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Full 360-deg panorama plus some overlap of the west side of the Outer Court with the Right Hind Gate (northwest corner of Outer Court on both the left and right sides of the panorama. The Right Middle Gate is in center. In the left half of the pan from left to right you see: Bao He Dian (Hall of Preserved Harmony), Zhong He Dian (Hall of Central Harmony), and the Tai He Dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony) all of which sit on the three-tiered marble terrace. Over 1400 dragon water spouts adorn the marble terrace. The Bao He Dian is similar to but smaller than Tai He Dian. Bao He Dian was built in 1420, rebuilt in 1625, renovated in 1765 and restored a few years ago. Ming emperors would change into their ritual garments here. Qing emperors used it for banquets. In 1789, Emperor Qianlong decided that the final stage of the Palace Examination would be held here instead of Tai He Dian. Our guide told us that the top student would be able to marry one of the emperor's daughters and live a life of luxury for the rest of his life. The Zhong He Dian has the same building/construction history as the others. It is square in shape instead of rectagular and is smaller than Tai He Dian and Bao He Dian. It served as a private retreat or office/study for the emperors on their way to conduct ceremonies in Tai He Dian.
The right half of the pan is pretty much filled up with the long hallway of many rooms between the southwest gate and northwest gate of the Outer Court. The long hallway is used for storage and exhibits of many fine artifacts.
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