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The Palace Museum - Gate of Supreme Harmony And Square

Taihe Gate and Square

Taihe Gate was the main gate leading to the Three Great Halls area, where the Ming Dynasty emperors used to gather for the government. There is a square in front of Taihe Gate, where the Jinshui River crosses the square from west to east, and the Jinshui Bridge over the river is opposite to the Outer Jinshui Bridge in front of Tiananmen Square.

Through the solemn Meridian Gate (Wumen 午门), there is a palace-style gate tower in front of you, which is the Gate of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Gate 太和门), the main entrance to the outer court of the Forbidden City.

Ancient Chinese palace architectures follow a “Three-Courts-and-Five-Gates System”. Gate of Supreme Harmony, the Taihe gate, is one of the “five gates” (the other four are Damingmen, Tiananmen, Duanmen, Wumen). In the Ming dynasty, Taihe Gate was the place where the emperors used to attend early morning conferences, and the Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing dynasty was also enthroned here, which shows its importance.

Taihe Gate was built in the Ming Dynasty in 1420, and was destroyed by fire several times, most recently during the Guangxu period. The existing Taihe Gate was rebuilt in 1889, the fifteenth year of Guangxu’s reign.

Taihe Gate was built on top of a white marble Xu-mi base, with a facade of nine rooms and a door height of 23.8 meters. It has yellow glazed tiles on top of the Double-eaved saddle roof. In the Ming Dynasty, this gate was called the Fengtian Gate and the Huangji Gate, and was renamed the Taihe Gate only when the Qing Dynasty was under the reign of Emperor Shunzhi. There are two bronze lions in front of the gate, which were cast in the Ming Dynasty.

Manywhere Trivia:
There are a square stone cabinet and a stone pavilion behind the two stone lions in front of Taihe Gate, no one has yet figured out what they are for.

There is a square between Taihe Gate in the north and Wumen Gate in the south, there are also Zhendu Gate and Zhaode Gate on the left and right sides of Taihe Gate, both leading to the Square of Supreme Harmony. On the east and west sides of Taihe Gate Square, there are Xihe Gate and Xiehe Gate, which leads to the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuying Hall 武英殿) area and the Hall of Literary Brilliance (Wenhua Hall 文华殿) area.

The Inner Golden Water River runs from west to east across Taihe Gate Square, with five white marble bridges: the Inner Golden Water Bridge, which lies side by side with the Outer Golden Water Bridge in front of Tiananmen Square. The Inner Golden Water River plays an extremely important role, it not only adds vitality to the Forbidden City, but also is the city’s main drainage system. It can provide water to extinguish the fire, too.

Through the Taihe Gate, the main entrance to the Forbidden City, you will enter the core area of the Palace Museum: the Three Great Halls area (Taihe Hall, Zhonghe Hall, Baohe Hall). Let’s continue to the next part of our tour:

The Palace Museum - Three Halls of the Outer Court

Taihe,Zhonghe and Baohe Halls

The Three Great Halls is the center of the outer court of the Forbidden City, also known as the first three halls, referring to Taihe Hall, Zhonghe Hall and Baohe Hall. They are the venues for grand ceremonies, the imperial examinations, imperial weddings, and other activities.