Forbidden city outer court

Forbidden city outer court


The hall of preserving harmony was used differently in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Before the grand ceremony were held in Ming Dynasty, the emperor used to change his clothes here and when the emperor and the crown prince were registered,They were congratulated in this hall.   Every year on the New Year’s Eve and the fifteen day of the first month, the emperor gave a banquet to the priests, the princes and the ministers of the first and second grades. The scene was spectacular.The banquet to host the Emperor’s father in law, High ranking official’s relatives, and the examination of each subject were held in the Hall of preserving harmony. At the end of each year, the officials administration ministry fill in the roster of  high ranking officials from the Manchurian, Mongolian and the Han army. From 1646 to 1656, Emperor Shunzhi lived in this hall, and it was called the “Bai Yu Palace”at that time. The emperor’s grand wedding ceremony was also held here. When emperor Kangxi took the throne for eight years (1669) , He was also lived in this Hall,and change it’s name to “Qingning Palace.” In the fifty-fourth year of emperor Qianlong’s reign (1789), the […]

The Hall of preserving harmony


Hall of complete harmony, The word complete harmony which indicate “neutralization” means that everything needs to be impartial and just right to make the relationship between the parties to be harmonious. The intention is to promote the “moderation of the mean.” The hall of complete harmony is 19 meters high and has a square shape. On the base of the three halls of supreme harmony, complete harmony and preserving harmony, there is a drain outlet with a dragon’s head shape. When it rains, the drain head sprays water together to form a landscape of “Thousand Dragons Spurts Water”. After the Revolution of 1911, Emperor Qing was still in the harem. Yuan Shikai intends to restore the monarchy and announce himself as the emperor, He change the interior and exterior decoration of the three main palaces and make them as his offices. The Manchurian inscription on the plaque in which the name of the temple was written was removed and the Chinese characters moved to the middle. Two gold four-legged unicorns were placed on the both sides of the throne.Those are mythical animal and no such kind of animal real existed.The Chinese legend shows it can walk 18,000 miles in a […]

Hall of complete harmony


The Hall of the supreme harmony, commonly known as the “Golden Temple”, is located at the prominent position of the north-south axis of the Forbidden city. It has a height of 35. 05 meters and an area of 2,377 square meters. It has a total of 55 rooms and 72 pillars. It is the tallest building in the Forbidden City. It is the largest of the three halls and the tallest building in the Forbidden City. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is also the largest existing wooden structure in China. It is a typical classical building. The interior and exterior structure of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the crystallization of the ancient wisdom of the Chinese nation. Here, in addition to the singular sculpt, the unique design layout and the fascinating treasures, It’s firmness is also amazing. Since the completion of the Hall, it has suffered many major earthquakes. She still stands proudly like a strong giant and stay unaffected. There is a wide platform in front of the Hall of supreme, commonly known as the moon terrace. On the platform, there are copper sculptures of sundial, grain measure, turtles ,cranes, and dragons. The sundial is an ancient timer, and […]

Hall of supreme harmony