Prince Gong's Mansion: a pearl of history

0 CommentsPrintE-mail CRI, July 10, 2009
Adjust font size:

The magnificent buildings of Prince Gong's Mansion 



Prince Gong's Mansion is one of the most ornate and extravagant royal residences in Beijing. My friend and I visited it last Sunday.

The mansion is located north of Shichahai Lake in the western part of central Beijing. It was built in 1777 by imperial minister He Shen during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty.

Prince Gong's Mansion has been open to the public since November 1996. The grounds cover 60,000 square meters, including the buildings and a 28,000-square-meter garden.

The buildings include several classic siheyuan courtyards. The garden has an artificial hill and rocks from Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province.

When He Shen won the trust of Emperor Qianlong, he was promoted within the imperial administration and became very wealthy.

He stored the gold that he made through corrupt deals in the hollow walls of the mansion. Five thousand kilograms of gold was found just in the walls when the mansion was confiscated after new China was founded.

He Shen was very clever. He built a huge 156-meter-long mansion with 108 rooms. Each of the mansion's of windows has a different shape. He kept jewelry, antiques and money in various rooms, so that he could see all his possessions when he looked through the windows.

The mansion features an eight-meter-long stele containing the Chinese character "fu", which implies "fortune". It is based on the calligraphy of Emperor Kangxi. The character has five meanings: more sons, more talent, more money, a longer life, and more good luck. Tourists swarm to the stele to stand before it and pray for what they want.

In 1851, Emperor Xianfeng assigned the mansion to his brother, Prince Gong, whose name it bears today.

A visit to Prince Gong's Mansion is a trip back to the Qing Dynasty.

We lost ourselves in the interesting and amazing stories the tour guide told us about the mansion and its original owner, He Shen.

If you have already been to the Imperial Palace or the Summer Palace, you might as well come to Prince Gong's Mansion for a visit.

1   2   3   4   5   Next  


PrintE-mail Bookmark and Share

Comments

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • Your Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter
主站蜘蛛池模板: 精品国产乱码久久久久久1区2区| se94se欧美综合色| 91精品国产自产在线观看永久∴| 欧美日韩亚洲视频 | 国产麻豆剧传媒精品网站| 久久99精品国产自在现线小黄鸭| 欧美日韩国产专区| 人妻丝袜无码专区视频网站| 羽田真理n1170在线播放| 国产又大又硬又粗| 99在线视频免费| 婷婷激情综合网| 中文国产成人精品久久96| 最近免费中文字幕大全高清10| 人人妻人人澡人人爽人人精品浪潮 | 亚洲精品视频久久久| 第九色区AV天堂| 六月丁香激情综合成人| 风间中文字幕亚洲一区中文馆| 国产自偷在线拍精品热| 久热这里有精品| 波多野结衣系列痴女| 国产成人做受免费视频| av无码精品一区二区三区四区 | 触手怪入侵男生下面bl的漫画 | 欧美乱妇狂野欧美在线视频| 亚洲最大的视频网站| 欧美黑人乱大交| 亚洲精品成人网站在线观看| 狠狠躁日日躁夜夜躁2022麻豆| 国产99视频精品免视看9| 欧美高清一区二区三| 国产福利一区二区精品秒拍| 99精品视频在线在线视频观看| 成年人性生活视频| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区在线播放| 波多野结衣全部系列在线观看| 午夜精品久久久久久毛片| 222www免费视频| 天天干天天干天天干天天干 | 日韩精品视频在线观看免费|