There is a strict hierarchical difference between the royal palace archway and the folk archway. The biggest feature is that the bucket mouth and column diameter have a fixed "module", and each building component is made to a fixed size. The "Jicui" and "Duiyun" archway are located at the north and south ends of Yong 'an Bridge in Beihai Park. They were built in the Yuan Dynasty and have a history of about 700 years. They are a prominent representative of the sixteen archway in Beihai Park. It is also one of the famous archways in Beijing. It was renovated in the eighth year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1743). After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it went through two major repairs and two painted paintings.

The "Jicui" and "Duiyun" archways belong to Qiaotou. Both archways have four pillars, three rooms and a third floor. There are eight pillars in front and back, and green glazed tiles cover the roof of the hall, symbolizing the lush forests and verdant scenery of Qionghua Island. The four wooden columns are all bluishite with pole stones. The main building is a heavy-lifting three-arched and eleven-arched arch, and the secondary building is a vertical-arched and nine-arched arch. The top is as beautiful as piled jade and jasper. There is a pair of stone lions squatting outside the two archways facing the outside of the bridge. Because the stone lions outside the archway on the north side of the bridge are close to the gate of Yong 'an Temple, they form an unconventional pattern like the stone lions in front of the temple gate facing inward. In fact, this is not the case. The two bridge archways,"Dui Yun" and "Jiucui", are like poems that connect and connect, introducing tourists naturally from the main entrance to Qionghua Island.

The biggest feature of the royal palace archway is that they all have exquisite Yunlong colored paintings, but the colored paintings must be drawn according to grade. The emperor called himself the "True Dragon and Son of Heaven", so Yunlong patterns were carved everywhere on the archway. Generally, the gold plaque of the archway is decorated with clouds and dragons, the large and small flower boards and the forehead are decorated with clouds and dragons playing with beads, and the gold color painting with large dots or the gold dragon and seal color painting with gold foil. The plaques "Jicui" and "Dui Yun" on the main building of the archway in Mingjian are both Qianlong imperial inscriptions, and the words on the front and back sides of each archway plaque are consistent. The imperial inscription plaque surrounds four golden solitary dragon dragons, eight golden cloud dragons and treasure flowers, showing the grandeur and majesty of the imperial power.

The middle of the archway is called the "main building", and both sides are called the "secondary building". The main building is hung with plaques and the secondary building is inlaid with flower boards. Whether it is a large flower board or a small flower board, they are unique components of the wooden archway and the artistic essence of the archway, which can best highlight the decorative nature of the archway. Whether it is a wooden archway or a glazed archway, its flower boards are very exquisite works of art. The color paintings on the secondary floors on the left and right sides of the two archways are the same, and eight golden dragons surround the small flower boards of precious flowers.

The Longmen Quedi commonly used in the Royal Palace Archway is a decorative Quedi. Although the Quedi is inconspicuous, it has both load-bearing and decoration functions. The characteristic of Longmen Quedi is that many parts are added to the main body of the Quedi, such as Yundun, Zikuang, Sanfuyun, etc. The Sanfu Cloud is a component installed on both sides of the Longmen Queti in the depth direction, enriching the style changes of the Queti in three-dimensional space. The main and secondary floors of the wooden archway are colorful and eye-catching rolled grass patterns of Longmen Quedi, Sanfu Clouds and Ganoderma lucidum.

The wooden archway column is thick and simple, bluish-white stone, pole stone, and two iron pockets

The stone lion in front of the "Jicui" archway

The stone lion behind the "Duiyun" archway

The "Longguang" archway is located in front of Pu 'an Hall halfway up the mountain of Qionghua Island. It is a wooden archway with four pillars, three rooms and three floors.

The word "Long Guang" on the plaque on the main building reflects the supremacy and majesty of the imperial power, and the plaque on the back is "Purple Photo", both of which are written by Qianlong's imperial pen. "Dragon light" and "Purple light" imply auspicious signs. The dragon light is the light of the Longquan sword, and the purple light is the reflection of the purple gas. The classics come from the Biography of Zhang Hua in the Book of Jin and the Biography of Liexians, both of which are auspicious signs. Two dragon dragons, four solitary dragon dragons and brocade patterns and precious flowers on the forehead archway surround the plaque. The details of the arches, colored paintings, and flower boards of the archway are extremely exquisite, showing the royal style.

The sub-buildings on both sides of the archway (the picture above shows the sub-building on the left, and the picture below shows the sub-building on the right) are centered on the golden double dragon birthday flower board. There are four golden solitary dragon dragons, two cloud dragons and brocade patterns, and golden treasure flowers. It is full of stars holding the moon, and the colorful paintings are extremely luxurious.

There are rolling grass patterns on both sides of the archway, Longmen Quedi, Sanfu Cloud, and Yundun.

The pole stone of the archway is not a key part in terms of structure and vision, but the pole stone of the Gongyuan archway borrows the beads from the "Sumizuo" and the decoration of "Badama"(meaning "lotus petals" in Sanskrit). The degree of meticulous carving is extremely exquisite and has reached the peak, in order to show the bearing and style of royal architecture. The pole stone of the pillar of the archway is made of green and white stone, the exquisitely carved banana leaf patterns, Badama, Lianzhu, Ruyi Yun, and the iron pocket to strengthen the pole stone.

Lin Guang Hall (the Buddha light between clouds and water is called Lin Guang) is located at the foot of Xilu Mountain on Qionghua Island, Beihai, facing east and west. It is the West Buddha Hall of Yong 'an Temple. There is a wooden archway with four pillars, three rooms and three floors in front of Lin Guang Hall on the north and south sides of the front of Lin Guang Hall, with the same specifications, size, color paintings, and building regulations.

The wooden archway on the south side of Lin Guang Hall

The wooden archway on the north side of Lin Guang Hall

The green glazed roof of the wooden archway has golden treasure flowers and brocade patterns on the forehead. There is no plaque in the Ming Building (Ming Room), and the central flower board is painted blank.

On the left and right sides of the wooden archway, brocade patterns and golden treasure flowers surround the small flower boards.

The pole stone of the pillar of the archway is made of green and white stone, the exquisitely carved banana leaf patterns, Badama, Lianzhu, Ruyi Yun, and the iron pocket to strengthen the pole stone.

Zhishan Bridge Building is located on the west side of Zhishan Bridge at the east gate of Beihai Park (also known as Zhishan Gate). The archway is grand, simple and elegant. The yellow glazed tile roof and the complex and exquisite arch painted paintings are extraordinary. It not only sets off the Zhizhu Hall, but also sets off the outstanding posture of the white tower in the distance. It is the most gorgeous wooden archway in the North Sea.

Zhishan Bridge Tower is a wooden archway with four pillars facing west and east, three rooms and three floors topped with golden glazed eaves. It was built together with Half Moon City in the 16th year of Qianlong (1751). The structural shape of the archway is the highest in specification among the ancient archway in the country. Compared with other archway, the structural shape of this archway is different and has many unique features. There are no plaques on the side of the main building of the archway of the highest level.

Under the eaves of Zhishan Bridge Building, a multi-layered Ruyi Arch is used, which is like a net-like "cloud head Ruyi Arch". Under the arch, a row of hanging flowers is attached to the outside of the flower board, giving people a visual impact and looking very gorgeous. If you stand on the platform of Half Moon City and look at the Zhishan Bridge Tower, its stacked Ruyi arches are very shocking. This kind of multi-layered "Yuntou Ruyi Arch" archway is very rare (now the exquisite cultural relics "Yuntou Ruyi Arch" are protected by protective nets).

Standing on the Half Moon City and looking at the golden glazed tile roof of Zhishan Bridge Building

The glazed chi kiss (one of the nine sons of the dragon) on both sides of the main ridge of the archway roof, also known as the "dragon kiss". It is said that two opposite kisses are placed on the roof of palaces, temples and other buildings to avoid fires and drive away evil spirits.

The ridge on the left and right sides of the roof of the archway is also called the "fork ridge". The mascots on the ridge are arranged in the order from the front to the top: the phoenix riding man, the dragon, the phoenix, the lion and the hanging ridge glazed beast. Below the Feng Xian people are Zijiao Liang Topping Beasts.

There are five front arches sandwiched with three-layer flower boards under the arch of the main building of Mupailou Mingjian. There are also eight flower covers hanging flowers on top of the upper front arches, and the center is the small flower board holding Xiangyun's birthday.

There are three front arches sandwiched with a layer of flower boards under the arches of the secondary buildings on both sides of the wooden archway. There are also six flower covers hanging flowers on top of the upper front arches. On the front arches, four lone dragons, two cloud dragons and brocade patterns surround the auspicious beast flower board. The above picture shows the left sub-building, and the below picture shows the right sub-building. All the archway arches, flower boards and birds in Zhishan Bridge Building are decorated with various patterns painted with golden dragons, seals, and bobbins, and gold dots, which vividly play the role of the archway, and the visual effect is amazing.

The wooden archway has exquisite and gorgeous rolling grass patterns, Longmen Quedi and Sanfu Clouds

The pole stone of the wooden archway pillar and blue white stone is carved with exquisite banana leaf patterns, rolling grass patterns, Badama, Lianzhu, rolling grass patterns, Ruyi clouds, as well as iron pockets to strengthen the pole stone.

Wooden archways in the Ming and Qing Dynasties all had berms (which played the role of resisting wind and bearing the top weight). Under each berms, there was a large stone supported as a support point, namely "berms", while archways with berms are rare. The archway of Zhishan Bridge faces west and east. There are two berms on the west side and four berms on the east side. There is a stone carvings under each pole. There are six in total. They look very lifelike and vivid. Under the two berms on the west side are dragons (above); the two outermost ones on the east side are stone lions (middle picture), and the two on the inner side are unicorns (below). These four divine beasts have a symmetrical structure in space.

Zhizhu Hall and Half Moon City are located at the foot of Donglu Mountain on Qiongdao, facing the west and east opposite Zhishan Bridge. They were built in the 16th year of Qianlong (1751). Zhizhu Hall is built on the platform of Half Moon City, goldWattsThe red walls are majestic and magnificent, with five archways facing each other on all sides. The central axis is symmetrical and the layout is unique. It is relatively rare in ancient buildings in our country. The temple was originally dedicated to Manjusri Bodhisattva.

At the entrances and exits of the southwest corner (above) and northwest corner (below) of Zhizhu Hall, there are four wooden archways with two pillars, single rooms and third floors (with cross-towers). The two in the west are opposite the Zhizhu Hall and serve as a barrier between the Half Moon City Platform and the mountain behind it. The north and south are used as entrances to the Half Moon City Platform, enclosing the Zhizhu Hall together with the city wall.

The four wooden archways are the same in size, painted patterns, and building regulations.

The wooden archways are all Ruyi arches, the Ming towers (Ming Jian) have no plaques, and the central flower board is left blank.

The essence of the hanging flower gate is that there is a pair of "hanging lotus pillars" at the front and back of the door post, and there are hanging lotus buds waiting to bloom under the stigma. The hanging flower gate archway draws on its essence,"hanging lotus pillars." The wooden archway does not copy the hanging flower gate, but places the "hanging lotus pillars" on both sides of the pillar. This change makes the monotonous archway look even more exciting. The dragon head of the golden dragon across the left building of the archway faces right towards Mingjian (above). The dragon head of the golden dragon across the right building of the archway faces left towards Mingjian (below).

Haopu Jian is located on the east bank of Beihai Park. Ninghe Hall was initially built here in the 13th year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1534), and a garden in Beihai was added in the 22nd year of Qianlong (1757). In the park, curved bridges, pools, rocks, and corridors are revolving around within walking distance. The scenery is quiet and profound, with lush ancient pine trees on all sides, blocking the sky and the sun, making it very distinctive.

On the pool of Haopu River, there is a nine-curved carved stone bridge. At the northern end of the bridge, there is an exquisite stone archway with two columns and one floor. Whether it is the eaves ridge arch on the top floor or the drum berm stones on both sides of the columns, all the building components are exquisitely carved and carry rich cultural heritage. It is a decorative and ornamental bridge archway.

There are couplet marks on both sides of the archway, both of which are Qianlong imperial strokes. The joint in the south is "Riyong Pavilion is cool and quiet, and the flowers and trees are beautiful and fresh after the rain"; the banner is: "The mountains and waves complement each other."

The banner in the north is "Henggao is full of rain and vitality, and the pine peaks are dotted with clouds to welcome you", and the banner is "Tinglan Bank hides fragrance."

Exquisite carving with exquisite curved-grass patterns and cloud dune

The drum berm that secures the pillars of the archway

There are ten glazed archways in Beijing, five of which are in Beihai Park. Glazed archway is the highest and most gorgeous. It is a form of archway decorated with mainly yellow and green glazed tiles. Because of its heavy shape, it is most suitable for building in front of a solemn temple.

The Western Heaven Fanjing, also known as the Great Western Heaven, is located on the north bank of Beihai Park. During the Ming Dynasty, it was used as the Jingchang and the Western Heaven Zen Forest Lama Temple. After expansion in the 24th year of Qianlong (1759), it was renamed Xitian Fanjing. The "Huazang Jie" glazed archway is a typical "gate-style" building in front of the Western Heaven Fanjing. It is titled "Huazang Jie" in the south and "Xumu Spring" in the north. Both are imperial books of Emperor Qianlong. This colorful glazed archway is about 13 meters high and 25 meters wide. It has three doors, four pillars and seven floors. It is tall and exquisite. It is an outstanding representative of the existing glazed archway of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and the most spectacular and completely preserved glazed archway in the country.

The white marble plaque on the front of the archway reads "Chinese-Tibetan Realm". The Chinese-Tibetan Realm means that when you enter this archway, you will reach the Buddhist Pure Land. There are twelve Yunlong plate frames on the plaque, which means that the specification here is the highest. The treasure flower decorations on both sides are also unique, recreating the architectural style of the royal palace.

The white marble plaque behind the archway is "Sumeru Spring". Sumeru Spring means the sacred land of Buddha, full of spring. It is a fairyland. Entering this temple means you have arrived at a fairyland.

There is a large flower board with "Two Dragons Playing with Beads" on both sides of the archway plaque. The auspicious clouds on both sides of the flower board are decorated with clouds and dragons flying. The dragon heads have the upper head on the outer side and the lower head on the inner side. The picture above shows the large pattern on the left, and the picture below shows the large pattern on the right. The ingenious overall decoration concept is a masterpiece of art.

The column base and arch of the archway are all carved white marble. The door and wall of the archway are connected into one body. There are white marble stone coupons around the archway. The shape is beautiful and the carving is exquisite, highlighting the grandeur and dignity of the royal palace architecture. The exquisite yellow and green glazed pillars are eye-catching and gorgeous, with rolling grass patterns and finches, ganoderma lucidum, and the glazed lotus flowers, banana leaves, and auspicious clouds on the pillars are extremely gorgeous.

Exquisite Sumeru Mountain is carved on both sides of the Gongjuan Gate, and treasure flowers blooming on the mountain surround the Gongjuan Gate. Sixteen precious flowers surround the middle gate (above), and twelve precious flowers surround the side gate (below).

The stamen of each Baoxiang flower on the arched door is exquisitely carved with the most commonly used treasures symbolizing good fortune in Buddhism. Buddhist ritual implements (also known as the "Eight Auspicious Forms"), Dharma wheels, Dharma snails, treasure umbrellas, canopy, lotus flowers, treasure cans, fish, plate length and other mascots.

The Falun represents the Buddha saying that the Dafa round wheel is endless; the Dharma snail represents the wonderful sound of the Bodhisattva and auspicious; the treasure umbrella represents the freedom of relaxation, covering all sentient beings; the canopy represents the covering of three thousand people, purifying all happiness; the lotus represents the emergence of five tears. There is nothing in the world; the treasure jar represents the perfection of blessing and wisdom, complete without leakage; the Pisces represents the firmness and liveliness, which can solve bad disasters; the plate length represents the implementation of the loop, and everything is bright.

The glazed archway is carved with white marble and stone in the Sumi seat. The white marble Sumi seats on the front and sides of the archway are exquisitely carved, and there are exquisitely carved play beads and clouds around the top and bottom.

The stone lion in front of the glazed archway

Xiaoxitian was built in the 33rd year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1768). It was built by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and prayed for his mother, Empress Dowager Xiaosheng, to celebrate the birthday of his mother. The main building is Elysium World, which is the largest square paving-style palace building in China. The hall is surrounded by water on all sides and is connected by bridges on all sides. There is a glazed archway in each of the southeast, northwest and a small square pavilion in each of the four corners. The glazed archway and the small square pavilion are attached to the wall and built to form a courtyard. The overall architectural concept is clever and magnificent.

The four glazed archways in the east, west, north and south of Xiaoxitian are of the same size, architectural shape, and color pattern. They are all four-pillar, three-room, seven-story glazed archways.

Liuli archway just south of Xiaoxitian Temple

On the south side of the archway, the white jade gate has a frame of six playing beads and dragons, and the inscription on the forehead is "Proof of Merit Water" is the Imperial Brush of Qianlong. Certificate means getting. What is merit water or status? Certification of merit water means getting that status. Proof: Use reliable evidence to prove that the emperor's mother gave birth to Qianlong was the greatest merit. The north entrance of the archway is titled "Now Happy Garden". A more straightforward explanation for the present Huanxi Garden is that this is the present Huanxi Garden, and everyone is happy to come.

Liuli archway on the east side of Xiaoxitian Temple

The white jade door on the east side of the archway has a frame of six playing beads and clouds, and the inscription "Aurora Fragrant Forest" on the forehead is the Qianlong Imperial Brush. Ancient India called China Aurora, and Xianglin means modern "Shangri-La". It means that China is a beautiful realm, full of "Shangri-La" and "Xanadu".

Inside the east archway

The white jade door inside the archway on the east side has a frame of six playing beads and clouds, and the inscription "Treasure Land of China" is the Qianlong Imperial Brush. Here is a tribute to China as a treasure place.

The glazed archway on the north side of the Xiaoxitian Temple

The white jade door on the north side of the archway has a frame of six playing beads and clouds with clouds, and the inscription "Falun Gao Sheng" on the forehead is the Imperial Brush of Qianlong. Falun Gao Sheng: Falun is another name for Dharma. Buddhists use Sakyamuni to relieve worries. It is like the wheel treasure of the king of the wheel, which can urge resentment. The Dharma does not stay in one place, but is passed down like a wheel, so the Falun is the wheel. This means that Buddhism is absolute truth and irrefutable truth. The top of the door inside the archway on the north side is titled "Wonderful Scenery and Solemnity". Wonderful means beautiful. A beautiful realm is extremely solemn and sacred. There is a limit to encountering such wonderful realms in our miserable lives. People choose to escape in order to relieve the suffering around them. It is to believe in Buddhism and believe that there is such an illusory situation in the world.

The glazed archway on the west side of the Xiaoxitian Temple

The white jade door on the west side of the archway has a frame of six playing beads and clouds, and the inscription "Renshou Puyuan" on the forehead is Qianlong Imperial Brush. What this sentence means is that the life span of a kind person is determined entirely by his own physical condition and the surrounding environment. A person's life is destined by heaven. It does not all depend on heaven here, but there is also a problem of fate. Qianlong said that it is inevitable that his mother, the Empress Dowager, will have a long life. The top of the door inside the archway on the west side is titled "Peace and Care". Nursing means that groups in need can be quietly cared for. Show truth, truth means attention and care. There is the word "listen carefully." Buddhism means truth and infallibility. Generally, it can be understood that helping needy and needy groups is an eternal truth.

There are two dragons playing with beads on both sides of each glazed archway plaque. The dragon heads have the upper head on the outer side and the lower head on the inner side (the top picture shows the left flower board pattern, and the bottom picture shows the right flower board pattern).

The Liuli archway consists of three white marble arched rolling doors (the picture above is the middle gate, and the picture below is the side gate). On both sides of the arched rolling door are exquisitely carved Mount Meru, and the blooming treasure flowers on the mountain surround the arched rolling door. Fourteen precious flowers surround the middle gate, and twelve precious flowers surround the side gate.

The stamen of each treasure phase flower on the arched door is exquisitely carved with the most commonly used treasures symbolizing good fortune in Buddhism, Buddhist ritual implements (also known as the "Eight Auspicious Phases"), auspicious knots, evergreen flowers and other mascots.

The front and sides of the base of the mountain gate are beautifully carved white marble Sumi seats, and lifelike dragon dragons are carved up and down.

The inlaid stone of white marble is carved with exquisite banana leaf patterns, canvass patterns, Badama (meaning "lotus petals" in Sanskrit), Lianzhu, and Ruyi clouds, and the yellow and green glazed pillars are eye-catching and gorgeous.

The exquisite yellow-and-white glazed curved-grass queti, Ganoderma lucidum, Dougong, as well as the glazed lotus flowers, banana leaves, and auspicious clouds on the pillars are extremely gorgeous.

Schematic diagram of names of various parts of archway

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