Peeking at Zhongnanhai, China's Center of Power

From imperial to republican times, Zhongnanhai was the center of power in China.

AFP/POOL/MIKHAIL METZEL

Chinese President Xi Jinping (second from left) walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) at the Zhongnanhai complex in Beijing, China, on May 16, 2024.

Russia has the Kremlin. The United States has a White House. France has of course long been proud of the Elysee Palace. England is famous for Downing Street 10 and various palaces and castles. What about China? There is a Zhongnanhai in Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, among others, used Zhongnanhai to host Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 16 2024. Located right next to the Forbidden City, Zhongnanhai is an important complex in the world of ancient to modern Chinese politics.

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Now, Zhongnanhai is the state palace. The complex also serves as the cabinet secretariat and offices of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee.

However, in the past, Mao Zedong was reluctant to set foot there. The area was too thick with a feudalistic atmosphere that Mao despised. Zhongnanhai and various other factors became the reasons for Mao's rebellion against the Chinese empire.

AFP/POOL/MIKHAIL METZEL

President of China Xi Jinping (second from the right) and President of Russia Vladimir Putin in Zhongnanhai complex, Beijing, on May 16th, 2024.

Zhongnanhai consists of three words. Zhong means middle, nan means south, and hai means ocean. A number of scientific papers in English try to find an equivalent to Zhongnanhai and use the term “Ocean Palace.”

Gradual development

The Zhongnanhai complex was gradually built across ancient Chinese dynasties. Based on historical records, this complex was first developed during the Liao Dynasty (907-1125) and Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) eras.

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Some periods of the dynasty's reign overlap. At that time, they had just built a lake and a park that were used only for each royal family.

For centuries, Zhongnanhai was only a park and a number of artificial lakes. Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1403.

KOMPAS/LUKI AULIA

During the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors to the Forbidden City were only domestic tourists as China remained closed to foreign citizens, on Friday (9/9/2022).

Reporting from the Beijing Morning Post August 17 2018 edition, in 1406 Emperor Yongle ordered that a palace and other buildings be built in the Zhongnanhai area. The construction was to support Zhongnanhai's function as the emperor's official residence.

The construction of Zhongnanhai was completed during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). Zhongnanhai finally became part of the large Forbidden City complex. It was called the Forbidden City because only the imperial family and high-ranking officials could enter the area.

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When the Qing Dynasty fell in 1912 and China became a Republic, Yuan Shikai, the second president, was still obsessed with things related to the monarchy. He occupied Zhongnanhai and beautified it to make it more luxurious.

Even in December 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself as the Emperor of China. The position only lasted until March 1916 and he passed away in June 1916.

AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

Children and their family members play in the snow near the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Sunday (7/11/2021).

After Yuan's death, the powerful generals in various regions of China took control. That era was marked by severe poverty and corruption. There were many youth uprisings, including those involving Mao Zedong.

Recently, Mao was involved in a civil war with the Kuomintang led by Chiang Kai Sek. The war, which lasted until 1949, was won by the Communist Party of China (PKC) under Mao's leadership. When the PKC came to power, Mao was initially reluctant to stay at Zhongnanhai. Nevertheless, eventually the PKC leaders lived there.

Resident experience

Cheng Boda, a member of the Central Committee of PKC and one of the residents of Zhongnanhai during the PKC era. His son, Chen Xiaonong, shared his childhood and adolescence experience living in Zhongnanhai from 1951-1966. He wrote about these experiences in a book that was published in 2009.

AP/NG HAN GUAN

A man took a selfie near a portrait of the late leader Mao Zedong at Tiananmen Gate, near the Great Hall of the People where the annual National People's Congress is held, in Beijing on Friday (5/3/2021).

Based on data collected by Chen, Mao initially hesitated to enter Zhongnanhai. During the revolution, the complex was left abandoned. When PKC won in 1949, they had their office in Xiangshan located in West Beijing.

It turns out that the office in Xiangshan is not sufficient to accommodate the Politburo PKC, so they are looking for another location. Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai, who is also a trusted confidant and close friend of Mao, suggested that they move to Zhongnanhai. The reason being that the complex has enough buildings that can be utilized.

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"Mao rejected it because he could not yet separate Zhongnanhai from the image of Yuan Shikai who likes to flaunt his wealth. This image is something that Mao hates because it contradicts the people's struggle," wrote Chen Xiaonong.

Zhou finally succeeded in convincing Mao to be pragmatic. Mao and the CCP Politburo moved to Zhongnanhai.

AP PHOTO/MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

Photo of Mao Zedong at Tiananmen Gate, Beijing, China, in September 2021

According to Chen, at that time China was still poor and Zhongnanhai was only renovated to a certain extent. The lives of PKC elites within the former imperial complex were far from luxurious. As time went by, the complex was improved and returned to classic Chinese architecture.

Center of power

The concentration of the PKC Politburo in Zhongnanhai has made that place's name a metonym for the Chinese government. Just as it was during the era of the Forbidden City, not just any member of the PKC can be called to Zhongnanhai. The reasons for being called can be either good or bad.

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The summons there may be due to an official receiving a promotion or even ending their political career. One of Mao's close associates experienced a summons to Zhongnanhai for the purpose of ending their career.

Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals wrote a book entitled Mao's Last Revolution which was published in 1966. At that time, Mao had the ambition to turn China from an agricultural country into an industrial country through the Great Leap Forward program.

KOMPAS/ELSA EMIRIA LEBA

Visitors take photos of the Lecture Hall, which is the heart of Yuelu Academy, Changsha, Hunan, on Thursday (5/11/2023). Yuelu Academy is located within the Hunan University area, near the foot of Yuelu Mountain.

Agricultural land is transformed into factories. Farmers are forced to become laborers. As a result, China experiences a food crisis and eventually a famine epidemic occurs, similar to the Holodomor in the Soviet Union.

The exact number of people who died of starvation is still under investigation. Various studies estimate the number to be anywhere between 15 million to 45 million people during the period of 1958-1962.

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Mao's Secretary, Tian Jiaying, is one of those who gradually questioned the Great Leap Forward program. Tian finally expressed disagreement with the program after seeing the casualties it caused.

In May 1966, at the age of 44, Tian was summoned to Zhongnanhai with the goal of being expelled from PKC. He did not come out alive from the Ocean Palace. His death gave rise to many speculations. It is suspected that Tian chose to commit suicide while in Zhongnanhai.

KOMPAS/LASTI KURNIA

Photo Story of Dream City Statue of the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong, in a shop in the tourist area of Macau, on Sunday (11/12).

Political turmoil resurfaced in public in 2012 and was known as the "Zhongnanhai Battle." As explained by Nathan Lee in his paper for Chinascope 2014, the turmoil started with the scandal of the betrayal of Chongqing Police Chief Wang Lijun.

Wang wants to move to the United States. This scandal dragged down the Secretary of the Communist Party of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, resulting in his expulsion from the party. Meanwhile, Bo was a favorite of the President of China from 1989-2002, Jiang Zemin, who wielded significant power at the time.

Bo was Jiang's champion to rise to the presidential seat in 2012. Bo's removal paved the way for the opposing camp and became the rise point for Xi Jinping to the pinnacle of power in China. Now, Xi is repeatedly seen in Zhongnangai, which has become the Sea of China's Power.