Pu Yi's palace proving popular

• Source: Global Times
• [22:36 October 20 2009]
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By Zhu Haifeng

The Tongde building of the museum in Changchun.

While the Palace Museum in Beijing is often a frequent choice for tourists to the capital, the Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo puppet regime (1932-45) in Changchun, Jilin Province, is also a must-see place to visit to uncover the history where the last Chinese emperor, Aisin-gioro Pu Yi, was installed as the ruler of the Manchukuo.

As the official residence of Pu Yi, the palace was originally constructed as a miniature version of the Forbidden City. It covers an area of 43,000 square meters with an inner and outer court and was used as a royal residence and administrative center.

The outer court includes the Qinmin and Huaiyuan buildings and the Jiale hall. The inner court includes the Jixi building and Tongde hall. It also boasts a range of entertainment options including tennis courts, a small golf course, a horse track and swimming pool. There is an air-raid shelter and nine two-storey houses that were once used by the Manchukuo guard.

In contrast to many of China's palaces and museums, the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo is a legacy not of a splendid past but as a sign of the then colonized culture.

"The Palace Museum in Beijing stands for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). On the contrary, the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo is not a continuation of the Qing Dynasty, but an end," vice director of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo, Zhang Wei, told the Global Times.

"It is a sign of the colonized history especially in northern China by the Japanese invaders," he added.