Puppet Emperor's Palace (Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo) / 伪满皇宫博物院
The Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo / 伪满皇宫博物院 / 偽滿皇宮博物院 (literally: 'The Illegitimate Manchukuo Imperial Palace Museum') is a museum in the northeastern corner of Changchun, Jilin province, northeast China. The palace was the official residence created by the Imperial Japanese Army for China's last emperor Puyi to live in as part of his role as Emperor of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. In the People's Republic of China, the structures are generally referred to as the Puppet Emperor's Palace & Exhibition Hall.
In 1931, the Japanese took control of the Northeast of China, the area of modern-day Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, which were historically known as Manchuria. The Japanese created an officially independent state in Manchuria which they named Manchukuo which was in reality a puppet state of Japan. In an attempt to lend legitimacy to Manchukuo, the Japanese installed Puyi, the deposed last emperor of Qing dynasty China, as Emperor of Manchukuo.
Puyi's role was largely a symbolic one as head of state. The one item of state business he was allowed to control was the construction of a new palace. Two groups within the government put forward different plans. The Mantetsu wanted a modern palace design that integrated itself into the new city of Hsinking (modern day Changchun). The Construction Corps Bureau favoured a south facing palace modelled after the Forbidden City in Beijing. Puyi favoured the latter. A site was set aside in the western part of the city for the new palace and another central location was chosen for the construction of a temporary palace. The western site was soon abandoned leaving the central site as the main palace. However, with the onset of World War II, resources for construction were diverted. Work on the palace halted in 1943, and as a result the new palace was never completed.
Without a proper palace, Puyi was instead accommodated in a building outside the urban area, near the railway lines. The building had previously been the offices of the Salt Gabelle, lending the building the nickname of the salt palace. The building was really unsuitable for its purpose, it was small and cramped for the palace of a head of state. Puyi was resident at this palace from 1932 to 1945.
On the 8 August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on the Empire of Japan. The Soviet Red Army invaded Manchuria from the north. By 20 August 1945 the Red Army had overrun almost all of Manchukuo. The Japanese Empire surrendered unconditionally ending World War II and simultaneously Manchukuo ceased to exist. Puyi fled the palace, attempting to reach Japan by plane, but was captured by the Soviets. The palace and surrounding city were looted.
In 1962 the structures were preserved and opened as the Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo (伪满皇宫博物院 / 偽滿皇宮博物院). The exhibits were expanded with that of the former Jilin Museum in 1982, and renovated in 1984. The entire complex was renovated in 2004. The palace was the actual setting in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 biographical film of Puyi, The Last Emperor, depicting Puyi's reign as Emperor of Manchukuo.
The Manchurian Imperial Palace was designed as a miniature version of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It was divided into an inner court and outer court. The outer or front court was used for administrative purposes and the inner or rear court as the royal residence. The palace covers an area of 43,000 square meters.
The inner court includes the private living quarters for Puyi and his family. Its main structures include the Jixi Building on the west courtyard and the Tongde Hall on the east courtyard. The outer court contained buildings for affairs of state. Its main buildings include the Qianmin Building, the Huanyuan Building and Jiale Hall. The architecture of the buildings is in a wide range of styles: Chinese, Japanese, and European.
Within the complex were gardens, including rockeries and a fish pond, a swimming pool, air-raid shelter, a tennis court, a small golf course and a horse track.
Around the courtyards were nine two-storey blockhouses for the Manchukuo Imperial Guard, and the entire complex was surrounded by high concrete walls.