Summer Palace - West Causeway

The West Causeway is located in the middle of the Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace. It is modeled on the Su Causeway of the West Lake in Hangzhou. Rows of willows and peach trees are planted. Whenever the spring blossoms, the red peaches and green willows intertwine and blend together, just like the color of Yangzhou in March. The scenery of the West Lake in Hangzhou seems to be walking in the south of the Yangtze River and facing the West Lake.

There are six bridges and a building complex built from north to south on the West Causeway, namely Jiehu Bridge, Bin[bīn] Feng Bridge, Yudai Bridge, Mirror Bridge, Lian Bridge and Liu Bridge. And between Lianqiao and Liuqiao, the Jingminglou complex was built.

willow bridge

The willow bridge is at the southernmost end. It was called Jiehu Bridge in Qingyi Garden. When it was rebuilt in the Guangxu period, because of the green willows on the west bank, it was changed to Liuqiao by borrowing the word Liuqiao from Du Fu's poem "Liuqiao is sunny and catkins". The middle of the bridge is square. There are holes and coupon holes on both sides. There are bridge pavilions with double eaves and Xieshan top on the bridge. The bridge pavilions are carved with railings and painted buildings.


practice bridge

Lianqiao is a square hole bridge, and the bridge pavilion is a square pavilion with double eaves and four corners. The name of Lianqiao is taken from Xie Tiao's "Late Climbing Three Mountains and Looking at Jingyi" by Xie Tiao in the Southern Dynasty: "Yu Xia is scattered into beautiful scenery, and Chengjiang is as quiet as Lian". Lian is white silk, describing the lake as clean as Lian. The surroundings of Lianqiao have a wide field of vision, and the surrounding bridge scenery such as Nanhu Island, Seventeen-Arch Bridge, Foxiang Pavilion, Central Axis Building, Zhijing Pavilion, Changguan Hall, and Zaojian Hall can be seen one by one. A large area of ​​lotus is planted in the lake to the west of Lianqiao, and there is a scene of "the lotus leaves are boundless in the sky and the lotus is red in the sun" on the Su Causeway of West Lake in Hangzhou. Arrived as scheduled.


mirror bridge

The name of the Mirror Bridge is taken from Li Bai's poem "Two waters sandwich a bright mirror, and a rainbow falls on a double bridge". The existing bridge pavilion was restored after 1949 according to the design of the original building plinth. Standing on the mirror bridge, you can have a panoramic view of Kunming Lake and West Lake in the Summer Palace.

Going south across the Yudai Bridge, the embankment gradually narrows from the width, and the direction of the West Embankment also turns from southwest to southeast. Walking to the mirror bridge, the inner lake and the small west lake face each other across the embankment. The lakes on both sides are like huge mirrors.

Yudai Bridge

Yudai Bridge is the only single-hole high-arch stone bridge on the West Causeway. It was built in the fifteenth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1750). It was the passage for Qianlong to take a boat from Kunming Lake to Yuquan Mountain. The single hole of the bridge has a net span of 11.38 meters and a height of about 8.7 meters. The bridge body is made of white marble and blue and white stone. There are all kinds of cranes flying to the clouds carved on the white pillars of the bridge railing. The carvings are exquisite and vivid, and they look extraordinarily magnificent. The arch of Yudai Bridge is high and thin, shaped like a jade belt, and the curved lines are very smooth. The semicircular bridge hole and the reflection in the water form a round of transparent full moon, and the reflections of the pillars around the bridge are uneven, floating and rippling on the silky water surface, the scene is very moving. The egg-shaped bridge arch is particularly tall, like a jade belt. The old name of this bridge is "Dome Bridge", commonly known as Hump Bridge, both of which are named after their images. Yudai Bridge has a history of more than 200 years. On the east side of the bridge, there are three powerful characters "Yudai Bridge" engraved on the railing in the middle. Dai Yihen tiles the moon mirror, and the rainbow light reflects the crystal curtain hundreds of feet horizontally"; on the west side is: "The ground is close to the sky of Yingzhou Xinghe, and the scenery is divided into Pengdao palaces and watersides", which vividly portrays the surrounding scenery of Yudai Bridge.



Binfeng Bridge

Bin [bīn] Wind Bridge is a main scenic spot in the Gengzhitu Scenic Area. The building is in the form of a bridge, located in the north-south direction, with a bluestone platform, the middle bridge hole is square, and the upper edges of the bridge holes on both sides are round. On the bridge, a wooden rectangular pavilion with double eaves and pointed bridges is built, with a width of three rooms. Emperor Qianlong named it Sangzhu Bridge. Empress Dowager Cixi forbade that her sound might sound like "Mourning the Lord", so she followed the original meaning of Sangzhu Bridge and changed it to Binfeng Bridge. The poem "Bin Wind·July" in "The Book of Songs" describes the production and life of the people in Bindi (now Bin County, Shaanxi Province) in the Western Zhou Dynasty, such as farming and sericulture. The water town Zeyuan, the life scenes of men farming and women weaving are consistent.


Jiehu Bridge

Jiehu Bridge is located between Kunming Lake and Houhu Lake, hence the name. It was once called Liuqiao in the Qing Dynasty. It was burned down by the British and French allied forces in 1860, and later changed to its current name when the Summer Palace was rebuilt. The bridge is a north-south three-hole stone bridge. There is a bridge pavilion with double eaves and four corners with a pointed roof on the bridge. It looks graceful from a distance, but there is no pavilion now.


King Ming House

Jingming Building is located on the west embankment between Lianqiao and Liuqiao. It was built in the eighteenth year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. Facing west and facing east, it is a two-story building, three main buildings, surrounded by buildings, three auxiliary buildings in the north and south, five hall halls, five Baoxia halls, two square pavilions, and 66 verandahs. The shape of the building is taken from the "Lotus Pavilion Enjoying the Coolness" painted by Zhao Meng (overlooking) in the Yuan Dynasty. The name of the building comes from the artistic conception of Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower" "to Ruochun and Jingming, the waves are calm, the sky is bright, and there is a vast expanse of blue." . It is an important building on Kunming Lake.


Jingming Building__Plaques and couplets

Couplets on the upper floor in the east: Plaque: Jingming Tower - Xie Tiao's poems imitate the scenery; Zhongyan's memoirs describe the clear sky

Couplets on the lower floor in the east: Plaque: Languang in the form of water——Tinglan shore is warm and warm; green willows and red peaches are soft in the wind

Couplets on the upper floor from the west: Plaque: Qiongdao Yaotai—Peng Pavilion is not planned in the painting; Gods are not limited to guiding boats

Couplets on the lower floor in the west: Plaque: Willows and Lake Smoke——Clouds and clouds are flowing and beautiful;

South facing couplet: Plaque: water and sky are the same color - connecting the upper and lower sky with bright blue; divided into east and west, water reflects red

Couplets facing north: Plaque: Static shadow sinks to the wall—Yu Jie and bird fly by themselves;

Couplets on the upper floor in the east of the South Side Hall: Plaque: The lake is beautiful on the shore—stopping the rippling shadows and turning the copper phoenix;

The couplet on the lower level in the east of the south side hall: Although it is spring, it is still brewing; it can be seen that the meaning of things has been refreshed

Couplets on the west upper floor of the South Side Hall: Plaque: Anzhi Tinglan—the unprovoked rosy glow drags the red Qi; the endless dawn dyes the green snails

The couplet on the west lower floor of the south side hall: (鵁鶄) The geese are full of smoke and waves; how can it be unintentional and lonely

Couplets on the upper floor of the north side hall: plaque: illusory and all-encompassing - the cloth mat is only suspected of sitting on the sky;

Couplets on the east and lower floors of the north side hall: spring and autumn endless wind and moon; why are women and cows left and right

Couplets on the west upper floor of the North Side Hall: Plaque: Fish Leaping and Kite Flying——Kai Peng Qi Lai Cheng Zhao;

The couplet on the west floor of the north side hall: the dew pours down the carp;


Xidi Poems

Jingming Tower——Qing·Hongli and Qianlong

Digenming Lake is back to the building, and the spring and Jiagui are similar. Tinglan's bank is warm and warm, and the wind is blowing softly on the green willows and red peaches.

Bu Xi only suspects that he sits in the sky, and swims in the middle of the mirror by the window. (鵁鶄) The wild geese are full of smoke and waves, so it must be unintentional and lonely.


West Embankment—Qing·Hongli and Qianlong

Today the West Causeway is the East Causeway, and its name has never been determined. Expand the lake to thousands of hectares of green, and the shadow of Wei Lin's wall is full of traces.

Labo's business produces Xinzhi, while riding the waves forgets the opportunity to start wild pheasants. Spare the land between the embankment and the wall, divert water to plant rice, and look at the continuous plots.

① Note to the original poem: The West Dike is located outside the west wall of Changchun Garden, facing Yiwei Garden. The present Kunming Lake is outside the embankment, and an embankment is placed in the west, so this is the east.


Crossing the Willow Bridge and Seeing Lotus Flowers——Qing·Hongli and Qianlong

Liuqiao crosses the water from east to west, shallow in the west and deep in the east. Qian Nai Yi lotus is in full bloom, crossing the bridge seems to be lowered into crimson clouds.

The fragrance seems to be true and clear, and the color is not demonic. Eyes, roots and noses to see what is fixed, it is even more pretext to say that the dust and thoughts will disappear.

Spring enters Yintang in June, it might as well pass the boat to support the flowers. The egret suddenly flew up in astonishment, and it was still full of fragrance in mid-air.


Mirror Bridge—Qing·Hongli and Qianlong

Qingyou for a long time and sing freely, and look forward to the heart.

Turning around the mirror bridge and returning to the oar, no one was surprised to recognize it as Shanyin.


Jade Belt Bridge—Qing·Hongli and Qianlong

Although the Changdi is not surnamed Ransu, the jade belt is still like a bridge.

Swinging over, I suddenly laughed, laughing and learning from the West Lake.


Boundary Lake Bridge—Qing·Hongli and Qianlong

With a light boat by the water Zhoutang, you can board a boat and have fun on the Pupu.

Not only to paint landscapes in leisure, but also to chant gus for spare time.

The length of the embankment spans the east and west boundaries, and the six bridges are divided into inner and outer lakes②.

And my farming and mulberry is the most important thing, first read the good pictures from farming and weaving.

① Note to the original poem: The long embankment is the boundary between the inner and outer lakes, and many inscriptions have been chanted, but there has never been a poem on the boundary lake bridge. Que also. ② Note to the original poem: Shiqiao is the first of the six bridges in Kunming Lake.