Nanjing Beiji Pavilion Park

Nanjing Beiji Pavilion Park

Nanjing Beiji Pavilion Park is a cultural tourism attraction.

Beiji Pavilion Park is located on the north side of Beijing East Road, extending east to Jiming Temple Road, north to Xijia Datang, and west to Tianshan Road, covering an area of 6.07 hectares with a green space ratio of 85.8%. The park is named after Beiji Pavilion (Mountain) and is a cultural park under the jurisdiction of Xuanwu District. Beiji Pavilion Mountain stands 60 meters high and has a circumference of 5.7 kilometers. The "Jiankang Annals" state: "(The mountain) is thirty zhang high and ten li in circumference." It is an extension of the Purple Mountain range, with a rounded shape resembling a chicken coop, hence its ancient name, Chicken Coop Mountain.

The "Huan Yu Ji" states: "(The mountain) connects to Luoxing Stream in the west and Qixuan Pond in the north, resembling a chicken coop, hence the name. During the Song Dynasty’s Yuanshu era, black dragons were frequently seen in Xuanwu Lake. As this mountain directly faces the lake, it was renamed Dragon Mountain." An observatory platform, the earliest in Nanjing, was also built here. When Emperor Wu of Qi went hunting on Zhongshan Mountain and heard the crowing of roosters here, it was also called Jiming Dai. During the Six Dynasties period, Chicken Coop Mountain served as the western scenic area of Hualin Garden, with pavilions and eaves lining the mountainside. Emperors Yuan, Ming, Cheng, and Ai of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were all buried in the southern area of Chicken Coop Mountain. In his later years, Emperor Wu of Liang was a devout Buddhist. In the first year of the Datong era (527), he built Tongtai Temple on the mountain, along with Tongyuan Guan. A grand pavilion was erected in front of the guan, exquisitely designed. When Hou Jing rebelled and flooded the capital city with water from Houhu Lake, the Chen Dynasty later restored the structures. Emperor Houzhu built the Linchun, Jieqi, and Wangxian three pavilions at the foot of the mountain. These pavilions reached dozens of zhang in height and housed dozens of rooms, exuding extreme luxury. In the third year of the Zhenming era (589), Sui troops entered the capital city, and Emperor Houzhu, along with consorts Zhang and Kong, hid in a dry well before being captured. The astronomical instruments invented by the Yuan Dynasty astronomer Guo Shoujing were placed on this mountain. In the first year of the Zhiyuan era (1341) of the Yuan Dynasty, an observatory was built and equipped with instruments. The Ming Dynasty renamed the observatory to Qintian and the mountain to Qintian Mountain, housing astronomical instruments from the Song and Yuan dynasties that had been transported here after Xu Da captured Dadu (Beijing). In the eighteenth year of the Hongwu era (1385), the Qintian Platform was expanded. The mountain once featured Hanxu Pavilion and Wanghu Pavilion, both destroyed in the Yuan era. Jiming Temple was built on the eastern peak of the mountain, and the Beiji Zhenwu Temple was constructed at the mountain’s summit. In the eighth year of the Kangxi era (1669) of the Qing Dynasty, the astronomical instruments were moved to Beijing. In the twenty-third year of the Kangxi era (1684), Emperor Kangxi visited the south, climbed Qintian Mountain to view Houhu Lake, and inscribed the characters "Kuangguan" (Grand View). The following year, Liangjiang Governor Wang Xinming and others built the Wanshou Pavilion and Imperial Stele Pavilion at the mountain’s peak to commemorate the emperor’s visit. Since the pavilion and tower were situated above and behind the former Beiji Zhenwu Shrine, they were also called Beiji Pavilion. The "Tongzhi Shangjiang Liangxian Zhi" states: "On the mountain there is an Imperial Stele Pavilion, beside which stands Beiji Pavilion. The slope rises steadily, and leaning on the empty pavilion, one can gaze southward to the city, where smoke rises from myriad households. To the north lies fertile land, where many residents make a living cultivating chrysanthemums. On clear autumn days, the endless fields appear splendidly vibrant like embroidered silk." During the Qianlong era, Chicken Coop Mountain was listed as one of the "Forty-Eight Scenic Spots of Jinling" under the name "Chicken Coop Cloud Trees." In the fourteenth year of the Guangxu era (1888), the Jiangning Provincial Administration rebuilt the observatory and other structures to restore the original site.

In the seventeenth year of the Republic of China (1928), the Central Meteorological Research Institute established a meteorological observatory on the former site. In the nineteenth year of the Republic of China (1930), upon the suggestion of Cai Yuanpei and Zhu Kezhen, the Wanshou Pavilion was demolished and the meteorological observatory was expanded. The existing hexagonal three-story pavilion remains, with the inscription on its foundation stone reading: "19th August 1930, National Central Research Institute Meteorological Research Institute. Inscribed by Cai Yuanpei." Between the twenty-second and twenty-third years of the Republic of China (1933–1934), the Central Research Institute was built in the valley between Chicken Coop Mountain and the main peak, designed by Professor Yang Tingbao. The residence of Song Ziwen designed by Professor Yang was later used to detain General Zhang Xueliang by Chiang Kai-shek after the Xi’an Incident. In the thirty-seventh year of the Republic of China (1948), Beiji Pavilion had 1.33 hectares of forested land.

After the liberation of Nanjing, the meteorological observatory successively became part of the Nanjing Municipality and Jiangsu Province meteorological observatories. The Central Research Institute became the site of the Nanjing Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Paleontological Research Institute. In 1982, the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government approved the establishment of the Jiming Temple Park Management Office, under the jurisdiction of the Xuanwu District government. Due to funding shortages, only scenic restoration plans were made. In early 1990, representatives from the Municipal People’s Congress and the Municipal CPPCC inspected the site. In February, the Municipal People’s Government issued a document to establish the Beiji Pavilion Park Preparatory Group and organized departments such as urban management, landscaping, planning, industry and commerce, taxation, epidemic prevention, and public security, as well as the military stationed in Nanjing, to carry out comprehensive management. They cleared garbage, weeds, and illegal constructions, and planned and designed park attractions. In June, the Municipal Establishment Committee issued a document to establish the Beiji Pavilion Park Management Office, under the leadership of the Xuanwu District Urban Construction Bureau, with a staff quota of 10. The state allocated 200,000 yuan in construction funds to build 2,000 square meters of park paths, plant over 2,000 ornamental plants, and repair historical sites. It initially took shape as an open cultural park.