Flower array

Flower array

Wanhuazhen, formerly known as huanghuazhen, is a garden modeled after the labyrinth of Europe. It was built in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It is a labyrinth of Chinese and Western culture in Yuanmingyuan. Its main features are: a four foot high carved brick wall with a white Western Pavilion in the middle. The square array is 89 meters long from north to South and 59 meters wide from east to west. The array wall is more than 1600 meters long and about 1.2 meters high. It is composed of array wall, central round Pavilion, bihualou and back garden. It used to be a playground for feudal emperors. At the peak of the Mid Autumn Festival, the Qing emperor sat in the Chinese Pavilion in the center of the array. The maids in the palace, holding the lotus lanterns made of yellow colored silk, ran to find their way. Those who came first could get the emperor's reward. So it is also called yellow flower array or yellow flower lamp. Although the distance from the entrance to the central Pavilion is less than 30 meters in diameter, because this array is easy to enter and difficult to get out, it is easy to walk into the dead end. The emperor of Qing Dynasty sat on a high place and looked around at the lotus lamp running east and West, which was a pleasure.

Historical evolution

Original site

Wanhuazhen is a large-scale labyrinth of integration of Chinese and western in Yuanmingyuan, which was built in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. Its main features are: with four foot high carved brick wall, divided into if road maze, so called "Wanhua array". It is composed of array wall, Chinese style pavilion, bihualou and back garden. It used to be a playground for feudal emperors. In the prime of Yuanmingyuan, on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival on August 15, the emperor of Qing Dynasty sat in the Chinese Pavilion in the center of the array. The maids in the palace, holding the lotus lanterns made of yellow colored silk, ran to find their way. The first one could get the Emperor's reward, so they were also called huanghuazhen or huanghuadeng. Although the distance from the entrance to the central Pavilion is less than 30 meters in diameter, because this array is easy to enter and difficult to get out, it is easy to walk into the dead end. The emperor of Qing Dynasty sat on a high place and looked around at the lotus lamp running east and West, which was a pleasure.

The yellow flower array is an imitation of the European maze, with a rectangular maze outside and a Western pavilion with a high platform and round base in the center. The square array is 89 meters long from north to South and 59 meters wide from east to west. The total length of the array wall is more than 1600 meters. The height of the wall is about 1.2 meters. The carved brick wall is also called "Wanhua array". All over the building of low walls, around the plant short pine, the central Pavilion. In order to have fun, the emperor often ordered eunuchs to play hide and seek in the yellow flower array, sitting on the pavilion to watch.

The gate of huanghuazhen garden is bell shaped with two brass carved patterns. In the center of the labyrinth is a stone pavilion with western style seats. The yellow flower array is modeled after the European labyrinth (the Versailles labyrinth in Paris, France). The garden built by the building is divided into a maze of trunk roads by four foot high carved brick walls.

Yellow flower array adopts French plastic garden technique, which is composed of complex and changeable plant partition walls. Large scale palace fans are matched with fascinating traditional auspicious cartoon animals, such as bat (meaning: blessing), sika deer (meaning: Lu), crane (meaning: longevity) and Magpie (meaning: joy), giving people a new feeling.

On October 6, 1860, the British and French allied forces destroyed the Yuanmingyuan, and the West Tower Scenic Area and wanhuazhen survived. In 1911, the Qing Dynasty perished. The Chinese couldn't wait to enter the Yuanmingyuan and demolished the wanhuazhen

Error reconstruction

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, "huanghuazhen" was also demolished by the Chinese. According to the imagination of experts after 1987, "huanghuazhen" was "rebuilt" in the original site in 1987 and 1989, and the Chinese style pavilion was transformed into a western style round Pavilion, and the location and direction were all wrong.

This old photo of Huanghua formation was taken between 1875 and 1885. It can be seen from the photo that the Western Pavilion in Huanghua formation is made of white marble with wooden structure and covered with glass roof. This building was not burned by the British and French forces in 1860. From February to September of the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), Empress Dowager Cixi visited this array three times, which was called huanghuadeng or wanhuazhen. At the beginning of the 20th century, the yellow flower array had been razed to the ground, and only the earth mound of the central Pavilion remained.

From the old photos, it can be seen that the huanghuazhen after 1860 has been completely preserved. It can be clearly seen that the wooden columns are inserted in the stone column foundation. From then on, we can know that this pavilion will not be all carved with white marble.

If you look at the top of the Western Pavilion, you can see the color difference between the two parts in the photo. Although it is an old photo, you can still infer that the color difference is caused by the completely different building materials used in the two parts. In ancient Chinese architecture, the building material commonly used in the roof part is glass, and in other buildings in the western building scenic area, whether it is written records or photo data, we can see that the building material used in the roof part is glass, which is completely in line with the architectural style and habits of Chinese gardens.

Architectural background

The origin of the name

Every year on the Mid Autumn Festival, the emperor sits in the pavilion in the middle of the labyrinth in the garden, and the maids in court enter the labyrinth with lotus lanterns made of yellow colored silk. Whoever gets to the pavilion first can get a reward, so it is also called "yellow flower array" or "yellow flower lantern". It inherits the excellent gardening tradition of China for more than 3000 years,

At the same time, it absorbs the European landscape architecture form, integrates different styles of landscape architecture, and makes people feel harmonious and perfect in the overall layout.

Demolition process

In 1860, the British Army burned down, which was the first disaster of Yuanmingyuan, that is, the fire disaster. In addition to the wooden buildings, Yuanmingyuan basically remained intact, while the Western Tower and some wooden buildings survived. In 1900, the Allied forces of the eight powers invaded Beijing, and the Chinese took the opportunity to rush to the garden to destroy the remaining buildings and cut down and sell trees. Afterwards, it can be seen that the timber in Dongzhimen is piled up like a mountain, most of which originated from Yuanmingyuan. It's a wooden robbery.

During the period from 1900 to the Republic of China, Yuanmingyuan was basically unattended. Some eunuchs in charge of the care of Yuanmingyuan meant to be close to the water. Some eunuchs were simply beaten by thieves, so the caretakers were basically useless. After the fire, the wood was cut down, and only the stones were stolen. It can be seen that a large number of exquisite Taihu stones and western building stones were transported away by car People's courts and other parks. This time it's a stone robbery. It's the time when the Chinese demolished the Wanhua formation!

Historical interpretation

After the burning of Yuanmingyuan by the Allied forces of Britain and France, the wooden buildings of Yuanmingyuan were seriously damaged. The western buildings were all intact, and there was still possibility of restoration at that time. However, after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, the Yuanmingyuan was destroyed by the wooden and stone robberies of the Chinese people and the destruction of the remaining buildings, there was almost no possibility of reconstruction. From the founding of new China to the cultural revolution, this disaster was Earth disaster, and it was also a period when the mountain water system in the garden was seriously damaged. Earth mountains were dug to fill lakes. People dug building foundations, farmed and lived in the garden, set up chicken and duck farms, and the army used them as bases, which led to a complete transformation!

Address: Yuanming new garden at the junction of Lanpu road and Baishi Road, Jiuzhou Avenue, Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai City

Longitude: 113.53788859928

Latitude: 22.23997795453

Tel: 0756-8610388

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Wan Hua Zhen