Beihai Park

The Imperial Garden northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Beihai Park, like many Chinese gardens, was built to imitate the famous scenic sites and architectural objects of different parts of China; Lake Taihu, skillfully made pavilions and canals in Hangzhou and Yangzhou, exquisite buildings of the Chinese garden in Suzhou and others served as inspiration for the creators of numerous attractions of this imperial garden. The buildings and landscapes of this park are masterpieces of landscape design, displaying the style and magnificent architectural skills and the richness of the art of creating a traditional Chinese garden.

Beihai Park is a popular holiday destination for citizens. This is a place where in summer you can find coolness and rest, and in winter you can skate when the lake freezes. In Chinese, Beihai means the North Sea. The park covers an area of 682,000 square meters, of which 389,000 square meters are covered by the water of Lake Beihai. Water enters the lake from Jade Spring Hill and from the Yongding River from the northwest of the city. The structure of the park follows Chinese architectural dogmas and traditions. This is expressed in the fact that the landscapes of the garden repeat the landscapes of any real places or places from fairy tales.

Beihai Park is one of the oldest parks in Beijing. Imperial families stayed here for a short time for political affairs and sacrifices. This continued throughout the five dynasties. The construction of Beihai Park began in 938 under Emperor Huitong of the Liao dynasty. At this time, the rulers of this dynasty made Yanjing (present-day Beijing) the second capital of their state. In front of what is now Beihai Park, a second imperial palace was built, called the Jade Islet Palace. The rulers of the Liao dynasty lived here when they visited the surroundings of their new capital.

After the Jin dynasty overthrew the Liao dynasty, a new redevelopment of the park began. It lasted from 1166 to 1179 under the reign of Emperor Dading. During this construction, the Palace of Eternal Peace was built, the lake was dug, and the land that was removed was used to create three islands. Two of them were later merged with the main park, and the third still exists - it is called Jade Island. Stones were transported to this island from the shores of Lake Taihu and from the Northern Song Dynasty Imperial Garden in Bianliang (now Kaifeng in Henan Province).

In 1420, under the rule of Emperor Yongle, the capital of the Ming dynasty was officially moved to Beijing, and the city began to take on its present shape. Since Wanshaw Hill and Lake Taye were to the west of the Forbidden City, they were called the Western Garden (Xiyuan). The garden became the resting place of the imperial family, and the main imperial palace was moved to the newly erected Forbidden City. During this time, Beihai underwent a great transformation. Thus, Lake Taye was expanded to the south, and the garden gradually received the boundaries of the present Beihai Park.

In 1651, under the emperor Shun Zhi of the Qing dynasty, the White Dagoba was erected - a Buddhist tower in the Tibetan style. Jade Island was renamed White Dagoba Hill. Now this dagoba is one of the main attractions of not only Beihai Park, but also Beijing. In 1679, the dagoba was severely damaged by an earthquake, but was rebuilt in the following years.

Most of the buildings now standing in the park were built during the Qianlong Emperor's Qing Dynasty. In addition to pavilions, terraces and halls, the Five Dragons Pavilion and the Nine Dragons Wall appeared in the park, as well as the Temple of Open Happiness and the Little Western Paradise. The park finally acquired its present shape and size.

Beihai Park was first opened to the public in 1925, and in 1961 the government took the park under its protection.

At the beginning of its history, Beihai Park was a lake with three islands. This structure is associated with an ancient Chinese legend. There are three magical islands in the East Sea where the gods lived. The islands were named Penlai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang. According to this legend, miraculous herbs grew on the island of Panlai, which could prolong life. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, wishing to live forever, sent his men to find this island and potions, but all was in vain.

Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty also wanted immortality and ordered a large pond with three islands similar to the legendary islands in the East Sea to be dug next to his palace. A similar garden then appeared in the eastern capital Luoyang during the Sui Dynasty, as well as in the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an. Thus, this style of landscape art began to be transmitted from one dynasty to another, and Beihai Park is one example of this style.

The entire Beihai Park can be divided into four districts: Jade Island, Round City, East Coast and North Coast.