Baohedian (Hall of Preserving Harmony)
Baohedian, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, sits on the northern end of the
three-tiered marble terrace, similar in style but a bit smaller than the Hall of
Supreme Harmony and larger than the Hall of Central Harmony. It was first built
in 1420, rebuilt in 1625 and renovated in 1765. In the Ming Dynasty, emperors
usually change their clothes here before ceremonies of conferring empress or
crown prince. In the Qing Dynasty, imperial banquets usually would be given
here. To celebrate a princess's marriage, emperors would invite high officials,
the bridegroom and his father, and their relatives who served the imperial
government to a banquet. Every year, on New Year's Eve, banquets would be held
to feast and honor margraves, Mongol princes and civil and military officials.
In 1789, middle of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong removed Palace
Examination, the highest level and final stage of the nationwide imperial
examination system, from the Hall of Supreme Harmony to this hall. Emperors
would read papers of the top ten candidates to honor them.
In rainy days, visitors will have chance to see the spectacular scene of a
thousand dragons draining water. There are 1,412 marble stone dragon heads under
the columns of the three-tiered terrace on which the three main halls are
seated. Chinese artisans smartly combined drainage system with architectural
art. Once you get a chance to the Forbidden City, please notice the holes in
dragons' mouths. However, the ones in the corners have no holes.
Huge Stone Carving
Behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony, in the middle of the stairway, is a
huge piece of marble carving of nine dragons playing with pearls. It is the
biggest stone sculpture in the Forbidden City. It was originally sculpted in the
Ming Dynasty and re-sculpted in the Qing Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing
dynasties, anyone who was caught touching this holy stone would be punished by
death penalty! The huge stone was hauled into the palace all the way from
Fangshan, about 70 kilometers away from Beijing city proper. The hard
transportation took about a month and 20,000 men and thousands mules and horses.
The 16.57 meters long, 3.07 meters wide and 1.7 meters thick stone weighs about
250 tons.
Qianqingmen (Gate of Celestial Purity)
Qianqingmen (Gate of Celestial Purity) is the main gate of the Inner Court.
In front of the gate, there is a square which runs 200 meters long from east to
west and extends only 30 meters from north to south. The square separates the
Outer Court and the Inner Court and integrates them.