Manchukuo Imperial Palace

The Manchukuo Imperial Palace served as the official residence and administrative headquarters of Emperor Puyi during the existence of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo (1932-1945). Located in Hsinking (新京), the specially designated capital of Manchukuo that is now the modern city of Changchun in Jilin Province, the palace complex was central to Japan's strategy of lending legitimacy to its control over northeast China.

Following the Mukden Incident of September 1931, Japan swiftly occupied Manchuria and established Manchukuo in March 1932. To provide a veneer of legitimacy, the Japanese installed Puyi — the last emperor of the Qing dynasty who had been deposed as a child in 1912 — first as Chief Executive and then as Emperor Kangde from 1934. Puyi's residence was not a purpose-built palace but rather a converted former Salt Gabelle (salt tax administration) building, reflecting the constrained and puppet-like nature of his rule.

The palace complex covers approximately 43,000 square meters and includes several notable structures. The Jixi Building (缉熙楼) served as Puyi's private living quarters, housing his bedroom, reading room, Buddhist chapel, and the separate quarters of Empress Wanrong and consort Tan Yuling. The Qinmin Building (勤民楼) functioned as the administrative center where Puyi conducted official state business. The Tongde Hall (同德殿), constructed between 1936 and 1938, was intended as a combined residence and office but Puyi refused to move in, suspecting Japanese surveillance devices were hidden within. Other structures include the Huaiyuan Building, Jiale Hall, and the Zhixiu House.

Japan had planned to construct a grand permanent imperial palace befitting the puppet state's propaganda needs, but the ambitious project was halted in 1943 as wartime resource shortages mounted. When Soviet forces invaded Manchuria in August 1945, Puyi fled Hsinking and was subsequently captured by the Red Army, bringing the thirteen-year history of Manchukuo to an abrupt end.

In 1962, the Exhibition Hall of the Puppet Palace was established in the preserved palace structures; it formally opened to the public in 1984. Renamed the Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo (偽満皇宮博物院) in 2001, the site has been designated a National First-Grade Museum of China and a AAAAA-rated tourist attraction. The museum's exhibitions document the history of Japanese colonial occupation, the puppet state apparatus, and the daily lives of Puyi and his consorts, serving as both a memorial and an educational institution about this dark chapter of Sino-Japanese history.