Working People's Cultural Palace

The Working People's Cultural Palace is one of the first-class public parks in Beijing. It lies to the east of Tiananmen. It used to be the ancestral temple for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to offer sacrifices to their ancestors. In 1924, it was renamed Peace Park and opened to the public. In 1931, it was taken over by the Palace Museum as one of its branches. After the founding of the People's Republic, on Jan. 6, 1950, the Political Affairs Department passed a decision to hand it over to the city of Beijing as a place for laborers' cultural activities. On April 10, 1950, the Palace Museum officially handed it over to the General Labor Union of Beijing, which changed it into the Working People's Cultural Palace, and Chairman Mao inscribed the name. On May 1, 1950, it was opened to the public as a 'school and amusement park' for laborers in the capital.

The cultural palace, or rather the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was built in 1420, or the 18th year of Emperor Yongle's reign in the Ming Dynasty. It was renovated many times in the reigns of Jiajing, Wanli (Ming Dynasty), Shunzhi, and Qianlong (Qing Dynasty). It covers a total area of 197,000 square meters. It is encircled by three layers of red walls. In its courtyard are over 700 ancient cypresses. Behind the Liuli Gate are seven white marble bridges called Jade-studded Belt Bridges. To the south of them, on both sides stand the sacred kitchen and the sacred warehouse. To the north of them, on either side is a hexagon pavilion housing a glazed well. The three large halls behind the Halberd Gate are the major part of the complex. The first one is called the Hall of Worshiping Ancestors; the second, Bedroom Hall; and the third, Tiaomiao Temple.

Regularly held in the hall are exhibitions or training courses in painting, calligraphy, photography, music, dance, literature, and gardening. Its authorities have created a Workers' Art Ensemble and a Workers' Orchestra, which have performed many times. It has been the stage for such influential events as Yanni's concert and the opera Turandot, which was performed before large audiences. On such holidays as May 1st and Oct. 1st, leaders of the Communist Party and the nation are gathered here for celebration in the company of common people.

The Working People's Cultural Palace (Photo credit: China Foto Press)Photo Gallery>>Major tourist attractions:

The Halberd Gate: This gate is five bays wide and two bays deep. Its single-eave, gradually curved roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles. Under the eaves are bulky dougongs (brackets between crossbeams and columns). The gate sits on a platform with white marble rails, the top of which is reached by nine steps adorned in the middle with a red slab of stone. The main gate is flanked by two smaller gates with single-eave roofs covered with yellow glazed tiles. There used to be eight red-lacquered halberd racks before and behind the gate, on which were placed 120 red halberds with silver handles and golden dragon patterns. But they were all taken away by the Eight Power Allied Forces in 1900.

The Hall of Worshiping Ancestors: This is the principal building in the complex. It is five bays (68.2 meters) wide, six bays (30.2 meters) deep and 32.46 meters high. It sits on a 3.46-meter-high three-tiered white marble platform. It was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to their ancestors at the end of each year. It was renovated many times during the two dynasties, but remained about the same as it was first completed in the Ming Dynasty in terms of layout and stone and wooden parts. All its components are made of very expensive nanmu (Phoebe Zhennan). It is the largest among surviving palace halls using this kind of wood in China. It has a double-eave roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. Below the eaves hang a gold-foil-covered, nine-dragon-girded plaque inscribed with the word Imperial Ancestral Temple in Chinese and Manchu. The ceiling, four pillars, and beams are adorned with colored gold dust paintings. The floor is paved with special golden titles.

Bedroom Hall: This middle hall has a single-eave roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. It is nine bays (62.31 meters) wide, four bays (20.54 meters) deep, and 21.95 meters high. A stone terrace connects it to the Xiang Hall. It sits on a white marble platform encircled by stone rails adorned with carved dragons and phoenixes. The middle of the steps is adorned with a red slab of stone. The hall houses the memorial tablets of former emperors and empresses. It was also the place for sacrifices made at the beginning of each season, and sacrifices for coronation, (the emperor's) taking over the government when coming of age, the conferring of noble titles, or waging wars.

Tiaomiao Temple: This rear hall was first built in 1491, or the 4th year of Emperor Hongzhi's reign in the Ming Dynasty. Its single-eave roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles. It is nine bays (61.99 meters) wide and four bays (20.33 meters) deep. It sits on a white marble platform encircled by stone rails adorned with carved dragons and phoenixes. The middle of the steps is adorned with a red slab of stone. It has a self-contained courtyard. It houses the memorial tablets of distant ancestors of the emperors.

The Chinese Peace Bell: The bell, modeled on bianzhong (ancient musical instrument with 16 bells), was cast with modern technology for the coming of the new millennium. Since its completion in November 1999, it has been placed inside the Hall for the Worship of Ancestors. It is 3.8 meters high, 21 wide, and weighs 17 tons. It consists of 108 bells in three rows. The 34 bells in the upper row symbolize the 31 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan; the 56 ones in the middle row stand for the 56 ethnic groups of China. The lower row consists of 18 bells. The two at the extremities stand for peace and development, the theme of today's world, and the rest stand for the 16 historical periods the Chinese nation has been through. On the 320-kilogram central iron bell is engraved in gold President Jiang Zemin's inscription