Taoranting Park (, also known as Leasure Pavilion Park or Taoran Pavilion Park) is a major

city park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

located in

Xicheng District Xicheng District () is a district of Beijing. Xicheng District spans , covering the western half of the old city (largely inside the 2nd Ring Road - the eastern half is Dongcheng District), and has 706,691 inhabitants (2000 Census). Its postal ...

to the north of

Beijing South railway station Beijingnan (Beijing South) railway station () is a large railway station (mainly serving high speed trains) in Fengtai District, Beijing, about south of central Beijing, between the 2nd and 3rd ring roads. The station in its present form opened ...

, in the southern part of the city. A former location for literati to get together, while most of Beijing's gardens were reserved only for imperial families 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 ...

, it gained its name from a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...

by the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

poet

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

, "Wait till the chrysanthemums are yellow and home-made wine is ripe, (I'll) drink with you and be carefree."(). The park has a total area of , and water area accounts for . It was built in 1952. There are Cibei An, Taoran Pavilion in it. It also hosts the tomb of the lovers

Gao Junyu Gao Junyu (; October 22, 1896 – March 5, 1925) was a member of the 2nd Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Born in Jingle County, Shanxi Province, he entered Peking University in 1916 and participated in the May 4 Movemen ...

and

Shi Pingmei Pingmei Shi or Shi Pingmei (石评梅; 20 September 1902 – 30 September 1928) was a Chinese writer. She was considered as one of the four women famous for their contributions to modern Chinese literature in the early Republic of China. Life ...

. This story has been retold in a book and a film. Gao Junyu and Shi's graves are a place of pilgrimage for young couplesShi Pingmei (Shih P'ing-mei) 1902–1928
, Renditions.org, Retrieved 3 November 2016 as well as that of Sai Jinhua. The history of this park could be traced back to the Qing dynasty. The Taoran Pavilion was built in the 34th year 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 ...

's reign (1695). The chief engineer, Jiang Zao (江藻), who supervised the kiln workshop, oversaw the construction. There is also an old temple, which was built during the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

(1276–1368), located within the park. The park has a lake with many pavilions scattered around its bank. It is popular with residents and visitors for walking and boating.

Gallery

References

External links

*http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/taoran.htm Parks in Beijing {{Beijing-geo-stub