Nurhachi's Palace at the Imperial Palace in Shenyang 沈阳故宫
When compared to the elaborate layouts of Huang Taiji’s and Qianlong’s palaces, Nurhachi’s Palace seems to be boring in comparison. The first two palaces follow the traditional layout of an imperial palace, that is, hall after hall after hall, much like the one in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The palace which Nurhachi built consists only of a few components and is nowhere as overwhelming as the other two. The palace grounds consists of the Dazheng Hall which is at the top of the palace grounds and with four pavillions on both sides of the palace.
Row of Pavillions at Nurhachi's Palace
The feeling when approaching the palace is that there is a lot of space, it feels like a square with the pavillions on both sides of the square. The main palace building it right in front. In a way it is also quite intimidating to see this since there was only you and the palace right there in front. Soldiers from the pavillions will be ready to rush out when needed. At the same time, because of the much needed space here, it is much more refreshing to explore this area. The tourists are all spread out the area with most of the interesting spots on the sides of the palace grounds.
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