Wed, August 06, 2008
Beihai Park
The Beihai (North Sea) Park is situated in Beijing downtown, to the northwest of the Forbidden City. The park, about 500 meters to the northwest of the Forbidden City and the Jingshan Hill, is one of the earliest and best-preserved imperial gardens in China.
Actually, Beihai Park was initially built in the Liao Dynasty (916 - 1125) and was repaired and rebuilt in the following dynasties including Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing (1115 - 1911). The large-scale rebuilding in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) generally established the present scale and pattern of Beihai Park. In 1925, the park was first opened to the public, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world every year.
The park is vast in its water surface, which accounts for a half of the park's total area of 0.71 sq km (about 0.27 sq miles). In the Ming Dynasty, Beihai (North Sea), Zhonghai (Central Sea) and Nanhai (South Sea) were collectively named as Three Seas or the Taiye Lake, which was the forbidden garden. At the beginning of the Republic of China, Zhonghai and Nanhai were merged into an integral whole called Zhongnanhai (Central and South Sea). Behai was separately built as a park.
In the middle of the lake and on the central axis of the whole park lies the Jade Flowery Islet, topped by the imposing White Dagoba which is the landmark of Beihai Park. Besides the Jade Flowery Islet, the park has four main scenic areas: the Eastern Shore Area, the Northern Shore Area, the Botanical Garden and the Circular City near the north gate. There are many famous and beautiful places you should not miss when touring Beihai Park.
White Dagoba
On top of the Jade Flowery Islet, the White Dagoba was built in 1651 on the former site of the Palace in the Moon where Kublai Khan received Marco Polo. At the suggestion of a famous Tibetan lama, Emperor Shunzhi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty agreed to build such a Tibetan dagoba to show his belief in Buddhism and his desire for the unification among various Chinese ethnic groups.
Hao Pu Creek (Haopujian) Garden
After touring the Qionghua Islet, you can cross the Zhishan Bridge to the Eastern Shore Scenic Area which has many independent gardens within Beihai Park such as the Painted Boat (Huafang) Studio and the Hao Pu Creek Garden. Created in 1757, the Hao Pu Creek Garden is one of the best gardens-within-gardens of the existing imperial gardens in China.
Quiet Heart (Jingxin) Studio
After visiting the Eastern Shore Area, stepping westward, you will be at the Northern Shore Area. Lying to the east of this area, the Quiet Heart Studio is the most famous independent garden within Beihai Park. It was initially built in Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and enlarged in Qing Dynasty. Inside the studio, there are many magnificent palaces, halls, pavilions, towers, corridors and artificial hills, numerous odd-shaped porous rocks and stones, all artistically arranged.
Nine-Dragon Screen
To the northwest lies the well-known Nine-Dragon Screen, which is the only screen having nine huge dragons on both sides among the most famous three Nine-Dragon Screens in China (the other two are respectively in the Forbidden City and Datong, Shanxi Province). Built in 1756, the Nine-Dragon Screen is about 27 meters long, 6.65 meters high and 1.42 meters thick. It is composed of 424 seven-color glazed tiles that embossing the screen. There are nine huge coiling dragons on each side of the screen and big or small dragons in different postures decorating the two ends and the eaves, making a surprising total of 635 dragons.
Five-Dragon Pavilions
To the southwest of the Nine-Dragon Screen lies the Five-Dragon Pavilions - five connected pavilions with spires and pointed upswept eaves. From a distance, they appear together like a huge dragon. Built first in 1602 and repaired several times in Qing Dynasty, these five pavilions, half over the water, stand on the north bank of the lake opposite the Jade Flowery Islet. There are many exquisite carvings and paintings on the girders and pillars of the pavilions which make the Five-Dragon Pavilions a delightful place for the royal members in ancient China to relax and appreciate the natural beauty.
Circular City
Finally you can visit the Circular City right at the southwestern corner of Beihai Park. The city wall stands about 4.6 meters (about 15 feet) high and has a circumference of 276 meters (about 906 feet). Among the various places to visit in the Circular City including halls, towers and pavilions, the most important construction is the Chengguang Hall which holds the extremely precious white jade statue of Buddha introduced from Burma at the end of Qing Dynasty.
