JINGSHAN PARK, Jingshan Park

Hi, my name’s Jill, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: Jingshan Park.

Jingshan Park is one of the largest, most beautiful gardens in Beijing.

Its history stretches back almost a thousand years, to the time when China was governed by the Liao and Jin dynasties, when it was the garden of the imperial palaces, located where the Forbidden City would later be built.

At the time, it was not only a place where the emperors could take a stroll and enjoy their leisure time, offer sacrifices to their ancestors or go hunting; it was also the site where they were buried. North of the Park is the Yongsi Hall, with the tombs of the emperors preceding the Ming dynasty.

The artificial hill measuring about 46 meters that looks over the park was built in 1420, at the same time as the Forbidden City, using the earth dug out – all of it by hand -  for the moat around the Walls of the Imperial City. This was followed by the construction of other pavilions and the planting of numerous trees of different species....