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History of Fragrant Hill Park

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It is said that the earliest humanist sight of Fragrant Hills appeared at Xijin Dynasty when a Toist, a pioneer of chemistry research in china history, select this beautiful place with his vision to pursue his longevity.

In 1186 of the Jin Dynasty, the Xiangshan Temple was built here and for a period served as the emperor’s traveling lodge. In 1745, Emperor Qianlong had a number of large halls; pagodas, memorial archways and leisure pavilions built and changed the name of the area to Jingyiyuan, which means Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure. This complex served the famous Qing ruler as one of his summer palaces and became one of the three favorite hills of Qianlong, beside Jade Spring Mountain (Yuquanshan) and Longevity Hill (Wanshoushan) in the Summer Palace. Qianlong’ s elaboration of the park consisted of 28 separate vistas, each with a poetic name: Jade China Cliff, Toad Peak, Jade Milk Spring, Bell Separated from the Clouds, etc.

Unfortunately, almost every trace of this carefully orchestrated symphony of landscape architecture, including the blueprints, was burned or destroyed by the Anglo-French forces and the eight-Power Allied Forces in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During that period , the park was seriously destroyed by fire and many of the temples and halls ruined. Today, only some of the buildings have been restored.

When the Central Committee of the Communist Party moved to Beijing from Hubei, Mao made Double Purity Villa his residence here. Inside the Villa are various displays and cultural relics. However, it's the views of the countryside, which are the most attractive thing about the Park. After 1949, it was renamed Fragrant Hills Park.