On the north face of the hall in the center of four coiled-golden dragon columns is the "Golden Throne", which was carved out of sandalwood. The throne rests on a two-meter-high platform with a screen behind it. In front of it, to the left and right, stand ornamental cranes, incense burners and other ornaments. The dragon columns entwined with golden dragons measure one meter in diameter. The throne itself, the platform and the screen are all carved with dragon designs. High above the throne is a color-painted coffered ceiling which changes in shape from square to octagonal to circular as it ascends layer upon layer. The utmost central vault is carved with the gilded design of a dragon toying with pearls. when the Emperor mounted the throne, gold bells and jade chimes sounded from the gallery, and clouds of incense rose from the bronze cranes and tortoises and tripods outside the hall on the terrace. The aura of majesty created by the imposing architecture and solemn ritual were designed to keep the subjects of the "Son of the Heaven" in awe and reverence.
The Hall of Complete Harmony is smaller and square with windows on all sides. Here the emperor rehearsed for ceremonies. It is followed by the Hall of Preserving Harmony in which banquets and imperial examinations were held.
Behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony lies a huge marble ramp with intertwining clouds and dragons carved in relief. The slab, about 6.5 meters long, 3 meters wide and 250 tons in weight, is placed between two flights of marble steps along which the emperor‘s sedan was carried up or down the terrace. It is the largest piece of stone carving in the Imperial Palace. Quarried in the mountains scores of kilometers southwest of Beijing, this gigantic stone was moved to the city by sliding it over a specially paved ice road in winter. To provide enough water to build the ice road, wells were sunk at very 500 meters along the way.
The three halls of the Inner Palace are replicas of the three halls in the front, but smaller in size. They are the Palace of Heavenly Purity(7), the Hall of Union(8), and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility(9).
The Palace of Heavenly Purity was once the residence of the Ming emperors and the first two of the Qing emperors. Then the Qing Emperor Yong Zheng moved his residence to the Palace of Mental Cultivation and turned it into an audience hall to receive foreign envoys and handled the state affairs. The promotion and demotion of officials were also decided in this hall. After the emperor‘s death his coffin was placed here for a 49-day period of mourning.
The Palace of Union was the empress‘s throne room and the Hall of Earthly Tranquility, once a private living room for the empress, was partitioned. The west chamber served religious purposes and the east one was the bridal chamber where the newly married emperor and empress spent their first two nights after their wedding.
The Imperial Garden was laid out during the early Ming dynasty. Hundreds of pines and cypresses offer shade while various flowers give colors to the garden all year round and fill the air with their fragrance. In he center of the garden is the Hall of Imperial Peace, a Daoist temple, with a flat roof slightly sloping down to the four eaves. This type of roof was rare in ancient Chinese architecture. In he northeastern corner of the garden is a rock hill, known as the Hill of the Piled-up Wonders, which is topped with a pavilion. At the foot of the hill are two fountains which jet two columns of water high into the air. It is said that on the ninth night of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the empress would mound the hill to enjoy the autumn scene. It is also believed that climbing to a high place on that day would keep people safe from contagious diseases.