Daming Palace

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Daming Palace

Located in Longshou Plateau in a northern suburb of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, the Daming Palace is a more than 1,000-year-old ancient site that accommodated the imperial family of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Built in 634, the palace was formerly named Yong’an (Forever Peaceful) Palace by Emperor Taizong (599-649) and was later changed to Daming Palace. It is an important work of architecture in an era when China’s economic, political and cultural developments reached their pinnacle.

The palace is 3.2 square kilometers and has a perimeter of 7.6 kilometers, four times the size of Beijing’s Forbidden City. Daming Palace was built with 11 gates and a 176-meter-wide street outside the southern part of the city wall. It had a pool named Taiye Pool, which is surrounded by 40 palaces and pavilions. The most notable ones are Hanyuan Hall, Linde Hall, Sanqing Hall, Qingsi Hall, Xuanzheng Hall and Zichen Hall. The palace was repeatedly damaged in wars and was burnt down in 896 in the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. Now Daming Palace National Heritage Park is under construction on the site of the ancient palace. The project will be completed on Oct. 1, 2010, when the park will be open to the public to celebrate National Day.