Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, among others. Mao's favorite places in Zhongnanhai were the Library of Chrysanthemum Fragrance (his personal residence, filled with bookshelves) and the Poolside House, next to the large indoor swimming pool, where he would spend much of the day swimming or reading books and reports by the pool. After Mao's death, the Chrysanthemum Library along with many of his belongings was preserved as a museum which is not accessible to the general public. Location The name of the Zhongnanhai complex, located west of the Forbidden City, means "central and southern seas/lakes", referring to two lakes (the "Central Sea" (中海) and "Southern Sea" (南海)) located within the compound; it is sometimes translated as "Sea Palaces". These two lakes are part of a series of projects carried out during the construction of the nearby Forbidden City. Also part of the same system is the "Northern Sea", or "Beihai" (北海), now a public park. The Northern, Central and Southern Seas are jointly called the Taiye Lake (太液池); the Shichahai (什剎海, ) is connected to Beihai at the north. The Taiye Lake was originally an imperial garden called Xiyuan (Western Park, 西苑) or Xinei (Western Court, ), with parklands on the shores, enclosed by a red wall in the western part of the Imperial City, Beijing. Most of the pavilions, shrines, and temples survive from this period. Whereas the Northern sea had a religious focus, the shores of Central and Southern seas were dotted with a number of palaces. History During the Jin dynasty (1115–1235), the Emperor Zhangzong of Jin built the northern lake in 1189. The northern section of Zhongnanhai was the Taiye Lake, with an attached palace called the "Palace of Great Peace" (Daninggong). During the Yuan Dynasty, which lasted from 1271 to 1368, Taiye Lake was included within the Imperial City. It was also expanded, covering approximately the area occupied by the Northern and Central Seas today. Three palaces were built around the lake. After the Ming dynasty moved its capital to Beijing in 1403 by order of the Yongle Emperor, construction on the existing Imperial Palace began in 1406. The Ming palace was to the south of the Yuan dynastic palace. As a result, a new Southern Sea was dug to the south of the old lake. The excavated soil, together with that from construction of the moat, was piled up to form Jingshan, a hill to the