Hall of Earthly Tranquility

The Hall of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Gong) was built in 1420 and was the empress' residence in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1655 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the hall was restored and divided into two parts. The two chambers in the east were changed into bridal rooms for the emperor and empress; while the remaining four chambers were used as a place of worship The Manchu Qing rulers were not satisfied with the palace in its Han style and rebuilt it to the current Manchu's style to replicating their palaces in Shenyang which was their capital before their entry to central China.

The two east side rooms or the East Warmth Chamber were the bridal suite for the emperor and empress. The chamber wall was painted red and the palace lamps were hung high with Chinese characters meaning "double happiness" to create a warm and happy atmosphere. The screen in front was also pasted with the word as an auspicious sign, for whenever the emperor opened the door, he would see the character. The delicate and exquisite bed canopy and quilt were both embroidered with 100 children playing, hence the name "100 Children Canopy" and "100 Children Quilt". The newly wed emperor and empress only lived in the chamber for several days, and then the emperor moved to the Hall of Mental Cultivation while the empress moved to another dwelling palace in the Forbidden City. If emperors got married before they came to the throne, they would not marry here. So, only three emperors in the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi (1662-1722), Tongzhi (1862-1874), and Guangxu (1875-1908) who ascended the throne at early ages have ever lived in this nuptial chamber. Actually, the weddings of the emperors were extremely luxurious. The wedding of Emperor Tongzhi cost 11,000,000 taels of silver while that of Guangxu cost 5,500,000 taels of silver despite the extreme poverty of the country at that time. The fitment and furnishings at the bridal suite are now what they were at the grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu.

Behind the Hall of Earthly Tranquility, it is the Gate of Earthly Tranquility (Kunningmen) with the imperial doctors' duty room, dispensary and the eunuchs duty room flanking it.