"Tong Mingzhi" records that Yuyuantan is in the west of the mansion, surrounded by Dinglaochi and Liudi in the Yuan Dynasty, which is bustling and bleak, with sand birds and water birds gathering, and is a place to visit and appreciate beautiful women.
Because of the low terrain here, the mountains and rivers in Xishan area gather here. 1773 Dredged to form a lake to supply the newly-opened Xiangshan River, and built a sluice at the lower mouth to store and discharge the lake, and jointly supplied the river water from Li Sanhe to Fuchengmen moat, and built a palace in the east.
Yuyuantan is not only a place with pleasant scenery, quiet environment and dense trees, but also plays a role in diverting water and regulating flood in Beijing.
Yuyuantan is mainly composed of Sakura Garden in the west, Liu Chunyuan in the east, Zhongshan Island in the south, Fenhu Scenic Area in the north and Yuanxiang Garden in the southeast. Here, the water is vast and the mountains are long, and the unique environment makes it a natural and interesting style with poplars standing in the mountains, weeping willows on the waterfront and lush water plants on the lakeside.
In the northwest of Yuyuantan, there is a mountain that runs through the east and west. The garden road is winding and the waterfront is green. It is a garden featuring cherry blossoms, with a total area of 25 hectares.
There are lush vegetation, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, bamboo creek, patches of pink cherry blossoms, simple and harmonious architectural modeling and seasonal phases of different plants, which make each season in the park have its own different characteristics.
In the park, "Chunxiao Sakura Pool", "Sakura Island Autumn Water", "Liuqiao Reflecting the Moon" and "Deep in the Cloud Creek" regard every grass and tree in the park as their own masters. Every spring, everything flourishes.
Especially when it is wet and hazy everywhere in the rain, you can feel the fresh poetry of traveling in a pictorial world. Walking on the willow embankment in the hot evening, the sunset and cicada singing can make people feel cool and precious. In winter, it is easier to feel cold and deep.
Liu Chun Garden is located in the east of Yuyuantan, covering an area of16300m2. It is a garden with an open lawn in the center, surrounded by pavilions and tall trees, and flowers and trees can be enjoyed in all seasons. It is very rare that the gardens in Liu Chun are in good order, with corridors, pavilions, halls and shelves arranged in an orderly way, and spring is collected in the garden by subtle means.
The murals at the south entrance are made of colored tiles fired at high temperature. They are brightly colored and enter from the east gate. Two rows of begonia trees are like cascading flower galleries, which have a unique charm when walking below. The sculpture of "Miss Liu Chun" on the opposite side is particularly eye-catching. She is a girl sitting on a rock in the water, playing the flute to attract geese, leaving people with the meaning of spring and the beauty of loving it.
On the right, there is a rattan frame leading to the open hall. The bamboo shadow behind the hall reflects the wall, surrounded by flower ponds. Located in the southwest corner, Sijiaoting is the commanding height of Liu Chun gardens, where you can have a panoramic view of the spring scenery of Liu Chun gardens.
Zhongshan Island is located in the southwest corner of the park, 800 meters long and 80 meters wide. It is a long and narrow hillside with ups and downs and different widths. It is a barrier formed by several river and lake excavation projects in history, which spans between Yuyuantan and Bayi Lake and is called Zhongshan Island. The hill near the middle dike is the commanding height of the park, and there is an ancient pavilion with double eaves.
The diversion lake is in the northeast of the lake, and there is a quiet lake area, which used to be a forest storage area with lush vegetation. The northern part is gentle and open, with cedars, ginkgo biloba, tall and straight poplars and other trees as the mainstay, scattered on the open lawn, along the highway around the lake, there are flowering shrubs such as begonia, and in spring, it is a favorite scenery of literati.
Yuanxiang Garden is located in the southeast center of the park and to the west of Liu Chunyuan. Its original name was taken from the legacy of Xiangyuan in Yonghe period, and it was renamed Yuanxiangyuan after several adjustments and architectural shaping.
In addition to the hard landscape such as architecture, the green landscape of Yuanxiang Garden is also unique. Trees and shrubs, such as cherry blossoms, magnolia, peony, cloves and Taiping flowers, planted in the central courtyard area make the spring flowers here rich and fragrant.
There are a large number of cherry blossoms and several weeping cherry trees in the south of the avenue, dense forest slopes in the west, and colorful tree species such as purple-leaf plum and gray-golden willow, which have distinct seasons and are fascinating.
There is an antique double eaves pavilion on the mound south of Zhongli. According to records, there was a pavilion named Yuyuan Pavilion in the Yuan Dynasty, and there was a water pool named Yuyuantan next to it. The double eaves pavilion under the green forest is located at the commanding height of the park, with panoramic views of lakes and mountains.
The island in the middle of the lake is evergreen with dense bushes, which makes it a love nest for waterfowl because it is inaccessible. The clear lake is full of vitality, because waterfowl are swimming and playing with each other.
The cherry blossom garden is surrounded by clear water, which adds the charm and level of each season. In early spring, birds know warm water, in summer, the wind is light and fragrant, and in autumn, reeds rustle, which is always thin and refreshing.
In June, yellow flowers are swaying in the wind, all over the embankment. In the evening after the rain, I went boating in the West Lake and looked at the middle embankment. I saw the towering poplars lush and inlaid with jade, and the sunset melted gold, reflecting the magnificent jade bridge like a rainbow. If the East Lake overlooks the west, towering towers stand in the sky, and clouds and afterglow shine.
On the south bank of Dongxihu Lake, there are a large number of acacia forests, and there are fragrant acacia trees on the bank of Yuyuantan.
Deep in the cloud creek, located at the south exit of Dongzhu Path in the south of Sakura Garden, a stone is engraved with the words "Deep in the cloud creek". Against the blue sky, the green branches of Pinus tabulaeformis are scattered on the southern slope of the mountain. The middle reaches of the bamboo forest meander out, like a stream running through the bamboo forest, attracting people to explore the deep valley. Walking out of that road, you can see the cherry blossoms in the distance jump into your eyes like clouds. It can be said that the bamboo path is deep and the willow trees are bright.
In addition, there is an ancient pine forest on the north side of Kunyu River at the south gate of Yuyuantan, which contains Pinus tabulaeformis and Platycladus orientalis planted in Qing Dynasty, with a history of 100 years. According to statistics, there are 28 ancient Pinus tabulaeformis, 250 ancient Platycladus orientalis and 8 ancient Sophora japonica in the forest, all of which are extremely precious tree species.