Prince Gong's Mansion lies in a traditionally famous area. Throughout history, it was widely noted for suppressing the ghosts that were rumored to be there. In earlier times, it was just a Grand Lama Temple. Although as years passed on, it became the temple of Buddhist believers and was closed off to the public.

Prince Gong's Mansion is located in the Northeastern area of Beijing. Before 1723, it was the home of Prince Gong, the fourth son of Emperor Kang Xi. After Kangxi passed away, Prince Gong became the emperor and moved into the area known today as the Forbidden City. Other people were prohibited to live in the mansion once Prince Gong moved from there to his knew home. Perhaps what many don’t realize is that another emperor, Emperor Qianlong, was also born in this mansion. Thus, it has been designated as a historic area. Prince Gong's Mansion, throughout history, was connected to a number of historical figures of the Qing Dynasty. One of them was He Shen. The Mansion also used to be He Shen's Mansion and was a gift by Emperor Qianlong. He Shen was proficient in four languages and was gifted in writing prose and poetry. He made a suggestion to Emperor Qianlong to publish A Dream of Red Mansions. In the early years of his tenure, he was diligent and upright and won the love of the people. Many factors, however, caused He's corruption. One in particular being the flaws within the feudal system. He had too much power, but there was no effective supervisory system to check his greed. He knew how to please the emperor to win both favor and protection. All other officials were afraid of his power. He Shen was one of the most famously corrupted officials and one of the masters of Prince Gong Mansion. He eventually died of corruption and was also famous for his avarice. Prince Gong Mansion was also the former property of Prince Yixin, who was crowned as the subsequent Prince Gong of late Qing Dynasty after He Shen died. It is also one of the reasons why it subsumed the name ‘Prince Gong Mansion.’

Prince Gong was an influential reformist after China was invaded by Western powers. He was the real operator of the Yang Wu Movement in order to realize the re-independence of China. As well, he was dissatisfied with Empress Dowager Cixi. He soon would discover numerous realities or ways of living from the West and establish a modern Chinese navy and a national defense unit.