park that started it all over
Located in the center of Guilin, Jingjiang Prince??s Residence (also named Guilin Prince City) has a solemn atmosphere, guarded by high walls and a deep gate. It was built in 1372, and the city??s wall was constructed in 1393. Having a history of more than 630 years, Jingjiang Prince??s Residence finished its construction earlier than the Imperial Palace of Beijing.
The length from north to south is 557.5 meters, and the width from east to west is 336 meters. The total area covers 187,000 square kilometers. The city??s wall is 7.92 meters tall and 5.5 meters thick. It was well equipped with four gates, named Upright Courtesy, Extensive Wit, Manifest Benevolence, and Justice Abiding.
To the left of the city??s gate is the Royal Ancestral Shrine, and on the right is the Altar of Land and Grain. On the main axis are the Gate of Fortune Holding, Palace of Fortune Holding, Rear Palace and the Imperial Garden. Around the main buildings are towers, halls, pavilions, and chambers, constituting a large dyke, resplendent and magnificent building group. There are also Baosan Hall, Zunyue Hall, Rixin Hall; Qingyue Pavilion, Xiyang Pavilion, Wangjiang Pavilion, Gongxiu Pavilion; and a platform named Lingxu, a hall named Zhonghe, a chamber named Yansheng, the Kexin House and the Xiuxuan Abode. The Crescent Pond in the Imperial Garden can be used for boating. Solitary Beauty Peak looks over the city, where on top of the peak you??ll find Xuanwu Garret, Guangyin Hall, Three Official Temple and Three God Ancestral Hall among other sights. There still remain the Leshan, Tanqi and Zanyun, from where you can stand and get a bird??s eye view. In 1650, the Ming Army led by Kong Youde, overtook Guilin and Kong Youde was appointed the position of Dingnan Emperor, and Jingjiang Prince??s Residence changed to Dingnan Emperor??s Residence. In 1652, the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Shunzhi, a peasant uprising led by Li Dingguo occupied Guilin. Kong Youde??s army was defeated and he killed himself in a fire. The Jingjiang Prince??s Residence which had lasted 280 years was burnt down in a short time, leaving only the city walls, the Gate of Fortune Holding and the Palace of Fortune Holding, whose jade sculpture railing and jade steps are engraved with clouds and dragons.
Jingjiang Prince??s Residence is the best preserved Ming Dynasty Seignior??s Residence with the longest history in China. During the Ming Dynasty it was changed into the exam college of Guangxi, and nowadays it is the main campus of Guangxi Normal University, allowing it to maintain the history and culture of Guilin for the past few hundred years. The Solitary Beauty Peak stands tall in the Prince City. Powerful and magnificent, it is the only high and steep peak reaching above the others, which is why it has been called ??A Pillar Supporting Southern Heaven Above??. This was taken from a verse written by the Song Dynasty poet Wang Zhenggong. The saying ??Guilin??s mountains and rivers are the best under heaven.?? is engraved here. To reveal more about the tourism culture??s expressiveness in Guilin, and to enrich the night entertainment for tourists, the history and culture of the Prince City has been excavated, arranged, and integrated with natural scenery through pictures, sounds, lights and more. Some night visit projects with distinctive features have been developed, and will be opened to visitors in September, 2003.
