Beihai Park is located in the center of Beijing, to the west of north gate of the Forbidden City. It was first built more than 1,000 years ago during the Liao dynasty (916-1125), then continual
ly rebuilt and renovated during the Jin (1115-1234), Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644), Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, eventually becoming the beautifully landscaped garden we see today. As an imperial pleasure garden built within the Imperial City, it was built more magnificently than any other imperial complex outside the capital city. Now, Beihai Park is the best-preserved imperial garden in China, as well as the oldest imperial garden in the world.
Beihai Park covers a total area of over 68.2 hectares. More than half of it is taken up by the lake, which covers 38.9 hectares .Beihai Park consists mainly of two parts: the lake of Beihai and the Jade Flowery Islet (Qiong Hua Island).
Beihai Park used to be an imperial garden for feudal rulers of past dynasties. Originally, this site was a river course of the Yongding River. Later, it became a vast lake on the northeastern outskirts of the city and was called the "Golden Sea" (at that time northern people called the water or a lake the "sea"). Early in the 10th century, the Liao Dynasty made Beijing their second capital. The Emperor of the Liao Dynasty liked to come here to relax. In 938, in the middle of the lake, there was a small island called Yao Yu (Jade Islet) on which they built a temporary imperial residence then called Yao Yu Palace.
In 1115, the Jin Dynasty drove the Liao out, took over Beijing and then renamed the capital Jin Zhongdu (Central capital of Jin). In 1115, the Jin Emperor ordered the expansion of the central capital. The next year, they moved the capital to Yangjing, which is Beijing today. Later in 1179, the rulers of the Jin Dynasty started to expand the size of the park by digging a lake in the present Beihai area, forming and enlarging the island in the middle of the lake, which was built of earth dug out from the lake, and then they changed the name of Yaoyu to Qiongdao and the island was called Jade Flowery Island (Qiong hua dao). They also added more palace halls, decorated the island with Taihu rocks and, subsequently, built artificial hills. The artificial hills were built on the Island by piling up the Taihu rocks that were remove from Genyue Garden in Bianliang (south-central China of the Song Dynasty), now Kaifeng, in Henan Proveince. Then they built Taininggong, as a secendary palace on the island for the Jin emperors. The Jin emperors spent four to five months here every year and also administered the state affairs here. The Hall of Vast Cold (Guang han dian), built on the top of the Island, probably was an enlargement of the Liao Palace.
In 1264, Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty, captured Beijing and established its capital here named Yuan Dadu (Great Capital of Yuan). But almost everything in the capital was burned down and destro
yed, except the area Beihai. So Kublai Khan had to stay in the Hall of Vast Cold (Guang Han Hall) on the Jade Flowery Islet in Beihai when he came to Beijing. Late they took Qiong Hua Islet, the Jade Flowery Islet, as the center of Dadu and built their imperial palace here. Later, they changed the name of Qiong Hua Island to Long Life Hill (Longevity Hill or Du Shan Hill). The place was rebuilt three times during the Yuan dynasty. Many palace buildings and gardens were constructed here at that time, as well as the Big Jade Bowl in the Round City (Tuan Cheng) and the Iron Screen (Tie ying bi) on the north bank of Beihai Park. They are legacies from the Yuan Dynasty.
Guang Han Hall was the quarter where Kublai Khan used to live and many other palace buildings were built on the top of the hill. It was in this palace that Kublai Khan received Marco Polo and held ceremonies on festive occasions, received foreign diplomats and issued decrees. He also had Guang Han Palace renovated and made it the place for grand receptions and banquets. The islet became the center of Dadu. Unfortunately, Guang Han Palace was later destroyed.
In the Ming Dynasty, Beihai was an imperial garden of the imperial palace, named Western Garden (Xiyuan), as it was located outside the Western Flowery Gate of the Forbidden City. Some construction and renovation were carried out here, such as the Five-Dragon Pavilions and Nine-Dragon Screen on the north bank of Beihai Park and many halls, pavilions and galleries in Tuan Cheng (Circle City). All this was done during the Ming Dynasty. But in 1579, Guang Han Palace collapsed and became a ruin ever since.
Originally, the lake was called the "Lake of Taiye". The people in the north habitually referred to a lake as the "sea", so in the Ming Dynasty there were three "seas": the North, Middle and South seas, which mean Beihai, Zhonghai and Nanhai. The three "seas" put together were actually the three lakes put together and named "Lake Taiye". Built over the lake, was a white marble bridge called "Jinaoyudong" Bridge, which means "Golden Tortoise and Jade Rainbow Bridge".
Large-scale construction and restoration around Beihai were carried out under the Qing Dynasty, following the layout of the Ming palaces and gardens. In 1651, during the eighth year of Emperor Shunzhi's reign, a Tibetan style white Pagoda was erected on the ruins of the Guang Han Palace, which had collapsed almost 80 years before. The Temple of Eternal Peace (Yong'an si) was built in front of the White Pagoda. I the 18th century, as the Qin Dynasty entered its flourishing period, construction of the imperial gardens also reached its culmination. During Emperor Qianlong's reign (1736-1795), further construction on Beihai took place, which lasted 30 years from 1741-1771. The project included many pavilions, halls and terraces that made Beihai, the Imperial Garden, even more harmonious in design. The Tower of Ten Thousand Buddha (Wan Fo Low) was built at the time for the celebration of the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong's mother. When construction was completed, Emperor Qianlong wrote inscriptions for four steles, one for each side of the hill, describing the scenery of Qionghuadao Islet and the history of its buildings. This laid a good foundation for today's Beihai Park, for it still looks much as it did during Emperor Qianlong's reign.
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