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The Palace Museum - Six Palaces of West Road

Becoming Empress Dowager Cixi

The six palaces on the East and West Roads is the living area of concubines in the Forbidden City, and the architectural rank of the West Six Palaces is significantly higher, mainly because the Empress Dowager Cixi used to live here. To this day, Chuxiu Palace, Yikun Palace, Tihe Hall and the Changchun Palace have mostly retained the same furnishings as in the past.

The Six Palaces of the East Road and The Six Palaces of the West Road are located on the left and right sides of inner court three palaces of the Forbidden City, which are the living areas of concubines. There is not much difference between the East and West palaces, but due to a woman who controlled the late Qing Dynasty for decades, the reputation and status of the West Palace are much higher than that of the East Palace, and she is the famous “Empress Dowager of the West” Cixi.

The inner court of the Forbidden City has a number of north-south long streets, which, according to their order of distribution, are known as West 2nd Long Street, West 1st Long Street, East 1st Long Street and East 2nd Long Street, with The Six Palaces of the West Road located on each side of West 2nd Long Street. When it was first built in the Ming Dynasty, The Six Palaces of the West Road consisted of six independent courtyards, each of which had a front hall, back hall, and east and west wings in accordance with the specifications of the “Court in Front and Living Quarters Behind” layout. The three palaces located on the west side of Long Street were: Taiji Hall 太极殿, Changchun Palace 长春宫 and Xianfu Palace 咸福宫, while those on the east side were: Yongshou Palace 永寿宫, Yikun Palace 翊坤宫 and Chuxiu Palace 储秀宫.

Chuxiu Palace (The Palace of Gathering Elegance 储秀宫) is the most luxurious one of the Six Palaces, with bronze kylins and deers placed in front to show Status and Rank of Chuxiu Palace. It was here that Cixi lived when she first entered the Forbidden City, when she was still known as “Lan Guiren”. When she moved back to the palace on her fiftieth birthday, the palace was extensively renovated, demonstrating Cixi’s affection for it. The last occupant of the palace was Emperor Puyi’s Empress Wanrong.

Lijing Pavilion 丽景轩 is the rear hall of Chuxiu Palace. In 1856, Cixi gave birth to Zaichun (that is, the later Tongzhi Emperor), which is the most critical step in her future to take over the power of the Qing dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty, Emperor Xuantong (Puyi) hosted Western-style banquets in Lijing Pavilion, which is now known as the Life of Puyi Exhibition, preserving Western-style furniture, pianos and tableware from Puyi’s life here.

Yikun Palace 翊坤宫 located south to the Chuxiu Palace, the two palaces were originally separated by palace walls. In the Qing dynasty, the gate and palace walls were removed, so the two courtyards were joined as one, and the rear hall of Yikun Palace was converted into Tihe Hall 体和殿. The Empress Dowager Cixi, while living in Chuxiu Palace, frequented the Tihe Hall for meals and tea, and she also forced her niece, later Empress Longyu 隆裕皇后, to marry Emperor Guangxu in Yikun Palace here, and chose two concubines, Jin 瑾妃 and Zhen 珍妃.

The Taiji Hall 太极殿 on the West Road and the Changchun Palace shared a similar fate, with the two originally independent compounds becoming one in the Qing Dynasty. The Changchun Palace was also one of the bedchambers of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and on her 50th birthday, Taiji Hall, its rear hall, was converted into the Changchun Palace Theatre by adding a covered porch, and Cixi sat in the Changchun Palace to enjoy her birthday performance every day for half a month.

Since the Six Palaces of the West Road are inextricably linked to the late Qing Dynasty’s Cixi and Puyi, most of the furnishings in these palaces remain as they were back then, making them a good choice for visitors who enjoy the history and culture of the late Qing Dynasty. Yes, that’s right, you gonna love royal dramas and time travel.

After visiting the Six Palaces of the West Road, let’s calm down and see how the concubines live on the other side of the Forbidden City:

The Palace Museum - Six Palaces of East Road

Residences for Concubines

Jingren Palace, Chengqian Palace, Zhongcui Palace, Yanxi Palace, Yonghe Palace and Jingyang Palace, collectively known as the Six Palaces on the East Road, are the living spaces of concubines of the Inner Court, the history of the Qianlong Emperor's mother Chongqing Empress Dowager, East Empress Dowager Ci’an, Emperor Guangxu's favorite Consort Zhen, etc. have lived here once.