Nine Dragon Screen

Save

The Nine Dragon Screen, a 5m-tall, 27m-wide spirit wall, is one of three such screens in China. It's a spectacular composition of coiling dragons picked out in coloured glazed tiles, built in 1773 as part of a wholesale renovation of the northeastern section of the palace to create a retirement pad for Emperor Qianlong. The screen here was inspired by the one in Beihai Park.

Considered a benevolent creature, the dragon in China is the symbol of power, luck and longevity, with the power to dispel drought.

Contact

Address

Forbidden City

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Forbidden City

0.21 MILES

Enclosed by 3.5km of citadel walls at the very heart of Beijing, the Unesco-listed Forbidden City is China’s largest and best-preserved collection of…
Temple of Heaven Park

2.7 MILES

An oasis of methodical Confucian design, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is unique. It originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed…
Summer Palace

8.69 MILES

A marvel of Chinese garden design and one of Beijing's must-see attractions, the Summer Palace was the royal retreat for emperors fleeing the suffocating…
Tian'anmen Square

1.01 MILES

Flanked by triumphalist Soviet-style buildings, Tian'anmen Sq is an immense void of paved stone (440,000 sq metres, to be precise) at the symbolic centre…
Beihai Park

0.92 MILES

Beihai Park, inside the old Imperial City, looks much as it would have done in the 18th century when it served as Emperor Qianlong's private gardens. The…
Southeast Corner Watchtower

2.2 MILES

This immense fortress, part of the Ming City Wall Ruins Park, guarded the southeast corner of Beijing's city walls. Originally built in 1439 but repaired…
Gate of Heavenly Peace

0.69 MILES

Instantly recognisable by its giant framed portrait of Mao, and guarded by two pairs of Ming dynasty stone lions, the double-eaved Gate of Heavenly Peace …
798 Art District

6.58 MILES

Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…

View more attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Treasure Gallery

0.07 MILES

In the northeastern corner of the complex is the Treasure Gallery (or Complete Palace of Peace and Longevity, 宁寿全宫, Níng Shǒu Quán Gōng), a…

2. Gallery of Clocks

0.07 MILES

The Gallery of Clocks is one of the unmissable highlights of the Forbidden City. Relocated from the Hall for Ancestral Worship in 2018 (in order that the…

3. Hall of Imperial Supremacy

0.11 MILES

The main hall of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity (宁寿宫, Níng Shǒu Gōng) built around 1771 for Qing emperor Qianlong's retirement, though he never moved in…

4. Hall for Ancestral Worship

0.11 MILES

The hall where emperors worshipped their ancestors (under restoration at time of research). Once held the spirit tablets of deceased Qing emperors.

5. Belvedere of Cheerful Melodies

0.16 MILES

This three-storey wooden opera house, built in 1776, was the Forbidden City’s largest theatre. Note the trap doors that allowed actors to make dramatic…

6. Palace of Prolonging Happiness

0.16 MILES

The most unique of the Forbidden City's six eastern palaces, the Palace of Prolonging Happiness features an unfinished 20th-century Western-style building…

7. Hall of Spiritual Cultivation

0.17 MILES

Built in 1776, the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation was intended to be used for Qing emperor Qianlong's retirement. He never moved in, although he did throw…

8. Hall of Preserving Harmony

0.18 MILES

The third of the Great Halls is the Hall of Preserving Harmony, used for banquets and later for imperial examinations. Descending from the rear of the…

View more attractions