Shuixin Pavilion

Shuixin Pavilion

Introduction

Shuixin Pavilion is located to the north of the East Palace in the Mountain Resort. It serves as a key passageway between the palace area and the lake district. Constructed in the 48th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign during the Qing Dynasty (1709), it was inscribed with an imperial plaque. In the 19th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1754), it was designated as the eighth scene of the “Thirty-Six Views of Qianlong.” The pavilion spans the Lower Lake and the Silver Lake, built over the water as a bridge, with three pavilions atop it — a square four-cornered hip-and-gable pavilion at each end, and a three-bay deep double-eave waterside pavilion in the middle. Set amid the water, the pavilion is flanked by expansive spaces with rippling blue waves, offering picturesque views in all directions, truly embodying the poetic imagery of “soaring upturned eaves, open lattice roofs, sky and water mirrored above and below.” To the east of the pavilion originally stood the Wenyuan Lion Grove, modeled after the Lion Grove Garden in Suzhou, featuring sixteen delicate and elegant scenes, making it a garden within the garden of the mountain resort. On the hillside northeast of the pavilion, amidst verdant pines and willows, stands the *Fish Pavilion, which complements Shuixin Pavilion with charming contrast.

Chengde, Hebei Province