Fuddland

The main event of the day was a visit to the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty. The following is taken from the information sign on display at the main entrance:

The Imperial Palace in Shěnyāng was the founding base of the Qing Dynasty. In 1616, Nu’erhachi, the chieftain of a Nuzhen tribe in Jianzhou in the Ming Dynasty, unified all Nuzhen tribes, declared himself a Khan after establishing a kingdom in Hetu’ala in the territory of today’s Xinbin in Liaoning Province, and established the Late Jin local regime. In 1621, the regime advanced into the Liaoshen region. In 1625, it moved its capital city from Liaoyang to Shěnyāng, and began to construct the Imperial Palace. After Huangtaiji inherited the throne of Khan in 1626, he continued the construction of the Palace. In 1636, he formally ascended the throne in this Palace, and changed the named of the kingdom into Da Qing [the Great Qing]. After the Qing regime moved its capital to Běijīng in 1644, it preserved and continued to expand the Imperial Palace in Shěnyāng. During 1671–1829, the Qing emperors who visited the northeastern region all stayed in the Palace, where they held celebrations and sacrificial ceremonies.

The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shěnyāng used to be a forbidden area. It was opened to the public as a museum in 1926, and was included in the first batch of key national cultural relic protection units in 1961. In 2004 it was inscribed on the World Heritage List.

To see the complete set, view all photos tagged with “Imperial Palace Qing Dynasty” in my Flickr photostream.