The Lotus Pavilion is located on the hillside of the Fragrant Hill. Although it is called the Lotus Pavilion, there is no lotus inside. It is said that once Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty looked out from the pavilion, and was surprised to see that the hills on the northern side of the pavilion looked like beautiful lotuses. He then composed a poem on the hills, and named the pavilion “lotus”. In the year 1860, the pavilion was destroyed in a war, only the north stone wall of the pavilion with Emperor Qianlong’s imperial scripts on it was left. It was reconstructed during the Republican of China. Apart from the pavilion, some private villas were also built there.
The Cuiwei Pavilion (literally “the pavilion hidden in a secluded hill”) was built in the reign of Emperor Qianlong. It was named Cuiwei Pavilion because it was located in a natural environment with green trees and steep rocks. The pavilion that we see today is a reconstruction based on the original one which had been destroyed due to improper methods of protection. Emperors of the Qing Dynasty often came to the Cuiwei Pacilion and enjoyed scene of the beautiful apricot blossoms. Emperor Qianlong even composed a poem praising it which is called “the Sunny Western Hills after Snow”. When rebuilding the new pavilion, in order to restore the famous scene, the architect transplanted many apricots in the valley beneath the pavilion. The scene of the apricot blossoms from the pavilion is surely impressive.
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