Gaoyou Imperial Stele Pavilion

Gaoyou Imperial Stele Pavilion

Gaoyou Imperial Stele Pavilion is a cultural tourism attraction.

In front of the Heavenly King Hall of Dinghui Temple stands an ancient-style square wooden pavilion with glazed tiles on the roof. Inside the pavilion stands a stone stele inscribed with the poem “Song of Visiting Jiaoshan,” composed by Emperor Qianlong during his first southern inspection tour. The reverse side bears another poem, “Another Song of Visiting Jiaoshan, Composed in the Rhyme of the Previous One,” written when the emperor visited Jiaoshan for the third time. Because the stele was inscribed with the emperor’s handwriting and a pavilion was built to house it, it is called the “Imperial Stele Pavilion.”

In the poems, Emperor Qianlong compares the scenery of the two places, Jinshan and Jiaoshan, and concludes that in terms of natural beauty, Jiaoshan surpasses Jinshan. His words read:

Jinshan resembles Xie An, with silk strings and flutes in spring breeze, intoxicating the grand hall;

Jiaoshan resembles Wang Xizhi, reclining on the eastern bed with his belly bare; one cannot easily be the younger brother, the other the elder—both Yuanfang and Jifang have their fame; but if we judge landscapes by their true nature, my heart lies here, not there.