The Jingjiang Princely Mansion is located in Guangxi Normal University, at the center of Guilin city. In 1370, the first Ming Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, made his grandson Zhu Shouqian, the Jingjiang Prince, to administrate Guilin. The mansion was built in five years and the city had been constructed for 26 years.
The Jingjiang Princely Mansion is 556 meters long from North to South, and 355 meters wide from east to west, with an area of 197,800 square meters. The wall around the mansion is made of giant squared stones. The wall is 5.5 meters thick, nearly eight meters high with a total length of 1500m. There are four gates separately on the south, north, west, east walls, which were named “Ti Ren “(Donghuameng), “Duan Li” (Zhengyangmen), "Zun Yi" (Xihuamen), "Guang Zhi" (Hougongmeng).
At he left of the wall, there is an ancestral temple, and the right is a sacred shrine. Inside the mansion, there is another gate, Chengyunmeng, and Chengyun Hall. Around the main buildings in the mansion, there are other buildings and pavilions, consist a large-scale architectural complex.
Solitary Beauty Peak stands handsome tall in the mansion. The spots on the hill including Xuanwu Pavilion, the Goddess of Mercy Hall, Three Guest Hall, Three immortals Shrine, etc.. Yueya Pool (Crescent Pool) is at the foot of the hill.
The mansion used to be Iron Ox Temple during Song Dynasty, and Daguo Temple in Yuan Dynasty and was also known as Wangshou Temple. In Ming Dynasty, it became the mansion of Prince Jingjiang. There were 14 generation and 20 princes having lived in Jingjiang Princely Mansion. And later, the mansion was occupied by Dingnan Wang, Kong Youde, in Qing Dynasty. When the peasants' army leaded by Li Dingguo conquered Guilin, Kong Youde burned himself and the mansion. Now, tourists still could see the renovated Jingjiang Princely Mansion.
Song Emperor Zhao Gou, Yuanshun King used to live at the foot of Solitary Beauty Peak before ascended the throne, the mansion is considered to be the place hiding dragons. During Qing Dynasty, the mansion was renamed as Guangxi GongYuan gathering elites and talents. During the Republic of China period (1912-1942), Sun Yat-sen had lived in the mansion; late it became the Guangxi Government and base camp of Gui Army’s leaders, Li Zhongren and Bai Chongxi. The Jingjiang Princely Mansion has a history of more than 600 years. It is the most complete and well preserved Ming Princely Mansion in China
The Jingjiang Princely Mansion Travel Tips:
Location: Guilin downtown
Admission: 88 CNY (including Jingjiang Princely Mansion, Jingjiang Princely Palace, Solitary Beauty Peak), Children above 1.4 m should pay the full fare, shorter than 1.4 could get free ticket.
Opening hours: daily 7:30-18:30.
Traffic
1, Take local bus No. 1, No. 22, No. 30, No. 99 or No. 100 to urban Zhongshan Middle Lequn Junction station (Zhongshan Zhong Lu Lequn Lu Kou Zhan), and then walk 50 meters east.
2, Take local bus No. 10, No. 11, No. 14, No. 18 or No. 98 to the Jiefang East Road & Liberation Bridge Station ( Jiefang Dong Lu Jiefang Qiao Zhan), and then walk 100 meters further north.
