Fragrant Hill

Hours & Admission Price Peak Season
Apr.1 to Nov.15
06:00-18:30
10 Low Season
Nov.16 to Mar.31
06:00-18:00
5 Address & Phone eastern part of Western Hills, 25 kilometers west of Beijing. Transportation Take Bus No. 318, 331, 360, 714, 696, 698 and get off at Xiangshan Station. Notes Cable Car: CNY 50 for single trip (CNY 60 in weekends and holidays, CNY 20 for children

As a famous imperial garden, the Fragrant Hills Park has a long history. You’ll miss part of Beijing without a trip to Fragrant Hills Park in autumn for its spectacular natural scenery with red smoke tree leaves.

Fragrant Hills Park, also named Jingyi Yuan, is situated in the eastern part of Western Hills, 25 kilometers west of Beijing. As a famous large-scale imperial garden, it is a forest park with rich cultural relics and long history. The park is extremely beautiful in autumn when the red smoke tree leaves cover the mountains.

Origin of the Name

There are two sayings about its name. One saying holds that it got its name from the 557-meter-high peak within the park. On the summit of the peak stand two stones resembling incense (literally fragrant) burners. Thus, people called the hill Fragrant Hill. Another saying goes that in ancient times, the mountains were full of apricots trees. Every spring, the mountains are fragrant when the flowers were in full bloom.

History

In 1186, the emperors of Jin Dynasty built a Grand Yongan Temple at here and palaces were built next to the temple. After the several expansions in following dynasties, the area became an imperial garden named Jingyi Yuan in Qing Dynasty. In 1986 and 1900, the park was ruined by wars and the attractions in the park were burnt down. The present park we see today was reconstructed in 1949.

Attractions in the Park

The main attractions in the park are the snowy mountain under sunshine in winter, Biyun Temple in Ming Qing architecture style, five-hundred-arhats Guijianchou Hall, Lamasery to welcome the sixth Panchen, Jianxin Zhai with gardens of south of Yangtze River and Shuangqing Villa where Chairman Mao once lived.

Xianglu Peak, the highest point of the park, is also called Guijianchou (even ghost are frightened back) due to its steepness and difficulty to climb. There are three pavilions on the peak top where visitors can have a bird view of surrounding areas and Beijing City. The two-storey Chongyang Pavilion is for people to climb high to look forward to the capital on Double Ninth Festival.

Qinzheng Palace at the east gate of the park was the place where Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty handled government affairs when he was in the park. It was built in 1745, composed of several halls, a garden and archways.

Biyun Temple is the most beautiful one among the many temples in western hills region. First constructed in 1331, it has a history of over 600 years. The temple was expanded greatly in 1748 due to the amazing surroundings, which was loved deeply by the emperors and empresses.

Memorial Hall to Sun Yat-sen is located at the site of a former temple. On March 12, 1925, Sun Yat-sen’s coffin was placed at Fragrant Hills Park after he passed away in Beijing. Memorial ceremony was held at this temple. Therefore, the place became a memorial hall after his coffin was moved to Nanjing.

Yanjing Lake (Glasses Lake) is an artificial lake built in early 20th century. It derived its name from the two lakes resembling a pair of glasses. The north of the lake is waterfall scenery while the southeast stands a pavilion with beautiful paintings.

Shuangqing Villa is located at the south hillside of the park. The villa has very beautiful surroundings with green bamboos, tall pines and cypresses as well as ancient buildings. However, what really attracts people is its role as the former residence of Mao Zedong, also an early site for the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Zhaomiao Lamasery is a large Tibet lama temple built to welcome the Panchen from Tibet. Highlight of the lamasery is the 30-meter-high tower covered with yellow glazed vase. The eaves of the tower are placed with 56 bronze bells which ring when the wind blows.

North of the lamasery is Jianxin Zhai, the best preserved ancient buildings within the park. The building is in fact a garden with the style of South Yangtze River. The legendary goes that this is the place where an emperor tested whether the ministers were loyal to him.

Recommended red leaves and flowers watching routes

Every year in October and November, the red leaves all over the mountains are extremely alluring. The Red Leaves Festival is held at the time. In spring, the park also has a Flower Festival for visitors to appreciate the numerous flowers within the park.

South Route: East gate of Fragrant Hills Park - Jingcui Lake - Shuangqing Villa - Xiangshan Temple - Heshun Gate . This two-hours route is mainly for enjoy the apricot flowers and needs to climb up the hill.

Middle Route: East gate of Fragrant Hill Park – Qinzheng Dian – Tingxue Xuan – Zhisong Yuan – Fenglin Village – Jiari Yuan – Yanjing Lake – Cableway Down – Biyun Temple.

North Route: visitors take a cable car directly to the hill top. From this route, visitors can have a bird-eye view of Biyun Temple and the flowers or red leaves along the route.

Fragrant Hills Park is within walk distance to Beijing Botanical Garden and Wofo Temple. Summer Palace is only several kilometers from the park.

 

Beijing Culture