Jingshan Park, located in Xicheng District, is on the central axis of Beijing City, covering an area of 23 hectares. Jingshan Mountain is towering with lush trees and magnificent scenery.
In the Yuan Dynasty more than 600 years ago, this place was a small hill, named "Qingshan". According to legend, when the Forbidden City was built in the Ming Dynasty, coal was stacked there, so it is commonly known as "Coal Mountain". During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the soil from the excavation of the moat was piled up here and built into a tall man-made mountain of earth, called "Wansui Mountain", also known as "Zhenshan" within the imperial palaces. Flowers, plants, and fruit trees are planted at the foot of the mountain, which is known as the "imperial orchard". Feudal emperors often came here to enjoy flowers, practice arrows, feast, climb mountains and view the scenery. It is a beautiful royal garden.
Qiwang Tower_
Qiwang Tower is located at the south gate, built on the mountain, with three gorgeous pavilions. This place was originally the place where the tablet of Confucius was enshrined when running the official school during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. On the southeast side of the building, the Eight Banners Children's School was built in the Qing Dynasty, but it no longer exists today.
Ridge Wuting
Inside the Jingshan Park arranges five summits, with a height of 43m. It is the vantage point of Beijing in the old days. There are mountain-climbing roads on the east, west, and north sides. The five pavilions on the top of the mountain were built in the fifteenth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1750). The one located in the middle is called Wanchun Pavilion, a square, triple-eaves pavilion with yellow glazed tiles. On both sides are two double-eaves, octagonal, pavilions with green glazed tiles; the west one is called " Jifang Pavilion ", and the east is " Guanmiao Pavilion ". Outside the two pavilions, there are two circular, double-eaves pavilions with blue glazed tiles, the west is " Fulan Pavilion", and the east is "Zhoushang Pavilion ". In the old days, there was a bronze cast Buddha statue in each pavilion, collectively called "Five Gods", and also known as "Five Flavor Gods" representing sweet, pungent, bitter, sour, and salty. In 1900, four statues were taken away by the Eight-Power Allied Forces and one was destroyed ( Vairocana Buddha in Wanchun Pavilion ). The five pavilions stand on the ridge, with the middle higher and the side lower; the principal and subordinate ones are easy to tell, and the left and right are symmetrical. In addition, the golden beams and pillars, the colorful roof tiles, the green trees, and the blue sky form a magnificent and exquisite painting.
Shouhuang Palace
The Shouhuang Palace is located just north of the middle peak. It was built in the Ming Dynasty and was rebuilt in the 14th year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1749). It was built in imitation of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which is not only magnificent in scale but also has a complete architectural pattern. The Shouhuang Palace was originally the place for ancestor worship in the Qing Dynasty. In the past, the palace was enshrined with statues of ancestors of the Qing Dynasty. After liberation, the hall was turned into Beijing Children's Palace.
Yong'en Hall, Guande Hall
Yong’en Hall and Guande Hall are located in the east of Shouhuang Palace, where the emperors practiced archery in the Ming Dynasty. Since Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, it has been changed into a coffins parking area for the emperors and queens. Guande Hall is now the Children's Palace Library. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen was hanged at the foot of Jingshan Mountain. There was an old locust tree, which was the place where Chongzhen (Zhu Youjian), the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hanged himself. The original tree has long since been withered and cut down, the existing locust tree is replanted, and there is an explanation board, which records this historical fact.
