Hall of Halcyon Clouds (Cuiyun guan)

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The Hall of Halcyon Clouds (Cuiyun guan) has small side rooms and eastern and western side-halls. Measuring five bays wide and one deep, the structure has a gabled roof with yellow glazed tiles and a front of large slatted windows atop low walls. The interior is decorated with black lacquer with gold outlined embellishments. The eastern chamber has a plaque that reads, “Studio of Eternal Spring” (Changchun shuwu), alluding to when the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736–1795) used it his reading room before acceding to the throne.
The hall’s furnishings include an eight-leaf screen painted with images of birds and flowers, tables for use atop the heated platform (kang), and wall panels made of zitan wood with embroidered silk. Near the platform, a large zitan desk engraved with floral designs stands opposite a book-shelf style curtain.