"Nine Dragons" - Large Stone Carving in Forbidden City (Beijing)
N 39° 55.044 E 116° 23.445
50S E 447931 N 4418767
Behind the Hall of Preserved Harmony in Forbidden City, in the middle of access stairway, You can find depicted beautiful large stone carving also called "Nine Dragons".
Waymark Code: WMNNDT
Location: China
Date Posted: 04/08/2015
Views: 10
Behind the Hall of Preserved Harmony in Forbidden City, in the middle of access stairway, You can find depicted beautiful large stone carving also called "Nine Dragons".
"Nine Dragons" is the largest stone carving in the Forbidden City, 16.75 m long, 3.07 m wide, and 1.7 m thick, and weighs more than 200 tons, hence the name Large Stone Carving. It was carved out of a huge natural marble stone in the early Ming Dynasty, when the three main halls were constructed. In 1761 (the 26th year of the Qianlong reign period of the Qing Dynasty), the old patterns on the stone were all hewn away, and new patterns were carved. With beautiful interlocking lotus patterns all around, the huge stone carving has curling waves at the bottom and nine dragons amidst clouds in the middle, as the dragon is an imperial signal. The stone was quarried from Dashiwo in Fangshan in the western suburbs of Beijing. It was transported to the Palace Museum by sprinkling water on the way in winter to make an iced road. Then it was pulled all the way to the Palace Museum along the iced road.