The Fragrant Hills Park is situated in the west suburban area of Beijing and covers 180 hectares. It is a royal garden featuring wooded mountains. In 1956, the Fragrant Hills were open to the public. During the past 50 years, the Fragrant Hills Park has been one of the favourite attractions of both domestic and foreign tourists.
The Fragrant Hills was recognized as a place of cultural heritage since as early as 1186. The temple of the Fragrant Hills used to be the No. 1 of all the temples in Beijing. It holds a large collection of historical relics, such as the Temple of Azure Clouds, Shuangqing Villa where Chairman Mao used to live and work, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, wooden statues of the 500 Arhats with gold foil (the only group that has survived in the country), and the southern-styled classical garden the Mind-Seeing Courtyard. Its natural scenery is also fantastic. The Fragrant Hills Park the oxygen bar of Beijing. It is known for its distinctive seasonal sceneries—blossoms in spring, coolness in summer, red leaves in autumn and snow in winter. In the park there is a wide variety of trees with a forest coverage of 96% including more than 5,800 ancient and rare trees. The park also features mountains and fountains, and the red leaves scenery is especially renowned throughout the world. It is the most impressive sight in autumnal Beijing. In October and November, thousands of visitors gather in the Fragrant Hills Park to feast their eyes on the spectacular sight.
The Fragrant Hills Park Attractions
The Lotus Pavilion and The Cuiwei Pavilion
The Fragrant Hills Park Story
The Sunny Western Hills after Snow
Nowadays, “the Sunny Western Hills after Snow” is used to describe the snowy mountainous scene of the Fragrant Hills. But originally it meant something else. It is said that once upon a time Emperor Qianlong visited the Fragrant Hills. When he was walking past the Green Dragon Bridge he spotted an area of what he thought was white snow in the valley in the distance. As he came close to the valley, he saw that the “snow” was actually the white blossoms of 100 thousand apricots. The blossoms sways gracefully in the breeze and gave off a sweet refreshing scent. Qianlong was overwhelmed and wrote down “Xishan Qingxue” (the sunny western hills after snow) to name the beautiful scene.
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