Fengming Park

Fengming Park

Fengming Garden (Fengming Pagoda)

Fengming Garden is located at the southeastern corner of the ancient city moat and covers an area of over 90 acres. "Fengming Park" gets its name from the "Fengming Treasure Pagoda" built during the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era. "A mountain need not be high — it is famous so long as there is a deity on it; a lake need not be deep — it has spiritual power as long as there is a dragon in it." Not only is it said that a phoenix once landed on the Phoenix Chanting Pavilion in Fengming Garden, but the waters of Qin Pond in the park also truly nurtured Liu Bang, the true Dragon Emperor. These stories are all recorded in Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian. The beautiful legends give Fengming Garden a mysterious aura, sparking endless imagination. However, due to wars and floods throughout history, the original appearance of Fengming Garden has long been lost.

With the rapid development of urban construction and the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, the pursuit of both material and spiritual life has become increasingly urgent. Therefore, building a comprehensive amusement park that integrates history, culture, and landscape has become an inevitable trend. In 1993, the county Party committee and government, heeding the needs and urgencies of the people, decided to make great efforts to demolish surrounding buildings and rebuild Fengming Park.

The rebuilt Fengming Park adopts a naturalistic garden layout and features attractions such as Fengming Pagoda, an artificial lake, a senior activity center, rockeries, corridors, and the Fengming Academy. Large trees have been planted, flowers and plants have been cultivated, a lakeside path has been laid out, and streetlights have been installed, making it a great place for leisure and exercise.

Fengming Pagoda stands tall within Fengming Park, majestically overlooking the lake, resplendent and grand. The original pagoda was first built in the 16th year of the Ming Wanli era (1588) under the supervision of then-county magistrate Fei Shizhen. For hundreds of years, it has withstood the test of time, weathering storms and witnessing the changes of eras. In 1929, the Fengxian County Communist Party cell of the Chinese Communist Party held a secret meeting under the pagoda under the guise of a sightseeing trip. During the Liberation War, fearing that the People's Liberation Army would seize the high ground, the enemy blew it up, much to the dismay of the people. In 1994, responding to the wishes of the local citizens, the county Party committee and government mobilized support from Fengxian people at home and abroad, invested 1.4 million yuan, and erected this towering Fengming Pagoda once again.

Fengming Pagoda is 44.9 meters tall, with seven levels and eight sides, serving as the centerpiece of the park and a landmark of Fengcheng. The pagoda has four gates. The plaques above the east and south gates are inscribed with the pagoda’s name, written respectively by the renowned calligraphers Zhao Puchu and Qi Gong. The north gate retains the original plaque from the ancient Fengming Pagoda, which is an authentic artifact from the pagoda’s construction in the 16th year of the Wanli era, inscribed by Yin Shangzhi, a Confucian instructor at the time, making it particularly precious. The copper bells on the pagoda sway in the wind, their sound ringing continuously, symbolizing the perpetual cry of the golden phoenix, echoing the imagery of a phoenix descending upon Fengcheng.

Fengming Academy, as a scenic spot in the water, combines reception and exhibition functions. In recent years, a variety of educational and promotional activities have been extensively carried out here.

Since 1999, we have successively hosted exhibitions and events here such as “Patriotic Spirit Education on Youth Day,” “Chorus and Patriotic Education in Commemoration of the Party’s Glorious Achievements during Party History Month,” and “Exhibition of Achievements Over Twenty Years of Reform and Opening-Up.” Over the years, these programs have educated 6,000 primary and secondary school students, 8,000 youths, and 16,000 members of the general public, greatly inspiring the love of the people for the Party, the country, and socialism, and further strengthening their communist faith and socialist convictions. In 2002, this site was officially approved by the county Party committee and government as a Patriotic Education Base.

Source: China Fengxian Network