Yihe Hall 颐和殿 at the Imperial Palace in Shenyang 沈阳故宫
Just like the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Imperial Palace in Shenyang features hall after hall after hall. They all look more or less the same and sometimes I can’t even tell if they were any different from the Chinese temples which I have visited elsewhere in the country. The imperial palace as it is was built in several phases, the first by Nurhachi, who is considered to be something like a father of Manchuria. The second phase was built by now Qing emperor Huang Taiji. The final phase of construction was initiated by the flamboyant Qing emperor, Qianlong.
Throne at the Center of the Yihe Hall 颐和殿
The Yihe Hall was one of the halls which were built during the time of Qianlong. In here, the empress dowager would receive guests. You can tell that this was an important place since there was a throne looking thing at the center of the hall. At least this time is was a hall for somebody truly important. Apart from the throne, there was little distinguish it from the other halls nearby. Construction seems to be hell bent on occupying every square inch of the palace grounds while at the same time trying to preserve the symmetry of the layout.
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