Prince Gong's Mansion

Prince Gong's Mansion, also known as Gong Wang Fu, is located to the northwest of the Forbidden City close to Shichahai Lake in the central part of Beijing. It is one of the most ornate and extravagant residence prince's residence compounds of all in Beijing, definitely a popular place of interest to travel or visit. Originally built in 1777, Prince Gong's Mansion was once the residence of Heshen, the favorite minister of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. He gained large promotion in the imperial court at a young age, but was executed because of accusations of corruption after Qianlong died and the mansion was confiscated the next day. The Prince Gong's Mansion was then given to the successive emperor's brother, then was disignated to

Prince Gong by Emperor Xianfeng in 1851, hence the current name. The mansion consists of two sections: the residence area in the south and the garden area in the north. It is 330 meters long south-north and 180 meters wide east-west, nearly covering an area of 61120 square meters, with the residence 32260 square meters and the garden 28860 square meters. The residence area consists of the central route, east and west routes, each of them is built with traditional multi-entry courtyard along the south-north axis. Most buildings are exquisitely built, out of which the Xijin Hall, consisting of a seven roomed hall made and decorated in the finest of materials, has the highest standard out of all construction in the Prince Gong's Mansion as an imitation of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity in the imperial palace. Between the residence and the garden lies a line of two-storey rear house with 88 windows, which is known as the booty house of the minister, Heshen. Behind the rear house, a western style white

marble arched gate leads to the garden of Prince Gong's Mansion, Langrun or Cuijin. The European architectural style gate, together with the 'Fu' Stele and the Grand Theatre House, are the three unique features of the garden. The garden of Prince Gong's Mansion is famous for 'Fu', which is happiness and bat in Chinese because the two pronouce the same. The Fu Pond is in a bat shape with elms lining along the bank, carrying Heshen's greedy wish that all the happiness and wealth belonged to himself. The Fu Stele inside the manmade hill, on which the inscription is Emperor Kangxi's handwriting. The Grand Theatre House is the main construction on the east route of Prince Gong's Mansion where the audience can hear the performance really clearly without any electical amplifiers. Here are some guide information of Prince Gong's Mansion  Location: Liuyin Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China         Opening hours: 08:30-17:00         Contact number: +86 10 83288149         Tickets: CNY30; CNY70 including the Grand Theater House