Palace of Gathered Elegance

　　A residence for imperial consorts during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is one of the Western Six Palaces in the Inner Court. It is located east of the Palace of Eternal Harmony and north of the Palace of Earthly Honor in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Constructed in the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty, it was originally named Palace of Longevity and Prosperity, and renamed Palace of Gathered Elegance in the 14th year of the Jiajing reign. It was renovated in the 12th year of the Shunzhi reign in the Qing dynasty. The Palace of Gathered Elegance features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof and is five bays wide with a front corridor. The east and west side halls are the Hall of Nourishing Harmony and the Hall of Extended Blessings, both three bays wide with flush-gable roofs. The rear hall, Hall of Scenic View, is five bays wide with a single-eave flush-gable roof, with side halls including the Phoenix Glow Chamber and the Orchid Pavilion.

　　The front hall displays a plaque inscribed with the characters “Cultivate Inner Governance with Vigor,” written by Emperor Qianlong. Empress Dowager Cixi once resided here. She was then titled Noble Consort Yi and gave birth to Zaichun (later Emperor Tongzhi) in March of the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign (1856) in the Hall of Scenic View, the rear hall of the Palace of Gathered Elegance. In the tenth year of the Guangxu reign (1884), to celebrate her 50th birthday, the Empress Dowager moved from the Palace of Longevity to the Palace of Gathered Elegance, where she lived for another ten years. The furnishings inside and outside the Palace of Gathered Elegance today remain as they were during the celebration of her 50th birthday.

　　At that time, to celebrate the Empress Dowager's 50th birthday, the Palace of Gathered Elegance, the Palace of Earthly Honor, and other areas were thoroughly renovated at a cost of 630,000 taels of silver, making the Palace of Gathered Elegance the most exquisitely decorated palace among the Western Six Palaces. In the courtyard of the Palace of Gathered Elegance, there are two robust ancient cypresses; under the terrace base, there is a pair of bronze dragons and a pair of bronze deer placed to the east and west respectively. The exterior eaves of the Palace of Gathered Elegance are painted with the delicately colored “Suzhou-style paintings,” featuring themes such as flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes, figures, and immortal tales; the doors and windows are carved from fine nanmu wood with patterns of “Ten Thousand Blessings and Longevity” and “Five Blessings Surrounding Longevity.”

　　The corridor walls are inscribed with flattering eulogies written in regular script by ministers. These decorations render the entire courtyard solemn and classic. The interior of the Palace of Gathered Elegance is exquisitely and luxuriously furnished. Behind the central room is a glass screen backed with nanmu carvings. In front of the screen is a raised platform with a sandalwood screen inlaid with the character for longevity, in front of which are placed an imperial throne, incense table, palace fan, and incense burner.

　　The door of the Palace of Gathered Elegance is made of nanmu wood, carved with endless knot patterns, five bats holding a longevity symbol, and skirt panels with patterns of ten thousand blessings and longevity; the windows feature step-patterned lattice windows with endless knot longevity motifs. The inner eaves decoration is exquisitely and luxuriously designed.

　　In the center of the main room is a floor-standing throne screen, behind which stands a five-panel sandalwood screen inlaid with longevity characters, with a plaque hanging above that reads “Great Round Mirror of Treasure.” On the east side is a glass partition with skirt panels carved with bamboo patterns in rosewood, and on the west side is a glass partition with skirt panels carved with magnolia patterns in rosewood, separating the east and west side rooms from the main room.

　　The east side rooms and end rooms are separated by a rosewood openwork screen with entwined grapevine patterns reaching the floor; the southern part of the east side room has a heated brick bed, while the northern part of the screen houses a raised table, tables, and chairs; the southern part of the east end room has a heated brick bed, while the northern part has an octagonal screen; the west side rooms and end rooms are separated by partition screens framed with rosewood carvings of ten thousand blessings and longevity patterns, inlaid with large glass panels, with windbreak screens inside. The west side room has heated brick beds in both the southern and northern parts, while the west end room serves as a warm chamber, functioning as a bedroom, with a heated brick bed in the southern part and a sleeping bed in the northern part.

The Palace Museum

Palace of Purity and Harmony

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

Three-Rare Treasures Study

Hall of Mental Cultivation

Palace of Longevity and Peace

Imperial Garden

Palace of Eternal Spring