Jingshan Park

Situated right on the north of the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park was once as an imperial garden in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Jingshan Hill in the park is the highest point in Old Beijing City. As a part of Beijing Central Axis, Jingshan Park has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2024.

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ID : 160
City : beijing
English name : Jingshan Park
Chinese name : 景山公园
Type :
Level : easy
Kids : possible
Elders: suggested
Best season : Spring, Summer and Autumn
Visiting length : 1-2 hours
Distance to city center : 0 km

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Introduction

- Jingshan Park, the highest point in Beijing City was built in 1179 during the Jin Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years. This Park is located directly to the north of the Forbidden City's Shenwu Gate. Visitors will discover that Beihai Park is located directly to the west of Jingshan Park. Further north again from Jingshan Park, the Bell and Drum Towers are located at the top of Di An Men Street.
  The Park is a pleasant place despite this gory history and is conveniently central. One of the best times to visit is at dusk, when the sun-sets over the red roofs of the Imperial Palace creating a gorgeous warm glow over the city.

Helper to visit Jingshan Park

Address in English : No. 44 Jingshan West Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
Address in Chinese : 北京市西城区景山西街44号
Tel : 86-10-64038098
Post code : 100000
Ticket time : 6:00-20:30(April to October), 6:30-19:30(November to March of next year)
Open time : 6:00-21:00(April to October), 6:30-20:00(November to March of next year)
Closing time : Null
Location : Jingshan Park is around 0 km to downtown beijing

Transportation

- South gate:
- Public bus: 101, 103, 109, 124, 58, Sightseeing Bus 1, Sightseeing Bus 2
- West gate:
- Public bus: 5, 58.
- East gate:
- Public bus: 58, 111, 124.
Private car is the best method to visit Jingshan Park with local tour operator.

Admission

high season : 10 RMB/person.
shoulder season : 10 RMB/person.
low season : 10 RMB/person.

Beijing Jingshan Park Tour

Please send us an email if you can not find Jingshan Park tour you need on this page. We can tailor a private trip to Jingshan Park.

Layout of Jingshan Park Beijing

Inside Jingshan Park, an area of approximately 57 acres, is Jingshan Hill which rises to a height of 48 meters, and from its top visitors can oversight the entire city of Beijing.
On the summit of Jingshan Hill five scenery viewing pavilions were built, and from these the visitor can clearly see the layout of the Forbidden City. The highest pavilion is called Wanchun Pavilion (Ten thousand springs pavilion), and there are four other pavilions, two each on the east and west sides respectively of Jingshan Hill. Each of these pavilions contained a copper Buddha symbolizing the five kinds of tastes: acid, spicy, bitter, sweet and salty. However, in 1900 the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers looted four of these five Buddhas, and the fifth one was destroyed. The replacement Buddhas now seen in each pavilion were made in 1999.
By the north upper gate is the Beautiful View Pavilion (qiwanglou) where emperors would pay their respects at an altar to Confucius. Now, it serves as a cultural exhibition venue for paintings, calligraphy and porcelain. On the northern part of the hill is the Hall of Imperial Longevity (shouhuang), which has been transformed into the Beijing Children's Palace where youngsters can enjoy daily extracurricular activities in dancing, singing, music and art.

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Legends of Jingshan Park Beijing

According to the legend, the four constellations The Green Dragon, the white tiger, the Scarlet Bird, and the Black Warrior, stand in their own respective territories. The northern part of the Forbidden City is just within the Black Warrior's territory, where a hill is indispensable. According to the principle of feng shui (Chinese geomancy), this hill would protect the Forbidden City from the evil spirits swooping in from the north. So the earth from the digging of the moat around the Forbidden City was piled up into a hill called Jingshan. Jingshan, first named "Longevity Hill", became the "Hill of Safeguard" for the Forbidden City.

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Jingshan Park
Situated right on the north of the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park was once as an imperial garden in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Jingshan Hill in the park is the highest point in Old Beijing City. As a part of Beijing Central Axis, Jingshan Park has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2024.
https://www.beijingservice.com/attractions/jingshanpark.htm

History of Jingshan Park

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.