Foxiang Pavilion

When the Qingyi Garden was built in 1749，Emperor Qianlong originally had a nine-story pagoda built here as part of the grand Baoen YanshouTemple.But he changed his mind when eight stories had been completed，and ordered to build a three-story octagonal pavilion with four eaves.Unfor-tunately，the war of 1860 reduced all wooden architectures to ashes，inclu-ding the original Foxiang Pavilion.Only the stone base was left.Then，it was restored to the present state in 1891，the 17th year of the Emperor Guangxu’s reign.The restoration project consumed over 780 000 liang of sil-ver，the largest one of the construction of the Summer Palace.

Built on a 20-meter-high stone base，the Foxiang Pavilion was sus-tained by eight iron pillars.The 41-meter-high pavilion is rather complicated considering the overall structure.Thanks to its grandeur，elaborate pattern and the location on top of the Wanshou Hill，it has long been counted as the central architecture of the Summer Palace.Amitabha was worshipped in the pavlion.On every first and 15th days of te lunar month，the Empress Dowager would burn joss sticks and prayed for auspices.

Tourists can have a bird’s-eye view of Kunming Lake，the Yuquan Hill in the west and the lovely pagoda.So the Foxiang Pavilion has been consid-ered the perfect place for sightseeing and photography.

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