Jingshan Park in Beijing, an former imperial garden, lies to the east of Beihai Park and directly to the north of the Forbidden City's Shenwu Gate. It occupies an area of 23 hectares. Many palatial towers and pavilions are arranged on a 47.5-meter-high hill.

In 1179 Emperor Shi Zu of the Jin Dynasty stored here the earth removed from the construction site of Taining Palace. During the Yuan Dynasty the mount was enclosed in the wall of the palace. In 1421 the emperor of the Ming Dynasty began to rebuild Beijing as the national capital. The debris of the torn-down old palace and the earth dredged from the moat were dumped upon the earthern mount. Trees were planted and some buildings erected. The mount was named the Hill of 10,000 Years and became an imperial garden to the north of the imperial Palace. In 1644 a peasant uprising army led by Li Zicheng took Beijing. Emperor Chong Zhen fled to Jingshan and hanged himeself on a Chinese scholartree. The name of "Jingshan" was given in 1655 during the Qing Dynasty. In 1751 five pavilions were built on the hill in a straight line. Wanchun Pavilion in the middle is on the central axis of the old Beijing city. From there one has a grand view of the former Imperial Palace.

Jingshan Park has many ancient trees and stretches of peony flowers. It is today a favorite tourist spot.

On the summit of Jingshan Hill five scenery viewing pavilions were built, and from these the visitor can clearly see the layout of the Forbidden City. The highest pavilion is called Wanchun Pavilion (Ten thousand springs pavilion), and there are four other pavilions, two each on the east and west sides respectively of Jingshan Hill. Each of these pavilions contained a copper Buddha symbolizing the five kinds of tastes: acid, spicy, bitter, sweet and salty. However, in 1900 the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers looted four of these five Buddhas, and the fifth one was destroyed. The replacement Buddhas now seen in each pavilion were made in 1999.

At the northern foot of Jingshan Hill is the Shouhuang Palace (Hall of Imperial Longevity), a special place to pay respects to the ancestors of the imperial family. To the east of the Shouhuang Palace are located the Yongsi and the Guande Palaces which were used to let the bodies of the dead emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty lie in state. Today the Shouhuang Palace is used as the Children's Palace of Beijing. On 17 March 1644 the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen was forced to flee to the eastern foot of Jingshan Hill where he hanged himself from a pagoda tree when the forces of Li Zi cheng captured the inner city of Peking (Beijing today). The original pagoda tree no longer exists, but the replacement tree has an historical storyboard attached to it to explain that era of Ming Dynasty history.

 

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