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BEIHAIPARK


With an area of more than 70 hectares and water surface of 39 hectares, this park used to be an imperial palace serving for the emperors of five dynasties (Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing) and their families to stay for a short time, handle political affairs, or offer sacrifices. At the age of 800, it is the earliest built and best-preserved imperial garden in the world. Beihai Park is a classical Chinese garden with architectural tenets and techniques and a valuable cultural heritage. Its layout–one lake dotted with three isles–embodies a Chinese mythology about the fairyland, and achieves an artistic blending of natural and cultural landscape.
The whole park has Three of Eight Beijing’s major Attractions. The Qionghua Island “the pearl in the middle of the lake” with its Spring Shade; Tuancheng Island, with The Circulate City - the smallest ancient city building complex in the world, with magnificent, original halls, vigorous old pines and cypresses and its three impressible treasures: a jade urn dating to Yuan Dynasty, a 1.5-meter-high Buddha figure carved out a single block of white jade, and two pines conferred the titles ‘Marquis Shade’ and ‘General White Robe’ by Emperor Qianlong; and The Northwestern Shore Scenic Area, with Jionghua Islet as the center. In the shades of the willows framing the lake are many well-known scenic spots, such as Haopujian, Jingxinzhai, Hall of Heavenly Kings, Kuaixue Hall, Nine-dragon Screen, Five-dragon Pavilion, Chanfu Temple, and Xiaoxitian. The Nine-dragon screen, built in a classic Chinese glaze architecture , with glazed tiles and bricks of seven colors, in the 21st year of Qianlong Dynasty (1756). On either side are nine large colored dragons flying in a sea of clouds. With 635 dragons on both sides. It is 5.96 meters high, 1.60 meters thick, and 25.52 meters long. It is a quiet place in which to relax after a day enjoying the marvels of Beijing City.

Written by Beijing Apartments Team, May 2008

BEIJING APARTMENTS: Beijing City Guide