In 1681, the Long'en Hall rose at the heart of the Jingling Mausoleum, its yellow-tiled roof marking the tomb of the Kangxi Emperor, one of the Qing dynasty's most consequential rulers. For over two centuries, the hall stood as the principal sacrificial building where generations of emperors offered ritual homage. Then, on a spring morning in 1905, an unexplained fire consumed the entire timber structure. Attendants managed only to rescue the six spirit tablets from the altar before the roof collapsed. The fire's cause was never determined.

The new hall rose on the old white marble platform, following the original dimensions—five bays wide and three bays deep, with its double-eaved hip-and-gable roof faithfully restored. The Yongzheng Emperor had personally written the hall's name plaque in Manchu, Mongolian, and Han Chinese scripts, and this too was recreated.