Eastern Depot or Eastern Bureau (traditional Chinese: 東廠; simplified Chinese: 东厂; pinyin: Dōng Chǎng; Wade–Giles: Tung Ch'ang) was a Ming dynasty spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs.
In 1420, in order to suppress political opposition, Yongle decided to create the Eastern Depot (named as such because it was located east of the imperial palace), a spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs.
They were responsible for spying on officials of any rank, including military officers, scholars, rebels, and the general populace.
The Eastern Depot would investigate and arrest suspects and then hand them over to the Jinyiwei for interrogation.
[citation needed] The Eastern Depot lasted to 1644, the end of the Ming Dynasty.