The English word "palace" is used to translated the Chinese word 宮 (pronounced "gōng" in
Mandarin). This character represents two rooms connected (呂), under a roof (宀). Originally the character applied to any residence or mansion, but starting with the
Qin dynasty (3rd century BC) it was used only for the residence of the emperor and members of the imperial family. Chinese palaces are different from post-Renaissance European palaces in the sense that they are not made up of one building only (however big and convoluted the building may be), but are in fact huge spaces surrounded by a wall and containing large separated halls (殿 diàn) for ceremonies and official business, as well as smaller buildings, galleries, courtyards, gardens, and outbuildings, more like the Roman or Carolingian
palatium. The world's largest palace to have ever existed, the
Weiyang Palace, was built in the
Han dynasty. The world's largest palace currently still in existence, the
Forbidden City, was constructed in the
Ming dynasty.
List of Chinese imperial palaces, in chronological order This is an incomplete list of Chinese palaces. •
Xianyang Palace (咸陽宮), in (Qin) Xianyang (咸陽), now 15 km/9 miles east of modern
Xianyang,
Shaanxi province: this was the royal palace of the
state of Qin before the Chinese unification, and then the palace of the
First Emperor when China was unified. •
Epang Palace (阿房宮 – probable meaning: "The Palace on the Hill"), 20 km/12 miles south of (Qin) Xianyang (咸陽), now 15 km/9 miles west of
Xi'an (西安),
Shaanxi province: the fabulous imperial palace built by the First Emperor in replacement of Xianyang Palace. •
Weiyang Palace (未央宮 – "The Endless Palace"), in (Han)
Chang'an (長安), now 7 km/4 miles northeast of downtown
Xi'an (西安),
Shaanxi province: imperial palace of the prestigious
Western Han dynasty for two centuries. This is the largest palace ever built on Earth, covering 4.8 km2 (1,200 acres), which is 6.7 times the size of the
Forbidden City, or 11 times the size of the
Vatican City. •
Southern Palace (南宮) and
Northern Palace (北宮), in
Luoyang (洛陽),
Henan province: imperial palaces of the
Eastern Han Dynasty for two centuries, the Southern Palace being used for court hearings and audiences, Northern Palace being the private residence of the emperor and his concubines. •
Taiji Palace (太極宮 – "Palace of the
Supreme Ultimate"), also known as the Western Apartments (西内), in (Tang)
Chang'an (長安), now downtown
Xi'an (西安),
Shaanxi province: imperial palace during the
Sui dynasty (who called it Daxing Palace – 大興宮, "Palace of Great Prosperity") and in the beginning of the
Tang dynasty (until A.D. 663). Area: 4.2 km2 (1,040 acres), imperial section proper: 1.92 km2 (474 acres). •
Daming Palace (大明宮 – "Palace of Great Brightness"), also known as the Eastern Apartments (東内), in (Tang)
Chang'an (長安), now downtown
Xi'an (西安),
Shaanxi province: imperial palace of the
Tang dynasty after A.D. 663 (it was briefly named Penglai Palace (蓬萊宮) between 663 and 705), but the prestigious Taiji Palace remained used for major state ceremonies such as coronations. Area: 3.11 km2 (768 acres), almost 4.5 times the size of the
Forbidden City. •
Kaifeng Imperial Palace (東京大内皇宮), in Dongjing (東京), now called
Kaifeng (開封),
Henan province: imperial palace of the
Northern Song dynasty. •
Hangzhou Imperial Palace (臨安大内禁宮), in Lin'an (臨安), now called
Hangzhou (杭州),
Zhejiang province: imperial palace of the
Southern Song dynasty. •
Karakorum (哈拉和林), site of the imperial palace of the
Mongol Empire. •
Shangdu (元上都) and
Khanbaliq (元大都), locations of the imperial palaces of the
Yuan dynasty. •
Ming Imperial Palace (明故宮), in
Nanjing (南京),
Jiangsu province: imperial palace of the
Ming dynasty until 1421. , Beijing compound. •
Forbidden City (紫禁城), now known in China as Beijing's Old Palace (北京故宫), in Jingshi (京師), now called
Beijing (北京): imperial palace of the
Ming dynasty and
Qing dynasty from 1421 until 1924. Area: 720,000 m2 (178 acres). The Forbidden City is the world's largest palace currently in existence. Apart from the main imperial palace,
Chinese dynasties also had several other imperial palaces in the capital city where the empress, crown prince, or other members of the imperial family dwelled. There also existed palaces outside of the capital city called "away palaces" (離宮) where the emperors resided when traveling. The habit also developed of building garden estates in the countryside surrounding the capital city, where the emperors retired at times to get away from the rigid etiquette of the imperial palace, or simply to escape from the summer heat inside their capital. This practice reached a zenith with the
Qing dynasty, whose emperors built the fabulous Imperial Gardens (御園), now known in China as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness (圓明園), and better known in English as the
Old Summer Palace. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and worked in the Imperial Gardens, 8 km/5 miles outside of the walls of
Beijing, the Forbidden City inside Beijing being used only for formal ceremonies. These gardens were made up of three gardens: the Garden of Perfect Brightness proper, the Garden of Eternal Spring (長春園), and the Elegant Spring Garden (綺春園); they covered a huge area of 3.5 km2 (865 acres), almost 5 times the size of the
Forbidden City, and 8 times the size of the
Vatican City. comprising hundreds of halls, pavilions, temples, galleries, gardens, lakes, etc. Several famous landscapes of southern China had been reproduced in the Imperial Gardens, hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in the halls, making the Imperial Gardens one of the largest museum in the world. Some unique copies of literary work and compilations were also stored inside the Imperial Gardens. In 1860, during the
Second Opium War, the British and French expeditionary forces looted the
Old Summer Palace. Then on October 18, 1860, in order to "punish" the imperial court, which had refused to allow Western embassies inside
Beijing, the British general
Lord Elgin – with protestations from the French – purposely ordered to set fire to the huge complex which burned to the ground. It took 3500 British troops to set the entire place ablaze and took three whole days to burn. The burning of the Gardens of Perfect Brightness is still a very sensitive issue in China today. Following this cultural catastrophe, the imperial court was forced to relocate to the old and austere
Forbidden City where it stayed until 1924, when the
Last Emperor was expelled by a republican army. Empress dowager
Cixi (慈禧太后) built the
Summer Palace (頤和園 – "The Garden of Nurtured Harmony") near the
Old Summer Palace, but on a much smaller scale than the
Old Summer Palace. There are currently some projects in China to rebuild the Imperial Gardens, but this appears as a colossal undertaking, and no rebuilding has started yet.
Other palaces Some other palaces include: •
Summer Palace in
Beijing •
Mukden Palace in
Shenyang •
Chengde Mountain Resort at
Chengde •
Potala Palace in
Lhasa – Main residence of the
Dalai Lama •
Norbulingka Palace in Lhasa – Summer palace of the Dalai Lama •
Spring Fragrance Palace in
Fujian == Colombia ==