Yuyuantan Park

Yuyuantan Park
Aerial of Yuyuantan Park
Type	Urban park
Location	Beijing,China
Coordinates	39.9177°N 116.3109°E/39.9177; 116.3109
Area	137 hectares (340 acres)
Created	1773 (the lake) 1960 (the park)
Owned by	Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks

Yuyuantan Park(lit. 'Jade Deep Lake Park',Chinese:Ngọc uyên đàm công viên) is one of major urban parks in the city ofBeijing.This park covers a territory of about 137 hectares (340 acres), 61 of which are covered by water. Yuyuantan is the largest water body in the park. The park is located between the western segment of theThird Ring RoadandDiaoyutai State Guesthouse.TheChina Millennium Monumentis located just to the south of the park, and the Chinese Navy Hospital is to the north of the park.Central Radio & TV Towercan be viewed in the park.

Yuyuantan has a long history. During theLiao(907–1125) andJurchen Jin(1115–1234) dynasties, Beijing was the secondary capital city of those two dynasties, and the area of current Yuyuantan was a notable attraction outside of the city at that time. However, there was no lake back in those days. At that time, the place of current Yuyuantan Park was just a low land.

Yuyuantan Lake was first created during theQing dynastywhen theQianlong Emperorwas the ruler. In 1773, springs fromFragrant Hillswere introduced into the low land and impounded to be a lake. Beside the lake, the Qianlong Emperor built an imperial palace for short stays. In the later half of the Qing dynasty, however, the palace was gradually abandoned, and the lake also almost dried up.

In 1960, the Beijing government introduced water from theYongding Riverinto the lake and made it revived. Yuyuantan became an urban park of Beijing. In the 1990s, the rest parts of the park were built, and cherry trees was widely planted in the park. Now, Yuyuantan Park has become a well-known place to view cherry blossoms in China.

Transport

• Yuyuantan Park East Gate station