Hall of Joyful Longevity 乐寿堂

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799), the Hall of Joyful Longevity was first built as a gift for his mother’s sixtieth birthday. There are some ten plaques in the compound and most of them express blessing and auspiciousness. It was originally a 2-storey building with the hall for Buddha worship upstairs and study below, in the same layout of design to the Hall of Joyful Longevity inside the Palace of Tranquil Longevity in the Summer Palace. It was burnt down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860 and rebuilt into a one-storey building in 1887 as the residence for Empress Dowager Cixi.