China's Emperor Built a Fake City to Escape Palace Life ｜Ming dynasty

A Chinese emperor was supposed to live by rules: wake before dawn, attend court, sit through lectures, eat controlled palace meals, and let ministers watch every part of his life. The Zhengde Emperor of the Ming Dynasty chose something very different. He slept late. He skipped morning court. He built the Leopard Quarter, slipped out of the Forbidden City in plain clothes, drank in taverns, watched opera with ordinary people, tried to ride past the Great Wall, renamed himself Zhu Shou, paid himself a military salary, and led troops near the northern border.