Situated at 14A Liuyin Street, in Beijing's Xicheng District, the Imperial Palace of Prince Gong is presently the largest and best-preserved imperial residence in China, as well as a model multi-quadrangle compound of Beijing. The Imperial Palace of Prince Gong consists of the palace proper and a garden, to the left of which is Shishahai Lake and to back of which is Houhai Lake. It is 300 meters long from north to south and 180 meters wide from east to west, forming an area of about 60,000 square meters. On 23 February 1982, the Imperial Palace of Prince Gong was named by the State Council as a major national historical site.

   The Imperial Palace of Prince Gong was first built in 1779 by Emperor Qianlong's (reigning 1736-96) favorite minister He Shen (1750.9-99) as his private residence. In 1799, the fourth year of Jiaqing's reign, He Shen committed suicide upon an imperial order and his residence was confiscated. Emperor Jiaqing (reigning 1796-1820) bestowed it to Yonglin (the 17th son of Qianlong), the Prince of Qing, as his personal residence. In 1852, Emperor Xianfeng (reigning 1851-61) bestowed it to his sixth younger brother Yixin, the Prince of Gong.

 

He Shen's Private Residence

  

   He Shen was a red-banner Manchurian. He inherited his father's official position in the 34th year of Qianlong's reign and became a third-rank guard in the imperial carriage fleet. In 1775, the 40th year of Qianlong's reign, He Shen was promoted to become the head of the imperial fleet. The next year he was appointed Vice-minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Minister of Military Affairs and Minister of Internal Affairs. With his advancement in officialdom his whole family rose to become yellow-banner. In the early Qing Dynasty, the residences in Beijing of the banner men who had followed the Emperor past Shanhaiguan and come to Beijing were strictly regulated. After rising to yellow banner, the He Shen family could find a good place in the district south of Deshenmen to build a new residence. He Shen chose a large piece of land south of Shishahai Lake. At the same time, Emperor Qianlong was preparing to build Ningshougong (Peace and Longevity) Palace which was supposed to be his living quarters when he grew old. As an intimate minister of Emperor Qianlong, He Shen was able to see the designs of the mansions of Ningshougong Palace. He planned to construct the buildings of his own residence according to the designs of Ningshougong Palace. He erected Xijin Zhai which was decorated with nanmu. Xijin Zhai consisted of seven main rooms and five rear rooms and a front verandah with eaves. In the center of Xijin Zhai was a hall the size of three rooms. On the mid-upper walls around the east, north and west of the hall were corridor-like protruding platforms. It was unknown how much money He Shen spent on building his private residence. It was said that over one thousand people took part in the construction, and that the project started in 1779 and was not finished till 1786.