During the Yuan Dynasty， architectural sculptures were rather advanced. According to the records， there were jade and stone mills to make architectural sculptures for the emperor. Though palace buildings of the Yuan Dynasty no longer existed， palace buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties followed the traditions and styles of the Yuan Dynasty in both ornament and sculpture.
The Clouds Terrace near the Juyongguan Pass in Changping District， Beijing， is the most important Yuan-style sculpture. The Clouds Terrace， the pedestal of the Over-street Tower， was built in 1342 and is located on the road to the Capital of the Yuan Dynasty. The terrace is famous for its relief sculptures in image of the Four Heavenly Guardians inside of the arch and the ornamental sculptures outside of the arch. They are brilliant masterpieces of architectural sculptures of the Yuan Dynasty. Relief sculptures of Four Heavenly Guardians belong to Tantrist statues and have very exaggerated shapes to show their power. They are trivial in style and loose in structure. The figures lack intrinsic strength but the statues are still grand and majestic. They vividly reflect the culture of the Yuan Dynasty， which was powerful but short in cultural cohesion which made it difficult for the Yuan Dynasty to continue growing.
Architectural sculptures of the Ming and Qing dynasties
Many buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties have survived.
Architectural sculptures are also common. Besides imperial gardens， temples and tombs， folk architectural sculptures are also profound and centered on public buildings such as academies， ancestral temples and commercial chambers.
Nine-dragon patterns of imperial gardens
The Forbidden City is an outstanding representative of imperial architectural sculptures. It uses dragons and phoenixes as its major ornamental subjects and various sculptural techniques such as high and low relief sculpting and openwork and circular carvings. Therefore， it is more exquisite and splendid than those of the previous dynasties and perfectly combines the sculp tures’ ornamental and practical features. Though its sculptural ornaments look a little complicated， they perfectly present the imperial power.
Chi
Chi， also known as Chi Head， is one of the nine sons of the dragon in ancient folklore. Because it has a big mouth and its stomach can contain a lot of water， Chi was often used as the rainspout decoration in China’s palace architecture. The earliest existing building remains are the stone Chi Head of the Nor thern and Southern dynasties. In the Song Dynasty， it had become a practice to use the Chi Head in buildings.
The pedestals of the three main halls of the Palace Museum are enclosed with white marble carving railings and balusters. The top of the balusters is engraved with raised clouddragon and Phoenix patterns. The bottom of each baluster has a discharge spout made into the shape of the dragon’s head—Chi. The yudao (road used only by the emperor) is carved out of three big rocks running through north-south to the steps of the three main halls. The yudao in the shape of nine dragons under the Hall of Preserving Harmony is the most representative road. It is carved out of a whole piece of stone that is 16m long and 3m wide and weighs more than 200 tons. The lower end of the yudao is engraved with symbolic patterns of five great mountains. The top is carved with nine huge dragons slipping through the clouds and seas. Every three dragons are lined up in the shape of Chinese character “品” ， nine dragons are stringed in three groups from top to bottom， known as “nine dragons playing with pearls.” The two sides of the yudao are engraved with tangled tree branch designs in low relief， which was re-carved during the 25th year of the Qianlong period (1760).
