The Jiaotai Hall is one of the three imperial harems in the Inner Court, located between the Qianqing Palace and the Kunning Palace. It was built roughly in the Jiajing years of the Ming Dynasty. In 1797,the second year after Emperor Jiaqing came to the throne, the Jiaotai Hall was destroyed by a fire in the Qianqing Palace and was rebuilt that year. The name “Jiaotai” comes from the Book of Changes, indicating the idea of “celestial and terrestrial forces in harmony” which means that heaven and earth, yin and yang, the upper and the lower and even all things in the world co-exist in harmony for permanent development.

Similar to the Zhonghe Palace, the Jiaotai Palace is the smallest one among the three imperial harems. In the Forbidden City, buildings from the Taihe Gate to the Qianqing Palace are all decorated with dragon patterns. When reaching the Jiaotai Palace, phoenix designs appear together with dragons. Inside the palace hangs an inscribed board titled “inaction” written by Emperor Kangxi. There is a huge copper clepsydra and a mechanical striking clock in the east and the west room. The two objects decided time in the imperial palace.

The Jiaotai Palace was where the empress received congratulations and respects at major festivals in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The empress came to the Jiaotai Palace on the day before the silkworm worship ceremony in spring as a routine to check tools for mulberry leaf picking.

After the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the twenty five royal seals that stand for imperial power were stored in the palace. The “Treasure Opening Ceremony” was held on a selected lucky day in the first month of the lunar year to mark the start of a new year for handling state affairs. And at the end of a year, the “Treasure Closing Ceremony” was held.

Since eunuchs monopolized power in the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty took the lessons of the previous regime and erected an iron plate saying “Staff of the Inner Court shall not interfere with state affairs” inside the Jiaotai Hall to warn eunuchs not to interfere with state affairs,.