SPECTRALWhat happened here
The palace was built between 1406 and 1420 under the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty. Twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived here, surrounded by thousands of eunuchs, maids and concubines, until the last emperor, Puyi, was expelled in 1924. It became the Palace Museum in 1925.
Palace life could be ruthless. In 1900, as foreign armies advanced on Beijing, the Guangxu Emperor's favourite, the Pearl Concubine, was drowned in a palace well — on the orders, it is said, of the Empress Dowager Cixi. The narrow well can still be seen.
The legends
The most famous story is of a woman in white, seen walking through the palace at night and weeping. Guards and staff have also told of processions of maids in old court dress crossing the courtyards and vanishing through walls.
A modern legend holds that the palace's red walls, rich in iron oxide, work like recording tape: in thunderstorms, lightning “replays” images of the maids of the past. The museum's early closing time is sometimes blamed on ghosts.
Fact or legend?
The palace's history of intrigue is real, and so is the Pearl Concubine's well. The recording-wall theory is a popular myth with no scientific basis, and the museum closes early for conservation and security, not because of ghosts.
Visiting
The Palace Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday. Tickets must be booked online in advance with ID, and daily numbers are capped, so book several days ahead in holiday seasons.
