Zhu Jingjin (Editor-in-Chief) is a PhD, postgraduate supervisor, and the head of Applied Linguistics at Tianjin Foreign Studies University. She has been engaged in Chinese language teaching for many years and has worked as a Chinese language teacher in several universities in the UK. Her research mainly focuses on second language acquisition, Chinese grammar, and research on teaching Chinese grammar to foreigners. She has published several monographs and textbooks, and more than 10 papers in journals such as Applied Linguistics and Chinese Language Learning, etc., and presided over a number of projects of Philosophy and Social Science of Tianjin, Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, and the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching. Moreover, she has guided students to participate in many competitions, such as Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for College Students, Chinese Teaching Heroes and “Chinese+” National Chinese Teaching Skills Competition, etc., and was awarded the Outstanding Instructor Award.

Explore the Forbidden City, Learn Chinese can be used for foreign students in academic courses, short-term courses and credit courses on language and culture in overseas Confucius Institutes. The first volume is suitable for learners of Chinese language level above HSK level 3, and the second volume is suitable for learners of Chinese language level above HSK level 4.

Each cultural unit includes such three teaching sections as Language Learning, Cultural Knowledge, and Manual Experience. The Language Learning section has two courses with 16 lessons in total spending 32 class hours. The Cultural Knowledge section is accompanied with teacher’s interpreting videos. The Manual Experience section is a practical part of the cultural teaching method, which can be arranged by the teacher according to the actual teaching situation.