Qingchengzi Puyi’s Temporary Palace

Qingchengzi Puyi’s Temporary Palace, Qingchengzi Town, Fengcheng City, Dandong, Liaoning Qingchengzi Puyi’s Temporary Palace is located in Qingchengzi Town, Fengcheng City. It lies within the town area, 50 kilometers from the Shenyang-Dandong Expressway and 50 kilometers from the Shenyang-Dandong Railway. The main road of Zhangzhuang Highway runs right in front of the palace. Situated at the northern end of Hongqi Palace Street in Qingchengzi Town, it is commonly known as the “Little Palace” and is now a municipal-level key cultural relics protection unit. The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty (Xuantong), Aisin-Gioro Puyi, visited the Qingchengzi Mine in his capacity as the “Emperor of Manchukuo,” and this palace was built for that purpose. On May 8, 1943, after inspecting Andong, Puyi set off from Andong to visit the Qingchengzi Mine. He departed from his residence in Andong at 6:10 a.m., escorted by high-ranking military and civilian officials, with the director of the Fengtian Railway Bureau leading the way. At 6:15 a.m., he entered Andong Railway Station and, amid respectful farewells from qualified soldiers, officers, and civilians, departed by special train at 6:30 a.m., arriving at Tongyuanpu at 8:55 a.m. At 9:00 a.m., Puyi boarded his imperial car and, under the escort of cars and motorcycles, arrived in Qingchengzi at 10:30 a.m. He did not disembark until he reached the entrance of the temporary palace. He was then led inside by the president of the puppet Manchukuo Mining Company, Kato, to rest. In the presence of attendants and officials, he spent 10 minutes in a private meeting with key figures including Kato and Bai Mu, director of the Qingchengzi Mining Office of the Manchukuo Mining Company. At 10:40 a.m., led by Kimura, Puyi stepped out of the palace and traveled by car to the exhibition hall. The temporary palace, which took two years to build, was visited by Puyi only twice, for a total of about 20 minutes. At 12:25 p.m., he departed by car, arriving in Tongyuanpu at 1:55 p.m., where he immediately transferred to a special train bound for his next stop, Shenyang. Construction began in 1942 and was completed in April 1943. The complex covers an area of 1,600 square meters, including a 160-square-meter main hall and 443 square meters of auxiliary halls. The architectural complex remains largely intact. On December 1, 1981, it was renamed the “Youth Palace” and served as a recreational venue for the local youth. On May 8, 1991, it was designated as a municipal cultural relics protection unit. Since then, the mine leadership has actively worked on the preservation of the site and established a cultural relics protection team. As a result, the Qingchengzi Lead Mine has also gained fame because of the palace, and the street in front of it was named Hongqi Palace Street.

Emperor Xuantong, Aisin-Gioro Puyi (February 7, 1906 – October 17, 1967), courtesy name Yaoshi, art name Haoran, was the last emperor of China and the final ruler in Chinese history. Puyi was the grandson of Prince Chun Yixu. He ascended the throne in the 34th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, he abdicated, bringing the Qing Dynasty to an end. Following the September 18 Incident, he became the “Kangde Emperor” of the puppet state of Manchukuo. After Japan’s defeat, Puyi was repatriated to China, where he underwent study and reform at the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre. In 1959, he was granted a special pardon by Mao Zedong and became a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.