History of Jingshan Park

Jingshan Index | History | Layout

Jingshan Park is a beautiful imperial park and in former times belonged only to the emperors in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911). For their enjoyment they used to climb the hill, admire the scenery and eat and drink in the park.

Jingshan Hill was built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty and was initially called "Long Live Hill" and then later was named "Zhen Hill". In later periods coal was piled at the foot of the hill and it became known as "Mei Shan" (Coal Hill). However in 1655 during the Qing Dynasty the name was changed to Jingshan Hill, the name by which it is known today. This artificial hill with 5 peaks was built with the earth excavated when the moat of the Imperial Palace was dug. 5 pavilions with 5 bronze Buddhas were built on each peak in 1751 under emperor Qianlong, however 4 of the Buddhas were removed by the troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force in 1900.

On 17 March 1644 the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen was forced to flee to the eastern foot of Jingshan Hill where he hanged himself from a pagoda tree when the forces of Li Zi cheng captured the inner city of Peking (Beijing today). The original pagoda tree no longer exists, but the replacement tree has an historical storyboard attached to it to explain that era of Ming Dynasty history.

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Government has built many structures for the providing of services, and has also repaired some of the ancient buildings. In addition, many tall trees have been planted inside the park to restore it to its former beauty.

In recent years many shows have been held in the Jingshan Park, where there have been exhibitions of fish and flowers, notably the beautiful peonies for which the Park is famous. The best time for viewing the more than 200 varieties of peonies inside the park is from late April to mid-May. Visitors will really enjoy these displays.