Along the central axis of the Forbidden City there are: the Meridian Gate, the Gate of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Middle Harmony, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the big stone ramp carved with cloud dragon designs, the Gate of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Union and Peace, the Palace of Earthly Traquility, the Imperial Garden and Shenwu Gate.
Meredian Gate
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Meridian Gate was the place where the ceremony of announcing the new lunar year calendar and the ceremony of "Accepting Captives of War" took place.
Court Beating also took place in front of the Meridian Gate. "Court Beating" is a kind of punishment to punish those offending officials by beating them on their buttocks with sticks. But this kind of punishment was abolished in the Qing Dynasty.
The Meridian Gate has five passageways. The central one was for the emperor only. Apart from that, the empress could only use the central passageway once in her whole life. That was on the imperial wedding day when she got married. And the first top three outstanding scholars were also allowed to go through the central gate in the Forbidden City after the imperial palace examination. The east gate was for the high-ranking civil and military offcials to go through and the west gate was for the royal families. The low-ranking officials used the two smaller oes on both sides at the corner.
In addition, when having the Palace Examination, all the candidates went in the Forbidden City from these two side-gates according to their odd numbers and even numbers.
The Gate of Supreme Harmony
There are two bronze lions in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony, The bronze lions served as guardians in the old days because people believed that it could ward off the evil spirits. One is male and the other is female, a symbol of luxury and imperial power.
The Big Bronze Vats
The big bronze vats in the Forbidden City were used for storing water in case of fire. There are altogether 308 big water vats in the Forbidden City.
There were 18 big gilded bronze vats in Qing Dynasty. But in 1900, when the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers invaded Beijing, they scraped off the gold from the surface with their bayonets. So even today we can still see the scratches clearly marked on the surface.
Bronze Incense Burners
There are altogether eighteen bronze incense burners on the marble terrace representing the eighteen provinces in the Qing Dynasty.
Sundial
The Sundial is on the east of the top terrace. It has a history of over 2,000 years and could be used when there was sunlight. There is a bronze indicator(a metal pin) through the center of the sundial, so the sundial tells the time by seeing the shadow of the metal pin on the sundial. The sundial has an inclination angle of 50 degrees with the graduation of twelve divisions of day and night on the surface. People figure out the time by looking at the shadow of the bronze pin on the upper side of the sundial in summer, and the reverse side in winter.
Grain Measure
The grain measure is on the west of the rerrace. it was used as the national standard measure in agriculture in the past.
Dragon-headed Tortoises and Bronze Cranes
The bronze dragon-headed tortoises and bronze cranes placed on each side of the terrace were incense burners in the Ming and Qing dynasties. They are hollow inside with a cover on their backs. When the sandalwood incense burning inside, the smoke would come out from the mouth. They are both symbols of longevity.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony
This is the "Throne Hall" in the Forbidden City and it was the most important building in the whole Imperial Palace. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was the place where the emperor had grand ceremonies as well as the important festival celebrations.
The grand ceremonies were: the emperor's enthronement ceremony, the emperor's wedding ceremony, dispatching generals on an expedition to battles as well as receving the successful candidates after the palace examination by the emperor, etc.
The important festival celebrations were on three big occasions, such as the emperor's birthday, the Winter Solstice and the Chinese Lunar New Year.
During the Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the Palace Examination was held here, but later it was moved to the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
Inside the Hall
There is a gilded throne carved with nine dragons placed in the middle of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Behind the throne, there is a gilded screen with beautiful carvings.
A pair of elephant-shaped incense burners was placed o both sides of the throne, symbolizing universal peace, a pair of bronze cranes around the throne and four incense burners made of cloisinne in front the dais.
The caisson ceiling in the middle was carved with a magnificent sculpture of a curling dragon.
The Hall of Middle Harmony / The Hall of Complete Harmony
This hall was the place for the emperor to take a short rest before he went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony for grand ceremonies; to receive and read the sacrificial address before the emperor went to the altars and temples; to examine the seeds for spring sowing and the ploughs before the emperor went to the Altar of Agriculture to offer sacrifice as well as to revise the imperial genealogy in this hall.
The throne in the middle was for the emperor, The incense burners are in front of the throne. There were two braziers on both sides of the throne for burning the best charcoal for heat in winter.
The Hall of Preserving Harmony
In the Ming Dynasty--Before going to the Hall of Supreme Harmony for a grand ceremony the emperor would change into full ceremonial dress in this hall. The emperor also had banquets to entertain the civil and military official in this hall.
In the Qing Dynasty--On Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve the emperor would give a banquet to entertain the princes and envoys of the Mongolian nobles and other nationalities in this hall. When the princesses got married, the emperor would have a banquet in this hall.
The palace exam was held here in the Hall of Supreme Harmony during the Ming and early Qing dynasties. But after 1789, during Qing emperor Qianlong's reign the palace exam was held in this hall.
The Chinese imperial examination system started in 587, in the Sui Dynasty and ended in 1905 in the Qing Dynasty.
Stone Ramp Carved with Cloud and Dragon Designs
This is the largest piece of stone carving in the Forbidden City. It is 16.57 meters long, 3.07 meters wide, 1.7 meters thick, and more than 200 tons in weight.
This huge stone ramp came from Fangshan District, about 70 kilometers southwest of Beijing. In ancient time, people transported this huge stone over ice. In winter, people dug wells along the way, and brought up water from the wells, the poured the water on the ground to make an ice road, In summer they used rolling logs instead. It was in this way that people transported the huge stone to the Forbidden City.
The Gate of Heavenly Purity
It was here that the Qing emperors gave the imperial audience to the government officials at the gate.
The Palace of Heavenly Purity
During the Ming and early Qing Dynasties, it was the residence for the emperors to live and handle the daily affairs. But after the third Qing emperor Yongzheng, this building was used as an audience chamber because he moved his living quarters to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
This hall was also served as the mourning hall for holding the mourning service fo the deceased emperors. After a emperor died, his coffin would be placed here for a period of mourning.
The big plaque was inscribed with four Chinese Characters"正大光明", meaning Justice and Honesty.Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the emperor's throne is placed in the middle with the cloisnne incense burners in the front, and candle sticks on both sides.
The Palace of Union and Peace
The Palace of Union and Peace was the place where the empress held the important ceremonies and her birthday celebration, During the ceremony the empress would receive greeting in this hall.
During the Qing Dynasty, one day before the sacrificial ceremony on the altar for the silworm, the empress would have the ceremony for examining the tools for picking mulberry here.
In this hall people can see twenty -five imperial seal boxes placed on both sides of the throne. They were put here by Qing Emperor Qianlong. because twenty-five was regarded as a heavenly number. If we add the odd numbers of one, three, five, seven, and nine together, the total number is twenty-five. A Water Clock is placed on the east side of the hall and a large Western Chiming Clock is placed on the west side of this building.
The Palace of Earthly Tranquility
During the Ming and early Qing Dynasties, here was used as the empresses' residence, But after the third Qing Emperor Yongzheng moved his living quarters to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the empress moved her living quarters to the Hall of Manifesting Obedience(Tishuntang). Later, the western chamber was changed into a place for offering sacrificial ceremonies for the Shaman God, because the Qing emperors paid a great attention to worshiping the Shanan God. The eastern chamber then became the wedding chamber for the emperor and empress.
The Imperial Garden
The main building in the Imperial Garden is the Hall of Imperial Peace. Inside the hall the gilded bronze statue of the King of Xuan Wu used to be enshrined People believed that Xuan Wu was the God fo Water who could prevent the palace buildings from catching fire.
There are four pavilions located on each direction in the garden representing the four seasons of the year. These four pavilions are named Qianqiu, Wanchun, Fubi and Chengrui pavilions respectively.
In the Imperial Garden people can see the beautiful pathway paved with tiny cobblestones in various designs.
Near the north gate in the Imperial Garden is the Piled Elegance Hill. On the top of the rockery is " Imperial View Pavilion", In the old days, every year on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the emperor would climb up to the Imperial View Pavilion to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival with his empress and concubines, as well as to enjoy the scenic beauty both in and outside the imperial palace.
Shenwu Gate
Shenwu Gate served as the north gate of the Forbidden City. Originally it was called Xuanwu Gate, the reason why it was changed to Shenwu Gate is that the Qing Emperor Kangxi's name was Xuanye. The emperor's name and the gate's name got the same Character "Xuan". It was a taboo for mentioning the emperor's name in the old days, so the gate was renamed Shenwu Gate.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, bells ad drums were installed on the tower of the gate for the bells were beaten in the morning and the drums were struck in the evening to mark time.
This gate actually was the back gate of the Forbidden City. During the Ming and Qing dynasties when empress and imperial concubines attended the silkworm ceremony they went through this gate. When the selected palace maids entered the Forbidden City they would go through this gate too
Orignal From: Main Buildings along the central axis of Forbidden City
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