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Found to the northwest of the city, the Dragon Pavilion is a palatial hall built on a thirteen-meter-high marble terrace. It is covered with golden glazed tiles and has graceful upturned eaves. Two dragons playing with a pearl are carved on a plaque on the pavilion, hence the name, Dragon Pavilion.
During the Song and Jin dynasties, this was the site of imperial palaces. In the Ming period, an official's residence complete with garden was constructed. A pavilion was added during the reign of Kangxi (1672). On a slanting stone halfway up the seventy-two steps which lead to a raised platform in front of the building, there are some vague horseshoe outlines among the carved dragon patterns. According to an old legend, the horseshoe prints were left by Emperor Tai Zu, Zhao Kuangyin (727-976), of the Song Dynasty when he rode up the steps on horseback. The emperor's tablets are enshrined inside the pavilion. It became an important place for local and official ceremonies and festivities. Another hall was added during the reign of Qing Yongzheng.
The great hall features traditional Chinese temple architectural style on a marble terrace. Stone tablets exhibited in the hall bear Chinese calligraphic inscriptions. Wax figures and portraits of Song emperors are also on display.
From the hall, a five minute walk will bring you to Wuchao Gate, the site of the imperial palace of the Song Dynasty. The road leading to Wuchao Gate, is surrounded by a blue clear lake. The western lake is called "Lake of Family Yang" and the eastern called "Lake of Family Pan". Both families are renowned in the Song period, the Yang for their loyalty and honesty and the Pan for their treachery.
A park was built on the site in 1963 and has been designated as a provincial relic.
Source: CRI.com |