Beijing - Taoranting Gongyuan Park

Already in the 3rd C BC there were human dwellings on this site, situated to the west of the Temple of the Vault of Heaven. A park was laid out here by the time of the Liao period (947-1125). During the Yuan period (1271-1368) the Monastery of Goodness and Pity (Cibei An) was built here, and in 1695 Jiang Zao, the civil servant, had the Taoran Ting Pavilion built next to it. This pavilion was named after a poem by Bai Juyi (772-846), as was the park. In the Qing period (1644-1911) the park was ready to be opened to the public and became a favorite meeting place for poets. It was extensively modernized in 1952.

The monastery and pavilion are situated between the two lakes in the park. Two Buddhist columns (1099 and 1131) can be seen in the inner courtyard of the monastery, also a Guanyin stele from the year 1663. To the southwest are two pavilions dating from the Qianlong period (ruled 1735-96) which were brought here in 1954.