List of palaces

The following is a list of palaces by country.
The following are historic strongholds throughout the years in the different capitals of Bulgaria. They often housed the royal and patriarchal palaces and are enclosed in defensive walls around their perimeter.
These are mostly hunting lodges and retreats for the Bulgarian Royal Family, located in the Rila Mountain range.
Residences of provincial Lieutenant-Governors:
The English word "palace" is used to translated the Chinese word 宮 (pronounced "gōng" in Mandarin). This character represents two rooms connected (呂), under a roof (宀). Originally the character applied to any residence or mansion, but starting with the Qin dynasty (3rd century BC) it was used only for the residence of the emperor and members of the imperial family. Chinese palaces are different from post-Renaissance European palaces in the sense that they are not made up of one building only (however big and convoluted the building may be), but are in fact huge spaces surrounded by a wall and containing large separated halls (殿 diàn) for ceremonies and official business, as well as smaller buildings, galleries, courtyards, gardens, and outbuildings, more like the Roman or Carolingian palatium.
The world's largest palace to have ever existed, the Weiyang Palace, was built in the Han dynasty. The world's largest palace currently still in existence, the Forbidden City, was constructed in the Ming dynasty.
This is an incomplete list of Chinese palaces.
Apart from the main imperial palace, Chinese dynasties also had several other imperial palaces in the capital city where the empress, crown prince, or other members of the imperial family dwelled. There also existed palaces outside of the capital city called "away palaces" (離宮) where the emperors resided when traveling. The habit also developed of building garden estates in the countryside surrounding the capital city, where the emperors retired at times to get away from the rigid etiquette of the imperial palace, or simply to escape from the summer heat inside their capital. This practice reached a zenith with the Qing dynasty, whose emperors built the fabulous Imperial Gardens (御園), now known in China as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness (圓明園), and better known in English as the Old Summer Palace. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and worked in the Imperial Gardens, 8 km/5 miles outside of the walls of Beijing, the Forbidden City inside Beijing being used only for formal ceremonies.
These gardens were made up of three gardens: the Garden of Perfect Brightness proper, the Garden of Eternal Spring (長春園), and the Elegant Spring Garden (綺春園); they covered a huge area of 3.5 km (865 acres), almost 5 times the size of the Forbidden City, and 8 times the size of the Vatican City. comprising hundreds of halls, pavilions, temples, galleries, gardens, lakes, etc. Several famous landscapes of southern China had been reproduced in the Imperial Gardens, hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in the halls, making the Imperial Gardens one of the largest museum in the world. Some unique copies of literary work and compilations were also stored inside the Imperial Gardens. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the British and French expeditionary forces looted the Old Summer Palace. Then on October 18, 1860, in order to "punish" the imperial court, which had refused to allow Western embassies inside Beijing, the British general Lord Elgin – with protestations from the French – purposely ordered to set fire to the huge complex which burned to the ground. It took 3500 British troops to set the entire place ablaze and took three whole days to burn. The burning of the Gardens of Perfect Brightness is still a very sensitive issue in China today.
Following this cultural catastrophe, the imperial court was forced to relocate to the old and austere Forbidden City where it stayed until 1924, when the Last Emperor was expelled by a republican army. Empress dowager Cixi (慈禧太后) built the Summer Palace (頤和園 – "The Garden of Nurtured Harmony") near the Old Summer Palace, but on a much smaller scale than the Old Summer Palace. There are currently some projects in China to rebuild the Imperial Gardens, but this appears as a colossal undertaking, and no rebuilding has started yet.
Some other palaces include:
Raghadan Palace, Amman. Royal Residence of the Hussein Family
Apart from the large complex at Tūrangawaewae Marae located in the town of Ngāruawāhia, the previous Māori Monarch Te Atairangikaahu had a home at Waahi Marae in Huntly where she lived for most of her 40-year reign with her consort Whatumoana Paki. The Māori King or Queen are required to attend 33 Poukai annually conducted at Marae loyal to the Kingitangi movement. Many of these Marae maintain residences for the Māori King or Queen for them to use during such visits.
The province of Skåne (Scania) in southernmost Sweden is well known for its many castles.
In Turkish, a palace is a Saray.
Some large impressive buildings which were not meant to be residences, but are nonetheless called palaces, include:
Note, too, the French use of the word palais in such constructions as palais des congrès (convention centre) and palais de justice (courthouse).