The Ning Shou Palace is known as the 'city within a city' in the Forbidden City

'Ning Shou Palace' is located on the east side of the Northern Palace Museum, built in the 37th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1772), and it took eight years to complete. The Ning Shou Palace was designed by Emperor Qianlong himself as a retirement residence for his old age. The palace is like a miniature Forbidden City, with six palaces set up along its central axis; the Huangji Hall, Ning Shou Palace, Yangxing Hall, Leshou Hall, Yihexuan, and Jingqige, with a layout divided into the front court and the back court, where one could govern, sleep, read, worship gods, practice Buddhism, and entertain. Today, the Ning Shou Palace serves as the Treasure Gallery of the Palace Museum.