Beijing - The President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, visited Wednesday the Forbidden City or Imperial Palace Museum, a thousand-year-old site which exactly marks the heart of Beijing, capital of China.

The president on a guided tour knew about the construction and history of the place that was the power centre of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

He appreciated the dimensions, magnificent architecture, splendor, elegance of cultural and artistic objects of this maze of almost a thousand buildings, whose roofs are adorned with figures of mythological creatures.

Diaz-Canel testified to his stay here by signing a book.

The Forbidden City received its name because ordinary people could not enter without special licenses at that time, with the exception of courtiers.

Twenty-four emperors lived there until 1911, when the revolution that toppled China's last feudal dynasty, the Qing, was held.

The tour of the Imperial Palace Museum was Diaz-Canel's second activity after arriving this Wednesday in Beijing from the municipality of Shanghai (east), where he began on Tuesday his first official visit to China as Cuba's president.

He had previously spoken with Wang Yang, the president of the Standing Committee of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Cuban leader will do the same on Thursday with host ruler Xi Jinping, PM Li Keqiang and the President of the National People's Assembly. Li Zhanshu, at the Grand People's Palace.

Bilateral agreements and the laying of floral offerings at historically important sites are also on the agenda.

China is the fourth stop on the Cuban dignitary's tour of Europe and Asia into France, Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The tour will continue from Friday in Vietnam and Laos.