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Prince Gong' s Mansion was first built in Iron Lion Alley in the eastern section of Di' anmen East Street, but the present Gong Mansion is at 17 Qianhaixi Street on the east bank of Shicha Lake. This mansion is the most exquisitely decorated and best preserved of the princes' s mansions in Beijing. There is also a large garden.
The mansion is composed of three complexes of buildings-central, eastern and western-the first of these conforming to the standard mansion of a prince. Here, however, the central Spirit Hall has been destroyed. The rear hall is a two-story structure more than 180 meters wide, which is said to be 99.5 jian in size. An unusual wooden artificial hill forms the flight of stairs, which gives access to the building. The buildings to the east are constructed in typical Ming style.
Prince Gong's Palace & Garden
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A Chinese wisteria plant over 200 years old is still growing in front.
The main courtyard of the western complex includes the Xijin Studio (Xijinzhai) as its main hall. Surrounding is a series of elegant rooms separated by Phoebe nanmu partitions. In the center of the courtyard are two rare midget crabapple trees nearly 300 years old.
The garden to the north of the rear hall was designed on a large scale without the constraints imposed on the mansion's formal buildings. The front section of the garden has a hill of piled stones, an ancient wall, the Liubei Pavilion, the Peck That Has Flown In and the Green Cloud Mountain Range.
The back section has a multi-level hill of Taihu stones with tunnels and a stone with the character fu (happiness) in Emperor Kangxi' s calligraphy. Above there are two pools where lotuses bloom in late summer and early autumn. The small pavilion on top is considered an ideal place for appreciating the moon. A fishing pond stands in front of the hill. A low wall surrounds the eastern courtyard of flowers and trees. Screened by the artificial hill is the Futing (Hall of Happiness), built in such a way that sunlight falls on it from dawn to dusk. It is said to be the only one of its kind in Beijing.
According to research by literary scholars, it was at Prince Gong's Mansion that Cao Xueqin, author of A Dream of Red Mansions (Hongloumeng), lived the life he was to write about in his famous novel. Researchers believe that the mansion and large garden resemble the Rongguo Mansion and Daguan (Great View) Garden, since certain features described by Cao, including the layout of the buildings, tally with the layout of the mansion. There is much controversy over the question, but as former Premier Zhou Enlai pointed out, the problem will not be easily resolved and whatever the outcome, the garden should be preserved as a memorial to Cao xueqin.
