制作报表的全过程。通过专业学习我更加坚定的选择了会计这个行业，我觉得很适合这份工作，并希望在会计职业生涯中能有所成就!

我目前正在考初级会计师和注册会计师，希望会计专业知识更加充实，努力发展成为一名合格的会计人员。我希望找到一份财务工作，能让我将所学充分发挥，提高会计业务能力，为公司贡献一份力量。对财务工作极度的热情和持之以恒的精神是我有信心做好会计工作的最大因素。

身为学生的我在修好学业的同时也注重于实践。社会兼职，打暑期工，勤工助学等积累了一定的才富。城然，才毕业，缺乏工作经验是我的不足。但我拥有饱满的热情以及“干一行，爱一行”的敬业精神。

我就是一匹千里马，执着地追寻着一位识才重才的伯乐，实现人生价值，为社会发展效力的机会。

我的信条是：世上只有走不完的路，没有开辟不了的路，更没有架不起的桥!一个合作的机会，对我来说便是一个良好的开端，我愿意将个人价值放在团队工作中去实现。

本人具有热爱祖国等中华民族的优良传统，积极向上的生活态度和广泛的兴趣爱好，对govyi工作责任心强、勤恳实，有较强的组织、宣传能力，注重团队合作精神和集体观念。

我是来自xx学院xx级xx专业的学生。我叫出国留学网。大学四年生活，即将结束，新的开始，等待我的是新的挑战。

我是一个性格开朗，爱好广泛的女孩。从小我就有一个愿望，长大后一定要做一名优秀的xxxx，随着岁月的流逝，花开花落，我也慢慢的长大了，而这种愿望却愈加强烈，就像农者与其锄一样，对xxxx这一工作愈加的痴爱。

在求学的12年中，我在学好文化课的同时，又不断的从知识的海洋中广泛汲取营养，去充实自己，增强自己的能力，提高自己的认识，以更好的把握自己的未来，实现自己的理想。就像歌者用曼妙的歌声去表达自己的感情，就像舞者用轻盈的舞步去阐释自己的信念，而我将用我的xx去传递我对xx的炽爱。

大家好!非常感谢学校能够给予我这样的一个机会让我来到这个地方作自我介绍，我叫xxx。不过很令我愧疚的是，我在很长的一段时间里面是愧对于我的父亲和我的名字，因为我无法用优异的成绩来回答我的父亲。但是我一直没有放弃过，我一直在努力，从初中一年级的差生到初三年级的尖子生，并出人意料地考入淮阴县中学就是现在的淮州中学。从进入高中时候的700多名到高三年级的300 名，这些表现都在见证着我的努力和进步。在高中的生活中，我担任班级里面的学习委员，并在“建团八十周年的征文”大赛中，我的诗歌《林中的黑影》荣获征文大赛一等奖，并在《淮安日报》上发表，我想那是我在中学生活中，最开心和最骄傲的事情。在六年的生活中，从一个农村走出来的孩子，为他的生活，为他的理想而奋斗着，有成功有失败。在这个六年中，我知道如果你认准一个目标，只要你坚持不懈，那么你一定会获得成功。即使没有雷雨之后没有彩虹，至少是一个好天气。

如果用“两耳不闻窗外事，一心只读圣贤书”来形容我的中学生活的话，。那么我想用一幅对联来形容我的大学生活，那就是“风声，雨声，读书声，声声入耳;家事国事，天下事，事事关心”来形容我的大学生活。自我介绍

我想大学生活是我在受教育以来，最为开心，收获最多，感悟最深的一次经历。从进入大学担任班级宣传委，团支书到担任院信息协会副会长，再到和同学一起创办淮阴师范学院首个专业的心理学社团——博爱心理咨询社，担任网络部，编辑部两个部门的部长，让我受益匪浅，组织能力和策划能力有很大的提高。尤其是在我们策划的面向新生的“首届新生老生面对面”和“淮安市首届心理学校园行”活动，对我的交际和团队合作能力也有非长大的提高。创办社团的两年，我们社团由一个默默无闻变成院三星级社团，并获得十佳社团活动，为此我也荣获“院优秀社团干部”的称号。

当然在组建社团的同时，我并没有忘记对自己学业的要求，顺利地通过国家英语和计算机二级考试，在学有余力的情况下我阅读很多课外书籍，自学网站设计，成立自己的心灵工作室，探讨心理学的应用前景，尤其是与一些人文学科结合的途径与方法，同时我也非常关注家庭教育方面的信息，尤其是我在大二那一年，在友人的帮助下，我们创建“教子有方家庭教育研究中心”，虽然最后结果失败，但是给我们一个最大的印象是，学校教育不是万能的，对孩子起决定性影响的是家庭教育。我相信我在今后的工作中，也会非常关注这个方面的信息。

大学四年的生活是非常精彩的，但是留下一些遗憾，比如没有看更多的书，现在偶尔碰见一些大一的学生，向我询问一些大学里面的成功的方法。我都会笑着说，学我吧，从我身上就可以知道成功的方法，因为我作为一个失败的典型是非常的成功的!

我是嘉兴学院临床医学院临床专业xx级本科学生，将于20xx年7月毕业。在即将叩响社会这扇大门时，我怀着无比的真诚和高度责任感把我的人生向您靠拢。五 年的大学生活使我树立了正确的人生观，价值观，形成了热情、上进、不屈不挠的性格和诚实、守信、有责任心、有爱心的人生信条。五年，厚积薄发的五年，给我 的"轻叩柴扉"留下一个自信而又响亮的声音。

以上是我的求职面试自我介绍。在即将走向社会之时，诚望贵单位全面考察我的情况，若能蒙您 垂青，我将深感荣幸，并在日后工作中，不懈拼搏之劲，不失进取之心，克尽己能，为贵单位事业奉献自己的一份力量。相信在您们的支持下，我会和您所领导的单 位一样，直挂云帆济沧海，乘风破浪会有时！

What strikes one first in a birds -eye view of Beijing proper is a vast tract of golden roofs flashing brilliantly in the sun with purple walls occasionally emerging amid them and a stretch of luxuriant tree leaves flanking on each side. That is the former Imperial Palace, popularly known as the Forbidden City, from which twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties ruled China for some 500 years——from1420 to 1911. The Ming Emperor Yong Le, who usurped the throne from his nephew and made Beijing the capital, ordered its construction, on which approximately 10,000 artists and a million workmen toiled for 14 years from 1406 to 1420. At present, the Palace is an elaborate museum that presents the largest and most complete ensemble of traditional architecture complex and more than 900,000 pieces of court treasures in all dynasties in China.

Located in the center of Beijing, the entire palace area, rectangular in shape and 72 hectares in size, is surrounded by walls ten meters high and a moat 52 meters wide. At each corner of the wall stands a watchtower with a double-eave roof covered with yellow glazed tiles.

The main buildings, the six great halls, one following the other, are set facing south along the central north-south axis from the Meridian Gate, the south entrance, to Shenwumen, the great gate piercing in the north wall. On either side of the palace are many comparatively small buildings. Symmetrically in the northeastern section lie the six Eastern Palaces and in the northwestern section the six Western Palaces. The Palace area is divided into two parts: the Outer Court and the Inner Palace. The former consists of the first three main halls, where the emperor received his courtiers and conducted grand ceremonies, while the latter was the living quarters for the imperial residence. At the rear of the Inner Palace is the Imperial Garden where the emperor and his family sought recreation.

The main entrance to the Palace is the Meridian Gate(1), which was so named because the emperor considered himself the "Son of the Heaven" and the Palace the center of the universe, hence the north-south axis as the Meridian line going right through the Palace. The gate is crowned with five towers, commonly known as the Five-Phoenix Towers(2), which were installed with drums and bells. When the emperor went to the Temple of Heaven, bells were struck to mark this important occasion. When he went to the Ancestral Temple, it was the drums that were beaten to publicize the event.

Beyond the Meridian Gate unfolds a vast courtyard across which the Inner Golden Water River runs from east to west. The river is spanned by five bridges, which were supposed to be symbols of the five virtues preached by Confucius——benevolence, righteousness, rites, intelligence, and fidelity(3).

At the north end of the courtyard is a three-tiered white marble terrace, seven meters above the ground, on which, one after another, stand three majestic halls; the Hall of Supreme Harmony(4), the Hall of Complete Harmony(5), and the Hall of Preserving Harmony(6).

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, rectangular in shape, 27 meters in height, 2,300 square meters in area, is the grandest and most important hall in the Palace complex. It is also Chinas largest existing palace of wood structure and an outstanding example of brilliant color combinations. This hall used to be the throne hall for ceremonies which marked great occasions: the Winter Solstice, the Spring Festival, the emperors birthday and enthronement, and the dispatch of generals to battles, etc. On such occasions there would be an imperial guard of honor standing in front of the Hall that extended all the way to the Meridian gate.

On the north face of the hall in the center of four coiled-golden dragon columns is the "Golden Throne", which was carved out of sandalwood. The throne rests on a two-meter-high platform with a screen behind it. In front of it, to the left and right, stand ornamental cranes, incense burners and other ornaments. The dragon columns entwined with golden dragons measure one meter in diameter. The throne itself, the platform and the screen are all carved with dragon designs. High above the throne is a color-painted coffered ceiling which changes in shape from square to octagonal to circular as it ascends layer upon layer. The utmost central vault is carved with the gilded design of a dragon toying with pearls. when the Emperor mounted the throne, gold bells and jade chimes sounded from the gallery, and clouds of incense rose from the bronze cranes and tortoises and tripods outside the hall on the terrace. The aura of majesty created by the imposing architecture and solemn ritual were designed to keep the subjects of the "Son of the Heaven" in awe and reverence.

The Hall of Complete Harmony is smaller and square with windows on all sides. Here the emperor rehearsed for ceremonies. It is followed by the Hall of Preserving Harmony in which banquets and imperial examinations were held.

Behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony lies a huge marble ramp with intertwining clouds and dragons carved in relief. The slab, about 6.5 meters long, 3 meters wide and 250 tons in weight, is placed between two flights of marble steps along which the emperors sedan was carried up or down the terrace. It is the largest piece of stone carving in the Imperial Palace. Quarried in the mountains scores of kilometers southwest of Beijing, this gigantic stone was moved to the city by sliding it over a specially paved ice road in winter. To provide enough water to build the ice road, wells were sunk at very 500 meters along the way.

The three halls of the Inner Palace are replicas of the three halls in the front, but smaller in size. They are the Palace of Heavenly Purity(7), the Hall of Union(8), and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility(9).

The Palace of Heavenly Purity was once the residence of the Ming emperors and the first two of the Qing emperors. Then the Qing Emperor Yong Zheng moved his residence to the Palace of Mental Cultivation and turned it into an audience hall to receive foreign envoys and handled the state affairs. The promotion and demotion of officials were also decided in this hall. After the emperors death his coffin was placed here for a 49-day period of mourning.

The Palace of Union was the empresss throne room and the Hall of Earthly Tranquility, once a private living room for the empress, was partitioned. The west chamber served religious purposes and the east one was the bridal chamber where the newly married emperor and empress spent their first two nights after their wedding.

The Imperial Garden was laid out during the early Ming dynasty. Hundreds of pines and cypresses offer shade while various flowers give colors to the garden all year round and fill the air with their fragrance. In he center of the garden is the Hall of Imperial Peace, a Daoist temple, with a flat roof slightly sloping down to the four eaves. This type of roof was rare in ancient Chinese architecture. In he northeastern corner of the garden is a rock hill, known as the Hill of the Piled-up Wonders, which is topped with a pavilion. At the foot of the hill are two fountains which jet two columns of water high into the air. It is said that on the ninth night of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the empress would mound the hill to enjoy the autumn scene. It is also believed that climbing to a high place on that day would keep people safe from contagious diseases.

The six Western Palaces were residences for empresses and concubines. They are kept in their original way for show. The six Eastern Palaces were the residences for them too. But now they serve as special museums: the Museum of Bronze, the Museum of Porcelain and the Museum of Arts and Crafts of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the northeastern-most section of the Inner Palace are the Museum of Traditional Chinese Paintings and the Museum of Jewelry and Treasures where rare pieces of imperial collections are on display.

Now the Forbidden City is no longer forbidding, but inviting. A visit to the Palace Museum will enrich the visitors knowledge of history, economy, politics, arts as well as architecture in ancient China.