Zhongshan Park, Beijing 北京中山公园
Zhongshan Park lies south-west of the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City. It was the Altar of Land and Grain, where the Ming and Qing emperors sacrificed to the gods of soil and grain, its terrace spread with earth of five colours. Opened as a park in the early Republic, it was renamed after Sun Yat-sen, whose coffin once lay here. Old cypresses fill the grounds and ginkgos turn gold in autumn; the Xili Pavilion, where Ming officials rehearsed court ceremonial, was moved here from elsewhere. The altar is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level and part of the World Heritage site of the Beijing Central Axis.
