Beihai Park

China (Asia and the Pacific)

Date of Submission: 12/02/1996
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)
Category: Cultural
Submission prepared by:
State Bureau of Cultural Relics
Coordinates:
Beijing. Long. 116°20' East Lat. 39°56' North
Ref.: 124

Description

Beihai Park was an imperial garden, one of the oldest existing in China. Built in the 19th year of Emperor Dading's reign (1179) during the Jin Dynasty, Beihai was then called the Daning Palace. The garden later became a pleasure ground for the imperial family of the Yuan Dynasty and was renamed the Wansui (10000 years) hill and the Taiye (Moon) Lake when it was part of the forbidden City. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Beihai Park remained a pleasure ground fro the imperial families and, together with the central and South lakes was called Xiyuan (West Garden). The scale and design of the garden was establi_shed during the reign of Emperor Qian Long (1736-95) of the Qing Dynasty. Beihai Park occupies an area of 0,68 square Km and the lake takes up 0;39 square Km. The Jade Island and the White Pagoda are the main attractions. Other features are the Yong'an Temple and the long Corridor. The garden like structures including the Round City over looking the Taiye lake, the Haopu Pavilion, the Tranquillity Study and the Five Dragon Pavilions coordinated with the Jade Island form an imperial hill-water garden typical in Chinese imperial gardens. In Beihai Park one could find Taihu rocks shipped from Henan Province, a Jade Jar of the Yuan Dynasty, a collection of 495 steles bearing inscriptions by trees of hundreds of years old. The structures and scenes of Beihai Park are masterpieces of gardening technique reflecting the style of the traditional Chinese construction, superb architectural skill and richness of cultural relics and landscape.