West Garden of Daming Temple

West Garden of Daming Temple

The West Garden of Daming Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

West Garden of Daming Temple

The West Garden, also called the Imperial Garden or Fragrant Nursery, derives its name from its location west of Daming Temple. It was first constructed during the Qing Dynasty’s Yongzheng era and later expanded in stages to prepare for Emperor Qianlong’s southern tours. By the time of Qianlong’s first visit to Yangzhou in the 16th year of his reign, the garden had reached a state of remarkable splendor. It was damaged during the wars of the Xianfeng period. Over the centuries, the West Garden has been renovated seven times, and the recent “Once-in-a-Millennium Restoration” represents the largest-scale and most culturally significant upkeep and refurbishment since the garden’s establishment.

Today’s West Garden features a naturally arranged landscape of hills and waters, with pavilions and towers positioned in a charmingly scattered layout. Towering pines and green bamboos create layers of lush greenery with varied density, all exuding distinctive charm. The area around the lake is surrounded by undulating mounds and tree-lined paths, resembling a secluded mountain valley. A newly built zigzagging stone bridge and wooden boardwalk connect the two islets in the lake center to the shore, creating a naturally wild aesthetic — making it China’s only sunken-style water-close garden. The West Garden houses numerous scenic spots, especially the Kangxi Imperial Stele Pavilion, Qianlong Imperial Stele Pavilion, the Fifth Spring Under Heaven, the Crane Tomb, and the Shi Tao Tomb, all of which are deeply captivating.

Kangxi Imperial Stele Pavilion. Inside the pavilion, an imperial stele is embedded into the eastern wall, inscribed with a five-character poem composed by Emperor Kangxi for Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple. According to the writings of Gao Chengjue, the then Yangzhou prefect, this poem was personally bestowed by the Kangxi Emperor during his second southern tour in the 28th year of his reign while passing through Yangzhou, composed aboard his imperial boat. To commemorate this honor, Gao Chengjue had the poem engraved on a stele and erected this pavilion within Daming Temple.

Qianlong Imperial Stele Pavilion. The pavilion houses three imperial stone steles inscribed with poems composed by Emperor Qianlong during his visits to Yangzhou, specifically dedicated to Pingshan Hall. According to the *Pingshan Hall Illustrated Records*, Qianlong made six southern inspection tours in total, composing 38 poems at Pingshan Hall. The three steles displayed in the garden were written at different times, all expressing reverence for historical sages such as Ouyang Xiu, reflecting the integration of Manchu and Han cultures, and demonstrating the confidence and composure of an emperor.

The Fifth Spring Under Heaven. In the center of the West Garden’s lake lies a small islet, on which stands a square pavilion housing a spring well dug during the Tang Dynasty’s Jingfu era. The pavilion was later destroyed and the well buried. In the 2nd year of Qianlong’s reign, a man named Wang Yinggeng rediscovered the well while digging a pond to plant lotuses, and restored it to its original state. Wang Shu, a renowned calligrapher over seventy years old at the time, joyfully inscribed the words “The Fifth Spring Under Heaven.”

The Crane Tomb. In the 19th year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty, Xu Xingcha, the deputy transport commissioner of Lianghuai, released a pair of cranes into the crane pond in front of Pingshan Hall. The abbot Xingwu, a Buddhist monk, cherished them deeply, allowing the cranes to roam and feed freely. Later, one crane died from a leg ailment, and the other circled mournfully before dying in devotion. Deeply moved, Xingwu buried the pair here and erected a stele inscribed with: “Even creatures as seemingly trivial as cranes can possess such deep loyalty and affection — how lamentable and shameful it is that there are humans who lack the moral integrity of these birds.” Xiangnan native Li Yuhua then composed the *Inscription and Preface for the Two Cranes*, which was calligraphed and engraved by the artist Guo Xianfu.