Gate of Double Glory 重光门

I was fortunate to be able to bypass that large group of local tourists in front of the Confucius Mansion since I already have a through ticket I purchased from the Confucius Temple. The ticket allow access to the Three Confucius, of which the Confucius Mansion is the second one. The first structure to greet visitors on entry into the Confucius Mansion is the Gate of Double Glory. This was a bit strange to see a gate all by its lonesome near the entrance.

This gate is a special gate and is only used when very important people come here to visit, namely emperors. Since the end of dynastic rule, the gate was never been in use anymore. However, in the 1990’s a president raised howls when the gate was opened for his use. This has the implication that he is of the same level as the emperors who came before him. Obviously, nothing came out of those complaints and life goes on.

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