Ice Storehouses, Ancient ice storage facility in Forbidden City, China

The Ice Storehouses (Bingjiao) are five ice houses in the western part of the Forbidden City, arranged south to north in a long, narrow courtyard east of the Yangxin Hall workshops. Each of four houses stored 5,000 ice blocks, while the fifth held 9,226 blocks.

The five ice houses stood in the western part of the Forbidden City. The earliest one stored ice from Tongzhou; later all used ice from the Imperial River. The "Qinding Da Qing Huidian" records that the Ministry of Works supplied the ice, and the "Yangjizhai Conglu" notes that four houses each held 5,000 blocks while one held 9,226.

The ice storage rooms reveal how the imperial court used frozen water to keep food fresh and drinks cold throughout the year. This practical system was woven into daily palace life and shows the ingenuity of imperial household management.

The five ice houses stand in a long, narrow courtyard east of the Yangxin Dian workshops, running south to north along the Forbidden City's western route. Since 2017 the southern building has operated as the Icehouse Restaurant, so visitors can step inside rather than only view the exterior. The remaining houses are being opened gradually as a visitor service centre.

The underground design was so effective at maintaining cold that ice stored here remained frozen for many months without any modern cooling technology. The thick walls and careful placement near water sources made these chambers work like natural refrigerators.