Wangmei Pavilion

Wangmei Pavilion

Wangmei Pavilion is a cultural tourism attraction.

Wangmei Pavilion was originally built during the Song Dynasty and was initially called Wangmei Pavilion (Wangmei Ting). Later, the pavilion collapsed. In the fifth year of the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty (1625), it was rebuilt and renamed Wangmei Pavilion. The current pavilion was reconstructed in 1990. It is located on the northern slope of Meiguan Pass, 25 meters from the ancient post road, built against a cliff. The structure has two levels, stands 6 meters tall, with the lower level being 2.5 meters high. It features an open-pillared corridor design. The western half of the upper level is an east-west oriented long corridor, approximately 7 meters long and 4 meters wide, with railings on both sides and cement benches for visitors to rest. Two red pillars are inscribed with a couplet: “Red and white blossoms bloom like two kinds of snow; travelers occupy half the mountain.” The main entrance to the pavilion features a plaque inscribed with the name “Wangmei Pavilion,” written by Chen Pixian, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The eastern half is a double-eaved square pavilion with sides 4.7 meters long. Its pillars are adorned with a couplet: “Pearl curtains roll with the rain from the western hills; from the pavilion’s path one looks back at the plum blossoms on Meiling.”

From the upper level, visitors can look down and take in a panoramic view of the area around Dayu County. The jade-like Zhang River flows from west to east through the town. Rows of new buildings line the streets, winding roads stretch out, and fields spread out as far as the eye can see. The red-earth hills around Wulishan, along with the artificial desert near the Xihuashan Smelting Plant—shaped like pyramids or sphinxes—rise on the hillsides, all forming a beautiful scene. Even more captivating is the view of the vast plum orchards covering the mountains and the green pines and bamboos on the surrounding hills, evoking thoughts of the classic painting “Three Friends of Winter,” a truly delightful sight.

When spring arrives on the plum branches, the annual plum blossom viewing season begins. Visiting famous plum blossom spots in early spring to enjoy their faint, floating fragrance and the graceful charm of their sparse, slanting shadows has always been a refined pastime. The Meiling area boasts over 1,000 acres of plum blossoms. Every early February, when the plum blossoms bravely bloom despite the frost, visitors can admire their countless postures and appreciate their myriad moods. The red plum trees have inspired countless poets and scholars throughout history, leaving behind timeless verses such as “If not to taste wine with green plums, then to watch red blossoms ripen on red plum trees” (Su Shi, “Inscription on the Red Plum Blossoms on the Mountain”). The mountain also features “Wangmei Pavilion,” an ideal spot for plum blossom viewing and one of China’s ten most famous plum blossom destinations.

During the blooming season of wintersweet and plum blossoms, hundreds of acres of plum orchards display their graceful branches and diverse forms, competing in beauty and creating a landscape where “every inch of the mountain is graced with blossoms.” Visitors drawn by the fame stroll through the countryside of Yanling, feeling as if they are immersed in a sea of plum blossoms. Branches like emerald jade and buds bursting like golden treasures are especially enchanting. Climbing up to Wangmei Pavilion, visitors can not only experience the majestic sight of “one man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot break through,” but also witness the plum blossoms bravely blooming in the cold, with their subtle fragrance wafting through the air.