Wandering in Taoranting

Number of days: 1 day
Time: December
Average cost: 30 yuan
With whom：a person
Tour kinds: free travel, hiking, weekend tour
Updated: 2025.01.30

Wandering in Taoranting Park

On a sunny winter day, I enjoyed a leisurely stroll in Taoranting Park.

Taoranting Park, located in Xicheng District, Beijing, is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction. Built in 1952, it is a historical and cultural tourist attraction that blends classical architecture with modern garden art, highlighting the Chinese nation's "pavilion culture."
The park covers 590,000 square meters, including 170,000 square meters of water. Within the park is Cibei Temple (a key cultural relic protection site in Beijing), an ancient temple built during the Yuan Dynasty. In 1695, the 34th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, Jiang Zao, then a doctor in the Ministry of Works and supervisor of a kiln factory, built a pavilion within Cibei Temple. He named it "Taoran," inspired by the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi's poem, "Wait until the chrysanthemums are yellow and the wine is ripe, so that we can get drunk together and be intoxicated." It is a famous pavilion of the Qing Dynasty and one of the four famous pavilions in my country, from which the park takes its name. The park's center is a circular lake with an island at its center, home to Taoranting and Cibei Temple. Beyond the lake and island, the circular lake is divided into East Lake, West Lake, and South Lake by three bridges. Boating is possible in the summer, while in the winter, an artificial ice rink opens, offering opportunities for skating and snow tubing. The park boasts unique scenic areas, including Shengchun Mountain House, Huaxia Mingting, Taoran Jiajing, and Tanying Liujin, as well as a children's play area. Opening hours: 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM year-round. Ticket price: 2 yuan per person. Metro Line 4 and buses are accessible via the park.

Taoranting Park East Gate

Taoranting Park Guide Map

People doing morning exercises in the park

The Tanying Liujin Scenic Area is deserted on this bleak winter day.

Fallen leaves, trees, corridors, and tourists bring a touch of vitality and liveliness to this place.

The corridors in the woods are paved with gray tiles, exuding a sense of vicissitudes of life.

The winding corridors and dotted with strange rocks create a leisurely and comfortable atmosphere. Winter is not lacking in beauty.

There is never a lack of exercise and happiness in the park.

The Yuhong Bridge connecting the lake island.

Kite flyers happily on the Yuhong Bridge.

Magpie miniature kite.

Panda miniature kite. A miniature kite. Across the Yuhong Bridge is the lake's heart island, home to the Taoran Jiajing Scenic Area. Aiwan Pavilion, located on Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, Hunan, was built in 1792, the 57th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, by Luo Dian, president of Yuelu Academy. Later, it was renamed "Aiwan Pavilion," inspired by Du Mei's poem "Mountain Travel," which reads, "I stop my car and sit to enjoy the maple forest in the evening, the frosted leaves redder than the flowers of February." Aiwan Pavilion has undergone many changes, including a 1952 reconstruction by Hunan University, where President Li Dazhao sent a letter to Chairman Mao asking him to write the inscription "Aiwan Pavilion." Taoranting Park was then rebuilt in 1986. At either end of Xiehu Bridge stand two archways, inscribed with the words "Jiajing" and "Taoran." Originally located on East and West Chang'an Avenue, they are both wooden structures, each with three bays, four pillars, and three floors. Each column is a towering pillar (a type of pier or chongtian pillar), each supported by supporting columns on either side. Two archways are each inscribed with a plaque reading "Chang'an Avenue." In the early 1950s, the Beijing Municipal Government decided to demolish the two archways. To protect them, Premier Zhou Enlai specifically instructed that they be relocated to Taoranting Park. They were demolished during the Cultural Revolution and later restored to their original state, with the plaque reading "Chang'an Avenue" replaced with "Jiajing" and "Taoranting." Sculptures of Martyr Gao Junyu, a prominent early Party activist, and his girlfriend, Shi Pingmei. Their graves are located on the lake's central island. The love story of Gao Junyu and Shi Pingmei is widely circulated, earning them the nickname "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" of the Republican era. Their tombs are later referred to as "Gao Shi's Tomb." The Fengyu Tongzhou Pavilion was modeled after the Shadi Pavilion in Anhui Province. In 1991, after a devastating flood in Anhui Province, a replica of the Shadi Pavilion was built in Beijing's Taoranting Park to express gratitude for the selfless donations from the nation. The pavilion, named "Fengyu Tongzhou Pavilion," celebrates the spirit of national unity, where support comes from all sides in times of adversity. Built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the pavilion boasts a unique three-story structure with a hollow center and a corridor above. Iron horses and flying bells hang from the octagonal ceiling, tinkling in the wind. Each plan appears octagonal when viewed from different angles, earning it the nickname "Octagonal Pavilion." Cibei Temple, located in the southwest corner of the lake's central island, was built during the Yuan Dynasty and is also known as Guanyin Temple. It boasts a history of over 700 years. Its main entrance faces east, and the entire structure is meticulously planned, creating a majestic and imposing atmosphere. The three open pavilions on the west side of the temple are known as Taoran Pavilion. Built in 1695 by Jiang Zao, a doctor in the Ministry of Works, the pavilion was named after a line from Bai Juyi's poem, "Wait until the chrysanthemums turn yellow and the wine is ripe, to get drunk with you and be intoxicated." Cibei Temple covers a total area of 2,700 square meters, with a total building area of over 800 square meters. The main buildings within the temple include the main entrance, Guanyin Hall, Zhunti Hall, Wenchang Pavilion, Taoran Pavilion, South Hall, West Hall, and North Hall. Existing ancient cultural relics include stone pagodas from the Liao and Jin dynasties, stone carvings of "Taoranting Yin" and "Taoranting Ji", a plaque with the word "Taoran", and poetry carvings of "Taoranting Xiaoji".

On the east side of Cibei Temple on the high platform.

The old locust tree in front of the mountain gate of Cibei Temple

A hundred years ago, Comrade Mao Zedong (fourth from left) took a photo with colleagues in front of the ancient locust tree at the mountain gate of Cibei Temple. The gate of Cibei Temple.

The scene inside the mountain gate.

To the south of the mountain gate is the Zhunti Hall. Facing north, the Zhunti Hall faces the Guanyin Hall. "Zunti" is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word, meaning pure. The Zhunti Hall originally enshrined Zhunti and three other bodhisattvas. The couplet on the hall reads: "Dharma rain and benevolent clouds bless all beings; the golden wheel and precious canopy, the two precepts, shine ever brightly." (Now a special exhibition room dedicated to the Party's early revolutionary activities) To the north of the mountain gate is the Guanyin Hall. This is the main hall of Cibei Nunnery. In the 43rd year of the Kangxi reign, the hall's name was "Da Zizai." In the 28th year of the Daoguang reign, the name was changed to "Zizai Keguan."

Stone carving of "Reconstruction of Heiyaochang Cibeiyuan" in the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1897)

To the east of Taoranting. The plaque inscribed with "Taoranting" was written by Qi Baishi. The couplet reads: "Smoke hides the ancient temple, no one comes." It was written by Weng Tonghe, the teacher of Emperor Guangxu. The interior of Taoranting. The plaque inscribed with "Taoranting" was written by Jiang Zao. The couplet reads: "It seems I heard Tao Yuanming opened three paths." It reads: "Come and share a niche with Amitabha." It was written by Lin Zexu, the Qing Dynasty's Minister of Anti-Opium.

A stone carving on the south wall of Taoranting, with the poem "Xijiang Yue, Re-ascending Taoranting to Look at the Western Mountains" by Qi Baishi

On the west side of Taoranting. The plaque "Taoranting" was inscribed by Guo Moruo. The upper couplet reads: "Mist shrouds the ancient temple, but no one comes." The lower couplet reads: "The moon shines through the deep hall leaning against the trees." It was inscribed by Weng Fanggang.

The Courtyard of Cibei Temple

A thin layer of ice has formed on the lake outside Cibei Temple.

After crossing the Yun'an Bridge, you will arrive at the Hua Xia Ming Ting Garden Scenic Area.

The corridor leading to Yunhui Tower

The corridor leading to Qingyin Pavilion

The Exiled Immortal Pavilion, a half-wall pavilion with a raised, gourd-shaped roof and flying eaves, is the main attraction of the Li Bai Scenic Area. Inside, two poems, "Mourning Li Bai at Caishi" by Qiu Rui and "Praise of Li Bai" by Yang Rong, are inscribed. Taoranting Park was rebuilt in 1995.

Wandering through the park, you can see ancient poems inscribed on strange rocks everywhere.

Does it look like the stone statues on Easter Island?

The Tang Dynasty poem "Pipa Xing" by Bai Juyi is inscribed on a stone shaped like a pipa.

A replica of the West Lake Pavilion in Hangzhou.

Yaotai Pavilion

A plaque with the words "Yaotai" inscribed by Huang Miaozi.

A Yaotai Teahouse has been opened in the Yaotai courtyard for tourists to enjoy tea.

The main gate of Yaotai Teahouse

The colorful paintings on the corridor

Kiln refining unearthed from the kiln platform

Toy shop in the children's play area

Ticket price

Corsair

Luxury Flying Chair

Kangaroo Jump

Big Snow Mountain

Xiaoxue Mountain

Science hut in the park

Display in the science hut. The six major organs of plants

Insect specimen display

"Watching Over" This landscape piece features two owls, one large and one small, common nocturnal birds in parks. Through the mutual observation between humans and birds, it expresses the beautiful concept of harmonious coexistence.

End of article.