JingShan Park

JingShan Park

JingShan Park (Scenic Hill Park), a beautifully landscaped garden, lies directly north of the Forbidden City and a short walk east of BeiHai Park. It is 230,000 square meters (57 acres) in area and filled with fruit trees, pines and cypress trees. A garden here first appeared around 1180 during the Jin Dynasty, although in imperial times it was for the exclusive use of the emperor.

The park is centered around a hill - the only one in Beijing city - on the important ancient north-south axis. This artificial hill was constructed entirely from the soil and rocks excavated to form the moat of the Forbidden City and nearby canals around 1420 when the forbidden city was being constructed under Ming emperor YongLe. This is especially impressive when one considers that all of this material was moved without machinery.

The hill is 48m high - this doesn't seem very high but because Beijing is otherwise flat, the top offers good views, including the Forbidden City directly to the south and, indeed, the new city all around. To the north, one can see the ancient Drum and Bell Towers, a traditional feature of chinese cities.

According to the dictates of Feng Shui, it is favorable to site a residence to the south of a hill (gaining protection from chilly northern winds). Hence the hill is popularly known as 'Feng Shui Hill'. It is also known as 'Coal Hill', a direct translation of its old Chinese name (MeiShan) from a time when some say that coal was stored by it. In 1655, during the Qing Dynasty, the name was changed to JingShan. 'Shan' means hill or mountain in chinese.
On the summit of JingShan Hill are five scenery viewing pavilions.

In 1750, the 15th year of emperor QianLong's reign, five glazed tile pavilions were constructed along the hill top, behind which a number of halls were also added. The highest pavilion is called WanChun Pavilion (Everlasting Spring Pavilion). There are four others - two each on the east and west sides. Originally, each of these pavilions contained a copper Buddha symbolizing the five kinds of taste: acid, spicy, bitter, sweet and salty. However, in 1900 the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers looted four of these five Buddhas, and the fifth was destroyed.

It is said that the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, ChongZhen, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree here in 1644 after fleeing the forbidden city as an insurrection approached. The original tree is gone; the present tree at the spot was planted in 1981.

In the north of the park is ShouHuangDian (Hall of Imperial Longevity) where portraits of ancestors were housed, YongSiDian (Hall of Everlasting Memory) and GuanDeDian (Hall of Morals Observation), which were used as mourning places for deceased emperors during the Qing Dynasty. Today, these halls are used as a Children's Palace, music school and library.
Like TianTan Park, JingShan Park is very popular with locals who gather in many groups to exercise, play music, sing and dance, especially on Sunday evenings.

JingShan is also famous for its peonies. The best time for viewing the more than 200 varieties of peonies inside the park is from late April to mid-May.

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