Wenlan Pavilion is located on the southern slope of Gushan in West Lake. It is one of the seven major libraries built during the Qing Dynasty to house the ‘Complete Library of the Four Treasuries’, and it is the only surviving pavilion among the three in the Jiangnan region. This is a quintessential Jiangnan garden architecture, where pavilions, corridors, ponds, bridges, and artificial mountains are interdependent and interconnected. The main building is modeled after the Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo, featuring a double-eave hip roof. Upon entering the hall, one is greeted by a man-made mountain with a cave underneath. Passing through the cave leads to a flat hall, behind which there is a unique stone in the pond known as the ‘Immortal Peak’, which is considered a masterpiece among the artificial mountains and rocks in West Lake. Directly behind the square pond is the Wenlan Pavilion, with a winding corridor to the west and a moon gate to the east leading to the Taiyi Fenqing Room and the Arhat Hall. The entire architecture and garden layout are compact, elegant, and distinctive. Nowadays, we certainly won’t see the original ‘Complete Library of the Four Treasuries’ in this pavilion (it has been moved to the Zhejiang Provincial Library), but visiting and experiencing its grandeur and elegance is also an excellent choice. It is fascinating and poignant to think that this place once housed stacks of the great Chinese encyclopedia. The pavilion is open all year round and accessible 24/7.
Wenlan Pavilion
Wenlan Pavilion is located on the southern slope of Gushan in West Lake. It is one of the seven major […]
