Cining Palace

Cining Palace

Cining Palace was first built in the 15th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1536). During the Ming Dynasty, it served as the residence of imperial concubines. The early to mid Qing Dynasty marked the heyday of Cining Palace, during which Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Empress Dowager Xiaosheng, among others, resided here. Emperors Shunzhi, Kangxi, and Qianlong were all known for their filial piety, and grand ceremonies to celebrate the birthdays of the dowager empresses were frequently held at Cining Palace.

In front of Cining Palace lies an elongated east-west plaza, with Yongkang Left Gate and Yongkang Right Gate at its two ends, and Changxin Gate to the south. Cining Gate is located on the north side of the plaza, connected to the main hall of Cining Palace via a raised pathway. On the east and west sides of the courtyard are corridors that bend southward to connect with Cining Gate and extend northward directly to the east and west wing rooms of the rear sleeping quarters (i.e., the Great Buddha Hall). The central sections of the east and west corridors in the front courtyard each have a gate — the eastern one is called Huilin Left Gate, and the western one is called Huilin Right Gate.

The main hall, Cining Palace, is centrally positioned with front and rear corridors and features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. It is seven bays wide, with the central five bays each having four double-doored panels. The two end bays are constructed with brick partition walls, each featuring four double-latticed windows. A moon terrace extends in front of the hall, with three steps in the center and one step on each side. Four gilded bronze incense burners are placed on the terrace. At both ends of the hall’s east and west sides are hanging flower gates leading to the rear courtyard.

According to feudal etiquette, the emperor could not reside with former imperial concubines in the Six Eastern and Western Palaces. To accommodate the deceased emperor’s consorts, Cining Palace was specially constructed for their residence.

Cining Garden was reconstructed in the 34th year of the Qianlong reign (1769 AD) on the site of the early Ming Dynasty structure, Renshou Palace. Inside the garden’s Lansheng Gate, rockeries are stacked to create a “mountain-at-first-sight” obstructive view. Behind the rocks, flower stands burst with color, setting off the Linxi Pavilion built over the pond. Surrounding the pond and pavilion are Hanqing Studio, Yanshou Hall, and matching east and west side rooms, naturally making Linxi Pavilion the focal point of the garden’s southern section. The Xianruo Hall in the northern part of the garden is the main building, with Ciyin Lou to its north, Baixiang Lou to the east, and Jiyun Lou to the west, forming a semi-enclosed courtyard.

The garden stretches approximately 130 meters from north to south and 50 meters from east to west, covering a total area of 6,800 square meters. There are only 11 structures in the garden, occupying less than one-fifth of the total area, concentrated in the northern section. The southern part has flat and open terrain with planted flowers, trees, rockeries, and ponds, aiming to allow dowager empresses and imperial concubines to enjoy mountain-forest scenery without tiring walks. The garden entrance, Lansheng Gate, is situated on the east wall and is a simple wall gate. Upon entering and looking north, the main hall is Xianruo Hall, which is five bays wide with a front protruding porch and a yellow-glazed tile roof. The ground floor of Ciyin Lou has a small door in its east end bay, connecting to the front plaza of Cining Palace. The Baixiang Lou and Jiyun Lou each have a small courtyard to their south — namely Hanqing Studio and Yanshou Hall — which were places where Emperor Qianlong attended to the imperial mother’s medicine and observed mourning. The main buildings in these courtyards feature gray-tiled, three-tiered, continuous curved roofs with elegant and novel designs.

In the southern part of the garden is a rectangular pond, crossed by a white marble bridge with a pavilion atop, named Linxi Pavilion, which faces Xianruo Hall to the north. The east and west sides of the pavilion originally had Cuifang Pavilion and Lvyun Pavilion, now replaced by five-bay corridors. The southeast and southwest corners of the garden each once had a well pavilion; the water for the flowing cup channel in Lvyun Pavilion came from the well in the southeast. South of Linxi Pavilion is a flower stand, one meter high and 6.5 meters square, with a Sumeru pedestal design, mirroring the northern flower stand. Further south, past a Taihu rockery mound, lies the southern entrance of the garden.

Due to constraints such as court rituals, clan laws, and feng shui, the architecture of Cining Garden follows a symmetrical layout of primary and secondary structures, resulting in a neat but somewhat monotonous arrangement. Its rich garden atmosphere is brought out through exquisite interior decorations, as well as the ponds, rockeries, and diverse plantings in the courtyards. The garden mainly features pine and cypress trees, interspersed with phoenix trees, ginkgos, magnolia, and lilacs, mostly concentrated in front of Xianruo Hall and around Linxi Pavilion. Flower stands are densely planted with peonies and tree peonies. Each season and time of day offers its own unique charm. Within the highly ritualized Forbidden City, it remains the only tranquil retreat that could bring solace to former imperial consorts.

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