Taoranting Park (Beijing)

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Taoranting Park, is situated in the southeastern part of Beijing's Xuanwu District. It has an area of 59 hectares (around 146 acres), of which 17 hectares (42 acres) is covered by water. As a historical and cultural park, Taoranting Park is a mixture of ancient construction styles and modern park design. It is also one of the first national tourist sites of AAAA level. Taoran Ting (Taoran Pavilion) is the best known spot within Taoranting Park and is also from where the park gets its name. Taoran Ting is listed as one of China's four famous historical pavilions, together with Aiwan Pavilion in Changsha, Zuiweng Pavilion in Chuzhou, and Huxin Pavilion in Hangzhou.
It was built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and enjoyed great fame at that time. Scholars often frequented this pavilion, gathering there reciting and composing poetry and essays, or just to relax, admiring the beauty of the moon. After the foundation of People's Republic of China, it was rebuilt and since then has been greatly enjoyed by Beijing citizens. Taoran Pavilion is part of Cibei Temple (Mercy Temple). Mercy Temple is seated on the southwest of the island which is in the center of one of the park's lakes and was built more than 700 years ago in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). It is not only a scenic spot but also a museum containing many cultural relics. Within the temple, the history of the park is explained; stele inscriptions are exhibited and more amazingly, some stone scripture pillars of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) and the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) are displayed, which date back to more than 900 years ago. The China Garden of Famous Pavilions has been dubbed 'The Garden of Gardens' and opened to the public in 1985. The park contains 36 pavilions in total, of which ten are full sized replicas of famous pavilions in China such as Orchid Pavilion, Canglang Pavilion, Duxing and Zuiweng Pavilions and so on from ten cities covering six provinces. These pavilions were arranged in such harmonious balance with the scenery that visitors will lose themselves within the beauty of their setting."