The Dragon Pavilion () or Wanshou pavilion is located in

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

in the eastern part of

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. During the

Northern Song Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

(960–1127) and Jin (1115–1234) dynasties, Kaifeng was an imperial capital city. The imperial palace of that time is largely lost to time, but a few parts, such as the Dragon Pavilion, remain visible today.

History

Kaifeng became the capital of the

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

in 960. An imperial place was built here and the city prospered, perhaps with a population reaching over 400,000. During that time the city took the name Dongjing (literally: Eastern Capital) or Bianjing. The city of that time is thought to be depicted on the famous painting '' Along the River During Qingming Festival''. The painting by the artist

Zhang Zeduan Zhang Zeduan (; 1085–1145), courtesy name Zhengdao (), was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. He lived during the transitional period from the Northern Song to the Southern Song, and was instrumental in the early history of the Chinese l ...

shows a typical

Qingming Festival The Qingming festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day), is a traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of mainland China, Hong Ko ...

scene. The city of that time is also integral to the famous writing,

Dongjing Meng Hua Lu ''Dongjing Meng Hua Lu'' () or ''The Eastern Capital: A Dream of Splendor'', is a memoir written by Meng Yuanlao () (). In 1126, Meng was made a refugee from Kaifeng (Dongjing; "Eastern Capital"), the thriving capital of the Northern Song dynasty af ...

(Dreams of Splendour of the Eastern Capital). The Jurchen-led Jin dynasty captured Kaifeng in 1127 and made the city their southern capital sometime between 1157 and 1161. The city under Jin rule was considerably smaller than it had been under the Song. The Jurchens kept their main capital further north until 1214 when they were forced to move the imperial court southwards to Kaifeng in order to flee from the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

onslaught. Under Yuan and

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

rule, Kaifeng ceased to be an imperial capital, relegated to the level of provincial capital. The Dragon Pavilion or Wanshou Pavilion was one of the buildings of the Song imperial palace. It was destroyed and rebuilt many times throughout its long history. The current design was first built during the reign of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

on the foundations of the old Song imperial palace. It was destroyed several times by strong storms and wars. A news magazine article from 1948 describes the Dragon Pavilion as burned during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

. Heavy rainstorms and a lightning strike cause the pavilion to collapse in 1994. After each disaster, the building has been reconstructed again.

Structure

Most of the old imperial palace structures have gone today. The Dragon Pavilion remains standing within the Longting park. The Pavilion is a grand hall built on a blue brick terrace. Some 72 steps lead up to the entrance. The pavilion building is a wooden structure. It has a southern aspect with the dimensions of from east to west, from south to north, and in height. The Song Capital Street (Song Du Yu Jie) is a restored road made to look like these scene in the Qingming Scroll. It is about 400 metres long and runs southwards from entrance of Longting park. The road is lined with two story wooden buildings with tile roofs made to look like authentic Song dynasty architecture. Archeological excavation below the modern road found the remains of the old Song dynasty imperial way.

Gallery

File:Dragon Pavilion 1.jpg File:Dragon Pavilion 2.jpg File:Dragon Pavilion 3.jpg

References

{{Kaifeng Buildings and structures in Kaifeng Tourist attractions in Henan