Taoranting Park is a national AAAA scenic spot. It lies in the south of Xuanwu District, close to South 2nd Ring Road. Built in 1952, it blends classical architecture and modern garden design, focusing on the “pavilion culture” of China.
The park covers an area of 590,000 square meters, of which 170,000 square meters are covered by water. There is in it an ancient nunnery built in the Yuan Dynasty called Cibei Nunnery. In 1695, or the 34th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Jiang Zao, an official of the Ministry of Works who was supervising kilns at that time, had a pavilion built in its garden. He named it Taoran, a name he inscribed for its plaque, after some lines from an idyllic poem by Bai Juyi (a Tang Dynasty poet):
“When chrysanthemums blossom
And my home-made brew is ready,
Let's drink to our heart’s content!”
It had already become well known in the Qing Dynasty, and later it came to be known as one of the four best pavilions in China. It is after the pavilion's name that the park is named.
Cibei Nunnery covers an area of 3,000 square meters, with a floor space of 830 square meters. Its main buildings are the main gate, Guanyin Hall, Zhunti Hall, and Wenchang Pavilion. Remaining cultural relics are: a stone scripture tablet made in 1099 (the 5th year of Shouchang reign in the Liao Dynasty), another one made in 1131 (the 9th year of Tianhui reign in the Jin Dynasty), stone inscriptions of a poem and an essay on Taoran Pavilion, etc. On the north bank of the west lake stands a kiln platform, the site of a kiln built in the Tang Dynasty, which is one of the places of historical interest in the south of Beijing. Since the early Qing Dynasty the platform has been used for sightseeing. On top of it there used to be a shrine to the God of Fire; during Emperor Qianlong's reign a shrine to the God of Water was built here. The Taoists put up a mat awning on it under which to brew tea for tourists in the summer. After the Double Ninth Festival in autumn, the platform commands a pleasant view of a vast expanse of reed flowers as white as snow.
Since the mid Ming Dynasty, the nunnery had been a resort of the distinguished ones. It became more popular in the Qing Dynasty, with the building of Taoran Pavilion. It has been connected with the career of a number of great reformists or revolutionaries, such as Lin Zexu, Gong Zizhen, Wei Yuan, and Huang Juezi in the Opium War period, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and Tan Sitong in the 1898 Reform Movement, Qiu Jin prior to the 1911 Revolution, and Li Dazhao, Mao Zedong, and Zhou Enlai before and after May 4th Movement. On the north slope of Jinqiu Hill buried Gao Junyu and Shi Pingmei, the revolutionary martyrs. For this reason the nunnery is known as a cradle of people's revolution, and regarded as a revolutionary site in Beijing. In August 1978 it was designated as a historic site under municipal protection.
In 1985 a “park within the park” was built that features well-known pavilions in China. It was designed by Beijing Institute of Landscape Design and Research, and covers 100,000 square meters. It contains the reproductions of over ten famous pavilions from 9 cities in 6 provinces, including 1) Duxing Pavilion in Miluo, Hunan Province that commemorates Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet of the state of Chu in the Warring States Period; 2) Lanting Pavilion and the Geese Pond Tablet Pavilion in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province that commemorates Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Jin Dynasty; 3) Tablet Pavilion next to the thatched house in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, dwelled by Du Fu, a great Tang poet; 4) Double Fountain Pavilion in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province that commemorates Lu Yu, a Tang writer known as the Sage of Tea; 5) Jinyue Pavilion in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province that commemorates Tang poet Bai Juyi; 6) Old Drunkard Pavilion in Chu County, Anhui Province that commemorates Ou Yangxiu, a writer in the Song Dynasty; 7) Zhexian Pavilion commemorating great Tang poet Li Bai; and 8) Yunhui Tower and Qingyin Pavilion that have been moved from Zhongnanhai. With a variety of designs and special qualities, these pavilions are rich in historical and cultural implications, and a perfect choice for anyone interested in the pavilion culture of China.
Address:No.19 Taiping Street, Xuanwu District, Beijing |
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