Cultural Palace of Working People

The Working People's Cultural Palace lies to the east of Tian'anmen Rostrum, directly opposite Zhongshan Park. The large park stretches from Tian'anmen Rostrum in the south to the Forbidden City moat, and from the East Thousand Bu Corridor before the Imperial Palace in the west to the eastern palace walls-fully one half times the width of the Forbidden City. The park was originally built in 1420 as a large-scale temple. The central part of the park consists of three magnificent halls, each with its own auxiliary halls. The front hall, the largest of the three, has a double-eaved roof and rests on a three-layer stone base. To the south is a spacious courtyard with long corridors enclosing it on either side. At the southern end of the courtyard is a compound with a pavilion and several exquisite stone bridges spanning the Golden River (Jinshuihe). A forest of ancient cypress trees surrounds these buildings, which, with their strong yet simple style, form a single integrated whole with the Imperial Palace.