Western-style Gate.

The Western-style gate is made of white marble, the largest fully carved white marble gate in China. It displays an easy and smooth Western style in its shape and Chinese ancient ornate sculpt in its carvings. On the gate there are inscribed "tranquility embracing remote antiquity" and "greenness drawing eternal spring," which reflects Taoist concepts.

Grand Theater House.

The grand theater house is completely built with wood. It is said that the mandarins from southern China instructed the skillful craftsmen to build it with great painstaking effort to win Prince Gong's favor. In view of the unstable geographical climate, it is rare that such a wooden structure could survive in northern China for more than one hundred years.

The magnificent hall has wonderful sound effects. Sitting in the remote corner, one can still hear clearly the libretto from the theater stage, reflecting its superb design. Overhead, the ceiling is painted with hanging vines. Since the grand theater house was rarely seen in northern China, even Cixi, the Queen Mother, sat outdoor in courtyard to watch operas. Prince Gong, fearing punishment for exceeding the hierarchy, had the ceiling of the hall painted with vines, indicating the hall is a vine frame instead of, well, a hall.

"福"(good luck) Stele.

In middle of Gongwangfu's rockwork lies the"福"(good luck) stele. The inscription is a copy of Emperor Kangxi 's handwriting in celebration of his mother's birthday. The stele is 7.9 meters long, running through the whole rockwork.

Page:

1

2

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.