Xihua Gate

Xihua Gate

Xihua Gate is the west gate of the Forbidden City (Palace Museum), initially built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign during the Ming Dynasty (1420). Facing west, Xihua Gate stands opposite Donghua Gate, with a stele for dismounting horses located outside. The structure of Xihua Gate is largely identical to that of Donghua Gate: a rectangular layout, a red city platform, a white marble Sumeru pedestal, and three arched gateways set in the center of the platform. The outer sections of the arches are square while the inner sections are round, and the door studs are arranged in nine vertical and nine horizontal rows. A gate tower is built atop the platform, featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, encircled by a white marble balustrade. The tower has a width of five bays and a depth of three bays, with corridors around all sides, and beams and brackets painted with ink-line “large-dot-gold” spiral cloud designs. The gatehouse was used to store cotton-padded armor and spike-studded helmets for military reviews.

The location of Xihua Gate is not at the exact center of the western wall of the Forbidden City but slightly shifted toward the side of the Meridian Gate (Wu Men), which is closely related to the overall layout of the imperial palace. The Forbidden City is divided into the Outer Court and the Inner Court. The Hall of Martial Valor (Wuying Dian), the Meridian Gate (Wu Men), and the Hall of Literary Glory (Wenhua Dian) form a horizontal axis running through the Outer Court, with Donghua Gate and Xihua Gate positioned at either end of this axis. This arrangement facilitates the functions of the Outer Court and also minimizes disturbances to life within the Inner Court caused by the movement of people. Extending this horizontal axis further east and west to the Imperial City leads directly to Dong’an Gate and Xi’an Gate respectively. Clearly, Donghua Gate and Xihua Gate serve as important connectors between the Imperial City and the Forbidden City.

During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Council (Junji Chu) was established inside Longzong Gate, which lies within Xihua Gate. All officials entering the palace for official business or audiences had to come through Xihua Gate. Except for those specially granted the privilege of “riding a horse (or being carried in a sedan chair) within the Forbidden City,” everyone from princes to ranked officials had to dismount or alight from their sedan chairs and walk on foot once they reached the outside of Xihua Gate.

Exiting Xihua Gate, one faces the imperial garden known as the Western Park (Xiyuan). During the Qing Dynasty, emperors and empresses often departed through this gate when visiting the Western Park or gardens in the western suburbs. In the 16th year of the Qianlong reign (1751), for the 60th birthday celebration of the Empress Dowager, and again in the 55th year of the Qianlong reign (1790) for the Emperor’s 80th birthday, the area outside Xihua Gate—extending through Xizhimen Gate all the way to Haidian—was elaborately decorated with lanterns and colored pavilions, with theatrical performances prepared in advance to mark the grand celebrations. In the late Qing Dynasty, during the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance in the year of Gengzi (1900), Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled the Forbidden City in haste through Xihua Gate, escaping westward.

The plaque under the eaves on the west side originally bore inscriptions in Manchu, Mongolian, and Chinese, which were later reduced to just Manchu and Chinese. After the Xinhai Revolution, only the bronze Chinese characters remained. Compared to the many exquisitely ornate palaces within the Forbidden City, the tall and imposing Xihua Gate presents a different kind of regal, bold, and powerful aura. It seems that this architectural expression better reflects the dignity and might of its former masters.

Palace Museum

Bell and Drum Tower Palace (Zhongcui Palace)

Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Dian)

Shenwu Gate (Imperial City’s North Gate)

Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian)

Hall of Martial Valor (Wuying Dian)

Hall of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gong)

Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Gong)

Palace of Longevity and Health (Cining Gong)

Hall of Three Rarities (Sanxitang)

Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin Dian)

Palace of Longevity and Peace (Shou’an Gong)

Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City

Palace of Eternal Longevity (Yongshou Gong)

Meridian Gate (Wu Men)

Hall of Literary Glory (Wenhua Dian)

Hall of Virtuous Integrity (Tiren Ge)

Meridian Gate (Wu Men)