Hall of Imperial Ancestors

　　   The Hall of Imperial Ancestors, located on the eastern side of the inner court of the Forbidden City, was the imperial family’s ancestral temple for worshiping ancestors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was first built in the early Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty continued the Ming system and rebuilt it in the 14th year of the Shunzhi reign (1657), followed by multiple renovations.

　　   The Hall of Imperial Ancestors is a 工-shaped structure built on a white Sumeru pedestal, surrounded by high walls. The front section is the main hall, and the rear is the bedroom hall. The front hall is nine bays wide and four bays deep, with a construction area of 1,225 square meters. It features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, with colorful paintings of golden-line large golden-dotted swirl designs under the eaves. The central five bays of the front eaves have doors, which are three intersecting six-lobed lattice doors, while the rest are lattice windows.

　　   Inside the hall are dragon and phoenix spirit thrones of emperors and empresses, offering tables for ritual utensils, incense and silk, prayers, and wine vessels.

　　   The rear hall is nine bays wide and two bays deep, with a construction area of 755 square meters. It has a single-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, and the exterior eaves also feature golden-line large golden-dotted swirl paintings. The central five bays of the front eaves are used as passageways, and the rest are lattice windows. Inside the hall, each bay is divided into nine chambers along the rear eaves to enshrine the spirit tablets of emperors and empresses, following the “same hall, separate chambers” arrangement. Each chamber has a shrine, precious bed, precious chair, and other furnishings, as well as plaques, canopies, and more.

　　   The front and rear halls are connected by passageways, forming an internal corridor.

　　   The floors are all paved with gold bricks, and the ceilings feature lotus and aquatic plant patterns in gold. The platform in front of the hall is 40 meters wide and 12 meters deep, with a total area of 500 square meters, displaying a sundial and measuring vessels. The Sumeru pedestal and the surrounding platform are equipped with railings and dragon-phoenix patterned columns. There are no side halls or wing rooms, only a group of 13 rooms directly south of the Hall of Imperial Ancestors’ outer gate, serving as spirit storehouses and kitchens.

　　   In a small courtyard to the east, there is a three-bay small hall built for the Ming Emperor Jiajing (Zhu Houcong) to mourn his biological mother.

　　   According to Qing regulations, major ceremonies were held in the front hall on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, the Emperor’s birthday, New Year’s Day, and national celebrations. Incense offerings and ceremonies were conducted in the rear hall on the birthdays and death anniversaries of emperors and empresses, as well as on Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Ghost Festival, Frost’s Descent, and New Year’s Eve. Announcements were made in the rear hall for events such as bestowing honorary titles, enthronements, conferrals, imperial study sessions, plowing ceremonies, imperial tomb visits, tours, returns to the capital, and various celebrations.

　　   The rear hall of the Hall of Imperial Ancestors was originally divided into compartments, each enshrining the spirit tablet of an emperor and empress from one generation. Each spirit tablet was placed on a golden-lacquered throne, and each tablet was accompanied by a silk quilt and a pillow. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were thirty-three tablets in total.

　　   The Clock Museum is housed in the Hall of Imperial Ancestors outside the Jingyun Gate, displaying a total of 123 clocks and watches of various styles made in China and abroad during the 18th century.

　　   During the Qing Qianlong period, mechanical clocks powered by springs were widely used in the imperial court. The various clocks in the Qing palace collection were mainly produced in Guangzhou, Suzhou, and the palace clock workshops during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns, with some imported from Britain, France, Switzerland, and other countries. Chinese-made clocks were often decorated with gold, pearls, jade, and gemstones, and were designed to resemble pavilions, pagodas, flowers, fruits, and potted plants. Clocks from Britain, France, and other countries simulated Western architecture, horse-drawn carriages, and figures.

　　   These clocks used a variety of methods to indicate time, with some featuring automatic opening and closing doors where robots would come out to strike the bells; others played harmonious music from instruments when the hour struck; some displayed blooming flowers, dancing butterflies, flowing water, and birdsong, all using bright colors, pleasant music, and auspicious symbolism to delight the emperor and empress.

   The Palace Museum

   Hall of Purity

   Hall of Supreme Harmony

   Gate of Divine Prowess

   Hall of Preserving Harmony

   Hall of Imperial Supremacy

   Hall of Martial Valor

   Palace of Earthly Tranquility

   Hall of Heavenly Purity

   Palace of Longevity and Health

   Pavilion of the Three Rarities

   Hall of Mental Cultivation

   Palace of Longevity and Peace

   Imperial Garden

   Palace of Eternal Longevity