Heritage with Related Tags
Dingzhou Imperial Examination Hall
Dingzhou Gongyuan is located in Caochang Hutong, Dongdajie, Dingzhou City, Hebei Province. Dingzhou Gongyuan is the best-preserved imperial examination site in the Qing Dynasty. In the third year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the Dingzhou Gongyuan was founded by Wang Danian, a prefecture governor, to gather civil and military candidates in the jurisdiction to take the exam, and to be a place for scholars and tribute students. In the twelfth year of Emperor Daoguang's reign, Wang Zhonghuai, a prefecture governor, persuaded the people to donate money to expand the site, renovate and add to it, forming a large-scale examination hall. After that, it has been renovated and preserved to this day. In 2001, it was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The Gongyuan is square in plan, and the main building is composed of two groups of buildings, the Haoshe and the Kui Pavilion. The Haoshe is facing the mountain. The Kui Pavilion is on the south side of the Haoshe, with a pointed roof in the middle and lowered on both sides, forming a peculiar appearance, which has become a prominent feature of the Dingzhou Gongyuan. The two-story attic in the Kui Pavilion is where "Kuixing" is enshrined. The lobby is next to the north side of the Haoshe, where candidates hand in their papers and examiners seal their papers. The rear building is where examiners watch the martial arts competition and also serves as accommodation. The Dingzhou Gongyuan is large in scale and majestic in appearance. It not only reflects the architectural features of the Qing Dynasty, but also has the flexibility of local architecture. It is a physical material for studying the local architectural art and the imperial examination system of the Qing Dynasty.
Kuixing Tower
Chengde Kuixing Tower Scenic Area is located on the top of Banbi Mountain in the southern part of Chengde City. It was built in the 8th year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1828) by Hai Zhong, the then prefect of Chengde. It is the largest Taoist temple built after the Eight Outer Temples. Kuixing Tower is famous for enshrining the Kuixing God who "opens the literary fortune and points the top scholar", and students from thousands of miles around rush to worship. The original building stood on the top of Banbi Mountain. It was a three-room hard-mountain mud-tile hall, which was destroyed due to years of disrepair. The newly built Kuixing Tower is located on the original Banbi Mountain, covering an area of more than 100 acres. Its building scale is much larger than the original building, and it has added many new contents with rich cultural connotations. The surrounding 800-meter wall is made of tiger skin wall stone and blue bricks into battlements, winding along the cliff, like a giant dragon covering the main building, enhancing the momentum of the landscape. The main buildings in the scenic area are colorful and magnificent. The whole group of buildings are built according to the terrain of the mountain, staggered and stacked. From top to bottom, they are buildings, corridors, halls, pavilions and gardens, presenting a unique Taoist architectural style.