Paintings and Calligraphy Gallery - Hall of Military Eminence

The imposing set of buildings designed to be the ceremonial centre of the palace. Visitors enter through Meridian Gate (A), the imposing main gate with unique protruding side wings, followed by the Gate of Supreme Harmony (F), where the Emperor sometimes held court. There are then three grand halls set on a multi-tiered marble platform, including the Hall of Supreme Harmony (G), which was the ceremonial throne room used for the grandest of state occasions. To preserve the fine paving stones, it is no longer possible to enter the halls, but you can admire the interiors from the front door.

This mini-palace (J) was variously used as the Crown Prince's court and an imperial Confucian lecture hall. It now houses the Palace Museum's porcelain and ceramics gallery. The gallery's exhibits trace through the development of Chinese porcelain, and includes items from the large imperial collection held by the Palace Museum. To reach the Hall of Literary Glory, go through the gate on the right after the Meridian Gate but before going through the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

Located west of the ceremonial way leading from Tiananmen Square to Meridian Gate in a mirrored position to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Emperor came to this altar to venerate the land of his empire, rather than his family. The park surrounding the temple is called Zhongshan Park. There are fewer grand buildings here, but the gardens and greenhouses are famed for their flowers, which are on show year-round.

Form the Outer Court, the central section of the Inner Palace is accessed through the Gate of Heavenly Purity. The Inner Palace, like the Outer Court, is centred on three main buildings. The grandest, the Palace of Heavenly Purity (L) was designed to house the Emperor's bed chamber, but later became a throne room where the Emperor held court with his ministers. The Palace of Earthly Tranquillity was designed to be the Empress' bed chamber, but later became a Shamanist shrine. The Emperor and Empress' marital suite, where they spent their wedding night, is in this building. To the west of this main complex, the much smaller Hall of Mental Cultivation (N) was in later years the Emperor's actual bedchamber and office. You can even see where the Empress Dowager Cixi ruled China from behind a curtain for 47 years. The remainder of the Inner Palace is made up of a series of small courtyards, the homes of the Emperor's concubines and household. Look out for the "Crystal Palace", a cast iron and glass building of which sadly only the skeleton remains. The Palace Museum's Bronzeware Gallery is also in the Inner Palace. Other permanent and temporary exhibitions are also housed around the Inner Palace.

Built as a shrine for making offerings to ancestors, this set of buildings on the eastern side of the Inner Palace now houses the Palace Museum's clocks display, the major portion of which are elaborate European-style mechanical clocks - including a calligraphy-writing automaton! Demonstrations are held at 11:00 and 14:00, where some of the fanciest clocks in the collections are put on show. Separate admission charge applies.

The Upright Gate is located between Tiananmen gate and the Meridian Gate, along the ceremonial way. It is nearly identical to Tiananmen gate, and is also open to the public.