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| The First Pass under Heaven | Ying’en Tower | Wangyang Building |
- Ying’en Tower
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The west gate of Shanhaiguan ancient city is also known as Ying’en Gate. Beijing was the capital of Ming and Qing Dynasties, located about 300 kilometers west of Shanhaiguan. The bounties and reward bestowed by emperors from the capital and the army provisions and allowance issued by the court were naturally from the west, so it was named because it faced the capital. The tower on it was then called "Ying’en Tower". During the reign of Jiajing and Wanli in Ming Dynasty and the reign of Qianlong, Daoguang in Qing Dynasty, it was repeatedly rebuilt. To the initial post-liberation period, after long years out of repair, it was dismantled in the spring of 1955. Benefited from the policy of ancient city protection and development, in 2005, Ying’en Towr reproduced its majestic appearance, proudly standing on the west gate of Shanhaiguan. The tower is in brick-wood structure, with nine-ridge gable and hip roof, five-room wide, three-room deep, covering a building area of 850 square meters.
There is plaque hung on Ying’en Tower, with four words on it: Xiang Ai Fu Sang, which was inscribed by Emperor Gaozong in the 9th year of Qianlong’s reign in Qing Dynasty (1744) when he went to the northeast to worship the ancestral hall, when he passed Shanhaiguan, he came to the west gate Ying’en Tower and saw shining sunglow shining and auspicious signs. Xiang Ai referred to the "auspicious clouds"; "Fu Sang" referred to "Fusang", a large mulberry in ancient Chinese mythologies. According to mythologies, Fusang is very large and tall. At dawn, the sun rises from Fusang, so it is where the sun rises, and thus often refers to the sun. "Xiang Ai Fu Sang" means: in the place where the sun rises, auspicious signs are everywhere, it is also a metaphor for the infinite royal graciousness of Qing Dynasty.