Garden
of Virtuous Harmony,
Deheyuan in Chinese, is also called the Great Theatre Building
for the performance of Beijing opera. It consists of the Theatre Building
itself and Yiledian (Hall of pleasure smile).
Function The building played a major part in fostering the birth and development
of Beijing Opera: since the completion of the Grand Theater Building,
many performances were held in it in honor of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
The Grand Theater Building known as the "Cradle of Beijing Opera"
Architecture
and display The Great theatre Building is a three-storied structure, 21 meters
high and 17 meters wide on the lowest floor. There are trapdoors above
and below the floor for "Fairies" to descend from the sky
and "devils" to rise up from the earth. There is also a well
and five ponds under the stage for water scenes. Discover
more...
Construction Construction of the theatre building started in 1891 and was completed
in 1895, just in time for the celebration of the 60th birthday of Empress
Dowager Cixi.
Of the
three main theater buildings of the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Theater
Building is the tallest and the largest
one. The other two are Changyin (Fluent Voice) Pavilion
in the Palace Museum and Qingyin (Clear Voice) Pavilion
in Chengde, an imperial summer resort.
Building
for the performance of Beijing opera. It consists of the Theatre Building
itself and Yiledian (Hall of pleasure smile).