As one of the biggest imperial examination halls in ancient China, it originated as a venue for county or provincial-level examinations in the Ming Dynasty (A.D.1368). Continuing to the Qing Dynasty, it was developed into the biggest national examination venue with 20644 examination rooms. By that time, 50% of all national-wide top1 scholars (in total 58 examinees) were selected after taking exams here. Nowadays, it is a museum exhibiting cultural relics and historical collections.