Palace of Tranquil Longevity

To the north of the Nine Dragon Wall, a building complex was built for the emperors who abdicated from the throne. It covering an area of 46,000 sq m, the whole area is surrounded by lofty, red perimeter walls. It consists of Ningshou Gong (Palace of Tranquil Longevity), Yangxing Dian (Hall of Temper Cultivation), Leshou Tang (Hall of Joyful Longevity) and Yihe Xuan (Hall of Maintaining Harmony). This group of buildings is a microcosm of Forbidden City, for the Palace of Tranquil Longevity is equivalent to the Outer Court and the three remaining halls comprise the Inner Court.

The idea of building the Palace of the Tranquil Longevity Complex was brought up by Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795). He planned to move to this area to meditate and pray after resignation and began to build the palace in 1772, the 37th year of his reign. After being emperor for 60 years, he resigned from the throne to show his respect for his grandfather Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) who ruled for 61 years by ruling one year less. However, he still attended to state affairs under the pretext of "giving family instruction" in his own throne in the Hall of Mental Cultivation (yangxindian) of the Forbidden City. But after his retirement, Emperor Qianlong never lived in this area, the place was paid a visit or two during his spare time.