The three of them finished touring the palace complex together, then exited through the main gate.
The palace's main gate was the South Gate. It had been modeled after the style and layout of Daming Palace. The main southern gate of Tang-dynasty Daming Palace had been called Danfeng Gate, but according to the ancient theory of the Four Symbols, that name was incorrect.
In the ancient theory of the Four Symbols, the four directions and four seasons corresponded to four Divine Beasts: the Azure Dragon of the east, the White Tiger of the west, the Vermilion Bird of the south, and the Black Tortoise of the north. Therefore, according to the theory of the Four Symbols, the main southern gate ought to have been called Zhuque Gate.
However, during the Tang dynasty, there had already been an old imperial palace called Taiji Palace, whose main southern gate was called Zhuque Gate. The avenue directly facing Zhuque Gate was called Zhuque Street. Daming Palace had been built later, but the name Zhuque Gate had already been claimed by the old imperial palace, so it had been renamed Danfeng Gate.
The Han Tribe, however, had no such concern. This was the Han Tribe's—no, the Han Empire's—only imperial palace, so it was only right for its main southern gate to be called Zhuque Gate.
The Han Tribe's Zhuque Gate was imposing and magnificent, built in the form of a gate tower. It stretched from east to west—in other words, its frontage was eighty-six meters wide. Below were five doorways of equal size, each eight meters wide, enough for four horse-drawn wagons pulled by pairs of horses, or two tractors driving side by side.
The gate tower was thirty-four meters wide from north to south—in other words, that was the thickness of the doorways.