Huanyuan Gardens & 5 Room Hall - Xian, China

The historians recorded that the Huaqing Palace which was dated 3000 years ago & used to have beautiful sprawling gardens and Imperial Hot Spring Bathing Pools (6000 years ago) in their 85,560 sq meters vicinity at the foot of Mount Lishan. This post will cover the areas where the beautiful scenic Huanyuan Gardens once stood, in adjacent land of the Imperial Hot Springs.

Emperor Kangxi once stayed here too, in the year 1703 which was later followed by Emperor Guangxu who lived here with his mother the Empress Dowager Cixi in 1900.

 

I was very excited when I walked through the huge arches and greeted the old bridges with thousands of orange red Koi fishes swimming gracefully all over the lakes. The feeling was so fascinating and I felt like walking inside in a  Romeo & Juliet's play.

The water was freezing cold and the fishes were in motionless mode always. So the water looked like mirrors to make perfect photographs.

The Chinese styled buildings behind were the various function rooms during the last reign of Chiang Kai Shek's power struggle in China after the fall of Qing Dynasty. The rolling hills are the foot of Mount Lishan.

  The scenic photos will make nice postcards!

My honey was shivering and shaking all over in front of the White Lotus Pavilion which housed the large dining hall of Chiang Kai Shek. It was built in the year 1878.

Here in this lavish banquet room, Chiang Kai Shek used to entertain only the highest ranking Generals from the Kuomintang Government during his hideout years in Xian, China.

 It was lovely to hop around from the various pavilions around the scenic lakes.

All their rooms were very narrow sized and this room was the reception area to receive distinguished guests of Chiang Kai Shek.

 ......A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever.....

 The small hideout room where Emperor Guangxu and his mother the Empress Dowager Cixi had stayed in.

This tiny sized Qing Dynasty's Imperial Hot Spa pool was a built by imitating the shape of Concubine Yang's pool during the Tang Dynasty. The Empress Dowager had soaked inside this. Now everyone threw coins and dollar notes inside!!!!!!

 The lovely arch made a nice frame for the Qing Dynasty's Pavilion.

The famous "5 Room Hall" behind me was the shelter of Empress Dowager Cixi after the Eight-Power Allied Force captured Peking in 1900, and was also the temporary residence of Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party during the world-famous "Xian Incidence" in 1936.

 The common meeting room for Chiang Kai Shek and his troops.

 There were several bullets holes shot by Chiang Kai Shek's assassins but he survived. The wall was so thick and made with concrete bricks!

 The private office room of Chiang Kai Shek.

The personal bedroom of Chiang Kai Shek where his portrait was taken with Madam Soong May Ling adorned the walls. When he was shot in 1936, he fled through the windows beside his bed and ran into hiding at the Mount Lishan jungles.

 There were several windows being riddled with bullets during the famous "Xian Incident" in year 1936.

 At both ends of the "5 Room Hall" there were 2 rooms where Chiang Kai Shek's bodyguards slept.

 The lookout balcony where you could admire the whole grounds where the Huaqing Palace once stood during the Tang Dynasty at the foot of scenic Mount Lishan.

 .......Do I look like the last Prince Of The Qing Dynasty?.......

 .......She must have been my Princess of the Qing Dynasty..........

My soul stood here for a long time and drifted around to admire the tranquil beauty of the ancient Chinese Pavilions built during the Qing Dynasty. I could imagine the colourful troops carrying the Emperors & Empresses around in their red and gold Dragon embedded Imperial Sedan Chairs. The chamberlains would announce the arrivals of Hamsaperor SP and Hamsapress Ah Hua.

There were so many winding steps and pavilions at interval corners! I am sure Chiang Kai Shek had many slow romantic walks here with his last wife Madame Soong May Ling. I loved that place so much and shall return!

 The End. 

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did. All the photos were snapped with my latest Samsung Galaxy SIII. It was such a "Light & Easy" mobile camera!