The Meridian Gate

The Meridian Gate

Introduction

The Meridian Gate is the main entrance to the Mountain Resort. Built in the 19th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1754), it is the first scene of the “Thirty-Six Views of the Qianlong Emperor.” In front of the gate stand stone lions and a dismounting stele, with a red screen wall facing the entrance. The gate features 0 above and 3 doors below, presenting a grand and spacious structure. The central door is inscribed with the three characters “丽正门” (Meridian Gate) handwritten by Emperor Qianlong, taken from the *Book of Changes* “the sun and moon shine from the heavens,” and is carved in five scripts: Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uyghur. It, along with the poem inscribed by Emperor Qianlong above the inner gate—“Two new characters mark the Meridian Gate, where chariots and books unite the distant lands”—symbolizes national unity among China’s ethnic groups, as well as the strength and unification of the country.

Hebei, Chengde City