Qian Qing Gong (乾清宫: Palace of the Heavenly Purity), one of the three palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City, was constructed in the 18th year of Emperor Yongle’s reign (1420) and recustructed many times after being burned. Today’s Palace of the Heavenly Purity was built in the third year of Emperor Jiaqing’s reign (1798).

The roof of the Palace of Heavenly Purity was covered by golden gilded tiles, and the palace sits on a single layer white marble stage. The front of it is as wide as 8 common rooms and it is as deep as 5 common rooms, and its construction area is 1,400 square meters. The main body of it is about 20 meters tall and under its roofs are carved color drawings which were only allowed to use for the imperial families. Inside the hall of the palace is set a horizonal inscribed board which reads “Zheng Da Guang Ming (正大光明)”, which means rightness and justice.

The two wings of it are two rooms, and through this palace, visitors can also walk to the Hall of Union (交泰殿: Jiao Tai Dian) and Palace of Earthly Tranquility (坤宁宫: Kun Ning Gong). The floor of the hall is paved by gold bricks (not real gold bricks but bricks made of very speical and precious materials). In front of is a platform and a bronze turtle, a bronze crane, a sun dial, a Grain Measure stand on the two sides of it. In addition, you can also see 4 gilded gold incense tripods in front of it.

Source: bake.baidu.com