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The Grand View Garden is located in the northwest corner of Xuanwu
District, Beijing.
Using the description in the story as a guide, a Grand View Garden
was created between 1984 and 1989 in Beijing. Initially it was used
as the film location for the TV series Dream of Red Mansion. It
integrates artificial features and natural scenery into a harmonious
whole. This garden has become an important tourist attraction in
Beijing.
Part of the story tells how the eldest daughter of an aristocratic
Jia family, Yuanchun, became an imperial concubine and went to live
in the imperial palace. The Emperor commanded the creation of Grand
View Garden in the Jia Residence as a place for her to live when
she visited her home. The fictional garden and its actual recreation
is a unique classical garden that is representative of Qing Dynasty
architecture.
Covering an area of 13 hectares (32.12 acres) with more than 40
scenic spots set within it, the garden has been skillfully designed.
It has various classical buildings, such as palaces, pavilions,
cloisters, courtyards, water features and rockeries as well as a
nunnery. The landscape has delicate hills, peculiar stones, fragrant
flowers and exuberant trees where you can hear the sweet singing
of birds and the occasional sound of cranes and deer; it is truly
an earthly fairyland. Perhaps the most attractive parts are the
courtyards which replicate the residences of the main members of
the Jia family. These range from the magnificent to the small, the
elegant to the simple, and the green to the white, each revealing
the personality of the various characters who would have occupied
them and enabling you to feel at first hand the ambiance in which
the love and political affairs of this medieval family had their
being.
The Red Mansion Exhibition, is the main display of the Beijing Red
Mansion Culture and Art Museum where it is possible to study in
detail the rich and intensive Dream of Red Mansion. In addition,
activities held in the garden include performances of 'The Imperial
Concubine Yuan Visiting Home', 'A Grand View Garden Mid-autumn Night',
and 'A Grand View Garden Temple Fair'. All have won the acclaim
of many tourists interested in the glittering culture of ancient
China.
The Grand View Garden is not only perfection to the eyes, but also
provides a feast for your appetite. The Grand View Garden Restaurant
is an elegant setting for dinner where you can enjoy a delicious
meal in an environment that exudes the glories of a past era.
The most interesting points to visit in the park are the Enjoyment
Red Hall, with its beautiful and colourful paintings, the quiet
and graceful Xiaoxiang Hall, the Fragrant Rice Village, the Fragrant
Lotus Pavilion, the Reed Snow Temple, and the Green Hill Garden.
Performances are given at the Xingqinxing Hall, which is also an
attraction.
During the Spring Festival every year, a gala party is held in the
Garden to see in the Lunar New Year, at which the grand ceremony
of "Lady Jia, the Imperial Concubine Visiting her Relatives Back
Home" is rehearsed.
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