Prince Gong Mansion
The Prince Gong Mansion (Chinese: 恭王府; pinyin: Gōng Wáng Fǔ) is located in the western part of central Beijing, China, north of the Shichahai Lake. Consisting of large mansions in the typical siheyuan layout and gardens, the Prince Gong Mansion is known as one of the most ornate and extravagant residence compounds in all of Beijing. It is now a museum.
History
The Prince Gong Mansion was constructed in 1777 during the Qing Dynasty for Heshen, a prominent court official in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.[1] From a young age, Heshen earned the favour of the Qianlong Emperor and he rose swiftly through the ranks in the imperial administration to become one of the top and wealthiest officials in Qianlong's court. In 1799, Qianlong's successor, the Jiaqing Emperor, accused Heshen of corruption and had him executed and confiscated his property. The mansion was given to Prince Qing (庆郡王), the 17th and youngest son of the Qianlong Emperor.
In 1851, the Xianfeng Emperor assigned it to his brother Yixin, Prince Gong. The mansion is named after this Prince Gong.
In 1921, after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong's grandson offered the property as a mortgage to the Benedictine Order of the Catholic Church. The Benedictines invested significant resources into restoring the badly dilapidated mansion for use as a university. It was then known as Furen Catholic University until the monks were evicted from China in 1951. The former Fu Jen campus was converted into Beijing Normal University, and then the Chinese Music Academy.
During the Cultural Revolution, the building was used by the Beijing Air Conditioning Factory.
In the 1980s it had a new revival. In 1982 it has been declared as one of the Chinese National Cultural Heritages in Beijing. Since November 1996, the buildings and the gardens have become a tourist attraction.
Structure of the compound
Prince Gong's Mansion is one of the most exquisite and best-preserved imperial mansions in Beijing and used to house several families, and has a total area of 60,000 square metres.
The mansion buildings are located in the south; the gardens are in the north. The buildings include several siheyuan courtyards, two story buildings, and even a grand Peking opera house.
In addition to the mansion, there is a 28,000-square-metre garden, with twenty scenic spots, pavilions, artificial hills including rock originating from the Taihu Lake in Jiangsu, and ponds.
There is a 8-meter-long stele which has the character 福 (fú: good fortune), carved based on the calligraphy of the Kangxi Emperor on it.
Restoration works and future
Since 2005 the mansion has undergone renovation worth 200 million yuan.[1] In November 2006 restoration works started on the buildings. The mansion reopened as the Gong Wang Fu museum on August 24, 2008.[1] It will display noble families' lives and aspects of the Qing Dynasty.
The Peking opera house inside the mansion not only stages Beijing opera performances, but also other prominent forms of Chinese opera as well. In August 2008, the Kunqu performance group from the "Jiangsu Kunqu House" performed at the Prince Gong Mansion for a week's run with their program Floating Dreams.[2] American soprano Renée Fleming was among the audience at the opening.[2]
Address
17 Qianhai West Street, Xicheng district, Beijing, China (中国北京西城区前海西街17号).
Gallery
-
The Prince Gong Mansion
-
The walls surrounding the mansion
-
One of the many halls in the mansion
-
One of the gates
-
-
-
-
Notes
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Gong Mansion. |
Coordinates: 39°56′11.52″N 116°22′45.53″E / 39.9365333°N 116.3793139°E