Qianlong Garden in the Forbidden City

Going through the Gate of Inheriting Goodness, there is an artificial rockery in front blocking the view. If you walk forward long the meandering pebble path, you will probably feel like heading for quiet seclusion. There is a square pavilion surrounded by trees behind the artificial rockery. It is named the Lodge of Ancient Tree. To the west, there is the Lodge of Ancient Tree. To the west, there is the elegant Pavilion of Ceremonial Purification. On the stone stele inside the Pavijion,theres the inscription of Records of the Gathering at Orchid Pavilion after Dong Qichang by Emperor Qianlong. On the floor, there is a meandering water channel. In ancient China, people believed at all the disasters and bad luck in the past year, could go away if you take a bath in the river in the third day of the third month of Chinese lunar calendar. Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420) wrote the famous Prologue for the Gathering at Orchid Pavilion when he was drinking with friends in the river while taking bath. From then on, ceremonial purification became a fashion in the circle of literati.

Relevant attractions in the Forbidden City

Screen Wall of Nine Dragons
Hall of Ancestral Worship
Arrow Pavilion
Hall of Imperial Supremacy and the Palace of TranquiI Longevity
Hall of Character Cultivation
Tower of Pleasant Sounds
Chamber of Joyful Longevity
Well of Concubine Zhen
Qianlong Garden