Old photos of the Forbidden City from a hundred years ago, showing the back of a dynasty

The Forbidden City in Beijing, formerly known as the Forbidden City. Located at the center of Beijing's central axis, it is the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is the largest and best-preserved wooden structure palace-type building in the world. This album was taken between 1900 and 1903, when the ban was still not open to the general public. Zhengyangmen, commonly known as Qianmen, was the south gate of the inner city of Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In 1900, the city tower and arrow tower were destroyed by the Eight-Power Allied Forces. It was rebuilt in 1903 and 1906 respectively. The photo shows the front door before it was rebuilt. Daqing Gate, changed to Zhonghua Gate in the Republic of China, is the real "National Gate". It is located directly south of Tiananmen and was demolished during the expansion of Tiananmen Square in the 1950s. The photo shows the inside of Daqing Gate, taken from Tiananmen Square. Meridian Gate, the main entrance of the Forbidden City , only the emperor enters and exits through the main gate, the civil and military ministers enter and exit through the left gate, and the royal family and princes enter and exit through the right gate. Taihe Gate: The largest palace gate in the Forbidden City, it is also the main entrance of the outer court palace. After giving banquets, the "Imperial Gate to Listen to Government" was later moved to Qianqing Gate. Zhonghe Hall: One of the three major halls of the Forbidden City. It was the place where the emperor accepted worship from deacons and officials before holding various ceremonies. Baohe Hall: One of the three major halls of the Forbidden City. First, it is a place where "" palace examinations" and grand banquets are held. Qianqing Gate: the main palace gate of the inner court of the Forbidden City. It is an important passage connecting the inner court and the outer court. In the Qing Dynasty, it was the "" imperial gate" for listening to politics, fasting, and receiving treasures. Ceremonies such as treasures are held at the Qianqing Gate. Qianqing Palace: the main hall of the Forbidden City. It is the place where the emperor reviews memorials, summons officials, receives foreign envoys, and holds inner court ceremonies and family banquets. Yikun Palace: one of the six west palaces of the Forbidden City. It was the place where the concubines lived during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Cixi lived here when she was a noble concubine. Later, when Cixi lived in Chuxiu Palace, she would receive worship from her concubines here during festivals. Yingluan should be the scene when Cixi and Guangxu entered the Qingmen Gate on their return from Xi'an in 1901. Tiananmen Square is in the distance - Photography: Lin Jing There is a saying in Beijing: ""Inner Nine Outer Seven Emperors City Four. ” Today, let’s start with “ “Imperial City Four” and end with the Forbidden City. Let’s experience the weight and changes of history together! — Photography: Lin Jing The Four Imperial Gates connecting the Forbidden City In the past, the Four Imperial Gates were majestic, and they were called Tiananmen Square , Di'anmen, Dong'anmen, Xi'anmen. Today, Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), 1900, was the first gate of the imperial city. The place where the imperial edict was issued. In June 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces occupied Beijing. This photo shows us the tragic situation after Tiananmen was damaged by the invaders' artillery fire. The picture comes from: "Hidden Shadows in the Forbidden City - Royal Buildings in the Diorama". Starting from Jinshui Bridge to the north, we arrived at the majestic Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City. Corresponding to the Neijinshui Bridge on the north side of the gate. The distant view of this photo is the left gate of Chang'an, which was the place where the "Yellow List" was declared in the palace examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was also known as the "Dragon Gate" among the people, but it no longer exists. Picture From: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" The main entrance of the Forbidden City - Meridian Gate The Meridian Gate is the main entrance of the Forbidden City. In the middle of the southern city wall, it is the largest of the four gates of the Forbidden City and the tallest building in the Forbidden City. There is a main tower on the platform of the Meridian Gate, with bell pavilions and drum pavilions on both sides. There are pointed towers at the south end of the two wing platforms. Because it looks like a phoenix spreading its wings, the Meridian Gate is also called the "Five Phoenix Tower" ", the shape inherits the tradition of ancient Chinese palaces with the Zhuque Gate as the main entrance of the palace. The central door of the Meridian Gate is the ""Road Gate"" for the emperor to enter and exit. In addition, only the queen's wedding sedan enters the palace during the wedding, and the number one scholar in high school, The Meridian Gate and the third flower can go through the middle gate when leaving the palace to show the emperor's respect. The Meridian Gate is also the place where the emperor often holds important ceremonies. The emperor beats drums when he goes out of the Meridian Gate to offer sacrifices to the Taimiao, rings bells when offering sacrifices to Sheji, and holds bells and drums together in grand ceremonies. Ming. Wu Men's old photo, 1912-1927 Wu Men, 1912-1927 In January 1912, the Republic of China had not yet been born, and the then Provisional Senate passed a resolution to use the five-color flag of red, yellow, blue, white and black. As a temporary national flag, it was not until the success of the Northern Expedition in 1928 that the Beiyang Communist Party collapsed, and the five-color flag was replaced by "the red flag all over the ground". Picture from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Buildings in the Diorama" Ringing Bells and Drums - In the old days of Shenwu Gate, the bells and drums of Shenwu Gate rang after the big bell in Jiaotai Hall struck the time, and the bell and drum tower outside the city also responded. The plaque above the Shenwu Gate was inscribed by the famous historian Guo Moruo in 1971. Recent photo (this picture comes from: Micro Forbidden City) Civil servants dismount their sedan chairs and military attachés dismount their horses - Donghua Gate and Xihua Gate. On both sides of the East and Xihua Gates of the Forbidden City, there are large stone tablets as high as two people standing, on which are engraved "" Officials "Wait until you get off your horse". The Qing Dynasty stipulated that only relatives of the emperor above Beizi and senior officials, with special approval from the emperor, could ride horses or sedans to enter the house, but only from Donghua Gate to Arrow Pavilion. From Xihua Gate to the Office of the General Manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you still need to walk to enter the inner court.

Donghua Men (East Glorious Gate), 1900 Donghua Men (East Glorious Gate), 1900 Donghua Men (East Glorious Gate), 1900 Donghua Gate is one of the four gates of the Forbidden City. In the early Qing Dynasty, only cabinet officials were allowed to enter and exit the Donghua Gate. In the middle of the Qianlong period, the first and second grades of Gao Nian were granted permission. Officers come and go. During major funerals, the emperor, empress, and empress dowager Zi Palace all exit through the Donghua Gate, so the door has seventy-two nails in eight directions and nine rows, which is different from the other three doors. Pictures from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" Old photo of Xihua Gate Xihua Men (West Glorious Gate), 1900 Xihua Men (West Glorious Gate), 1900 Most tours to Xiyuan and Western Suburbs Gardens start from this door. During the Qianlong period, in order to celebrate the longevity of Empress Dowager Chongqing and Emperor Qianlong, colorful booths were set up to highlight the scenery along the way, starting from the Xihua Gate of the Forbidden City and ending at the royal gardens in the western suburbs. Picture from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" Enter the Forbidden City from the Meridian Gate, travel through history, and come and appreciate this ancient royal palace! Everything here is sure to make your heart sing. Taihe Dian Square, 1900 Picture from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" The vermilion walls, the bright yellow glazed tiles, everything in the Forbidden City seems to have a past and present life. They are telling us their own stories, and they are also listening to today’s Beijing... — Photography production: Ren Chao I don’t know if you have noticed, but there are some special places in the Forbidden City. Their existence, Making this majestic royal palace even more mysterious. — Photography production: Ren Chao Why can’t I see a tree in the first three palaces and the last three palaces? Perhaps it was to demonstrate the majesty of the imperial power, or to ensure the safety of the emperor and empress. Zhonghe Dian (Hall of Central Harmony), 1900 Zhonghe Dian (Hall of Central Harmony), 1900 Zhonghe Dian (Hall of Central Harmony), 1900 Zhonghe Dian was called Huagai Hall and Zhongji Hall in the Ming Dynasty. It has nine rooms and is shaped like a square. It is the smallest of the three halls. Picture from: "Hidden Shadows in the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" How did ancient emperors resist the severe cold? In winter in Beijing, the wind is biting. Do you know how the emperors and concubines living in the Forbidden City spent the winter? Taihe Dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), 1915-1937 Taihe Dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), 1915-1937 Taihe Dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), 1915-1937 The Taihe Dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), 1915-1937, was called the Fengtian Hall in the Ming Dynasty. It was located at the core of the central axis of the Forbidden City. The largest and highest-level palace in the Forbidden City embodies the emperor's "nine-five dignity" everywhere. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was the place where major ceremonies were held in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Pictures from: "Hidden Shadows in the Forbidden City - Diorama" "Royal Buildings" In fact, in the Forbidden City, there is also "floor heating", called fire floor heating. This is the most important heating measure in the Ming and Qing palaces in winter. However, it does not use hot water for heating, but heat. Palace people are on the ground of the palace. The circulating flue is built with bricks and stones at the bottom, and the heat generated by the fire is used to warm the ground. The heat slowly rises from the bottom to the top to achieve the purpose of keeping out the cold. Chuxiu Gong (Palace of Gathering Excellence), 1900. Chuxiu Palace is one of the Six Western Palaces. It was called Shouchang Palace in the early Ming Dynasty. In the 10th year of Guangxu (1884), Empress Dowager Cixi spent 630,000 taels of silver to renovate Chuxiu Palace and spent her 50th birthday here. . Picture from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" Through clever design, the flue can also be connected to the bottom of the bed, just like the fire kang in northern my country, and the bed will be heated together. Qianqing Men (Gate of Heavenly Court), Early 20th century Qianqing Men (Gate of Heavenly Court), Early 20th century Qianqing Men (Gate of Heavenly Court), is the main entrance to the inner court of the Forbidden City. It was the place where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty held "" imperial gate hearings". When listening to politics, the emperor's throne was set in the middle of the door, " " The ministry consults on matters, and the cabinet accepts the decree." Pictures from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" Nowadays, outside the gable of the back hall of Jingren Palace, under the corridor of the east side hall of Shoukang Palace, and east of Yangxin Hall Outside the gable of the Nuan Pavilion, you can also see the entrance to the fire floor for heating and the smoke exhaust outlet. The Yangxin Hall is a place for handling government affairs, introducing officials and living. Picture from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama". In addition, there are charcoal basins, hand stoves and foot stoves for the emperor and concubines. Warming. Interior Scene of East Warm Chamber in Kunning Gong, Approx. 1922 The imperial letter of Emperor Yongzheng "" is hung on the screen with the word "xi". "The gold-lacquered Yunlong plaque indicates that the queen is in the right position in the Kun Palace.

The picture comes from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" A Different Forbidden City "Cute Pet" Deer In the southwest of the Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City, there is a high platform called ""Deer Viewing Platform"", and there is still a half-way under the platform. The foundation of the circular deer enclosure is where the Forbidden City's Deer Garden once stood. In the Forbidden City, deer carry a very important meaning, which is the hope for a wise king and a peaceful and prosperous age, as well as the benevolent and kind-hearted gentleman's demeanor facing the world. The number of deer symbolizes harmony between husband and wife, good luck and good fortune, and people’s constant pursuit of a better life. Cining Garden, Early 20th Century. Picture from: "Hidden Shadows of the Forbidden City - Royal Architecture in the Diorama" Come back next time. When visiting the Forbidden City, don’t forget to pay attention. — Photography by Ren Chao The Forbidden City, which has experienced hundreds of years of ups and downs, has its own unique sense of heaviness. Hundreds of years of changes give us a different feeling every time we enter it. . — Photography production: Ren Chao How many unknown stories are hidden in the nearly 600-year-old Forbidden City? — Photography production: Ren Chao Here, we would like to invite you to join us in capturing the images. Touch the real history. Relive the timeless history of the nearly 600-year-old Forbidden City.