Cour of the supreme harmony
Cour of the supreme harmony
Cour of the supreme harmony
Cour of the supreme harmony, the first of the external court
It is the great courtyard situated between the door of the supreme harmony and the palace. The first court is 10,000 square meters, the Palace Palace Supreme Harmony makes 30,000. It is said that it can hold up to 100,000 soldiers. Like all the courtyards of the Forbidden City, it is devoid of trees, for the Emperor being above all, it was unthinkable that a tree could dominate him. In fact, the palace is the tallest building in the Forbidden City and nothing can overtake it.
This courtyard is surrounded by a high wall, and it has 6 entrances, not counting the 4 pavilions that also serve as points of entry. In the South, there is the door of Supreme Harmony, flanked on its right by the Zhaode door and on the left by the Zhendu door. On the other side of the courtyard, on the north wall, there is the Palace of Supreme Harmony, also flanked by two side doors: Zhongyoumen on the left and Zhongzuomen on the right. Finally, on the sides, there is in each case a pavilion and a door: Hongyi and its door Youyimen on the left, and Tiren and his door Zuoyimen on the right. Note that further north the courtyard continues to the pavilion of Preserved Harmony, which also has two side doors: Huyoumen on the left and Houzuomen on the right. This courtyard also has 4 very successful corner towers.
The slabs of the yard are not simple pieces of stone, they have been cut in such a way that they do not cause noise when stepped on.
See too:
Back to the list of the pavilions of the forbidden city
