Shanxi Hotel.

Shanxi Hotel is affiliated to the Office Affairs Management Bureau of Shanxi People's Government. Its predecessor was the "Self-Reflection Hall" initiated and funded by Yan Xishan in 1914. Kang Youwei, the leader of the late Qing Dynasty Reform, inscribed a plaque on it. It was the first choice for party and government officials and social elites to stay in Shanxi at that time. Zhou Enlai, Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling, Kong Xiangxi, Xu Zhimo, Tagore and other Chinese and foreign celebrities have stayed here. In 1950, it was renamed the "Great Hall of the People" and has successively received the North Korean friendship delegation, Soviet experts, and the first provincial party congress, people's congress, CPPCC, and women's federation. In 1956, the Taiyuan Special Military Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China held a trial here against Kawamoto Daisaku and several other Japanese war criminals. In 1978, it was renamed the Third Guesthouse of the Provincial Government. In 1981, it was renamed Wenying Hotel. In 1985, after a large-scale expansion, it was renamed Shanxi Hotel and was named by Peng Zhen, then Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. For more than 60 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has been an important venue for government receptions in our province. In 2012, the hotel was upgraded and renovated, and the building was renovated in accordance with the architectural regulations and styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The gate building is majestic and the tall gatehouse is quite spectacular. It is a two-story wooden structure with Qing-style colored paintings on the beams. The single-eaved hip roof is covered with yellow-green glazed tiles. Its architectural style is a combination of Chinese and Western styles, with traditional Chinese architecture as the main feature. The roof is a traditional hip-and-gable style, with a single-story four-cornered corner tower built on each corner. There are dragon carvings around it, five-step capitals, and green glazed tiles. There are two-story wooden corridors around the hall, and the hall has a wide space. The tall vermilion-painted gate tower inspires awe when viewed from afar. Appreciate the couplet on the gate: Jin gourmets, Jin wine, Jin food, Jin deliciousness; Jin buildings, Jin pavilions, Jin style and Jin charm. It describes the beauty of Shanxi. The four golden characters on the plaque of Shanxi Hotel written by Peng Zhen are shining and particularly eye-catching. Walking into the courtyard, there are Jinxian Building, Jinfulu Building, Jinyuan Building and Jinyue Building. The words inscribed on each plaque were written by Mr. Fu Shan, a medical scientist and calligrapher in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The Imperial Examination Hall originated in the Tang Dynasty, and the existing sites include the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall, Beijing Imperial Examination Hall, and Dingzhou Imperial Examination Hall. If we only talk about the former site of Shanxi Imperial Examination Hall during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, I am afraid not many people know about it. When you walk to the edge of the lake and see the magnificent gate buildings of Shanxi Hotel, this is the "Former Site of Shanxi Imperial Examination Hall in Ming and Qing Dynasties." Of course, in ancient times, wherever there were examinations, there were places to entertain examiners. The "Huanghuaguan", which is across the street from the Imperial Examination Hall, is the guesthouse for receiving the chief and deputy examiners. Huanghua Hall is basically intact. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, a "Superintendent of Education" (Xuetai) was set up here to oversee the province's education, imperial examinations and other affairs together with the governor-general. For hundreds of years, Huanghua Hall was known as a "holy place of education." When the exam is over and the results are announced, we will move to the choir hall. Taiyuan Chanting Sutra Tower is less than one kilometer away from Gongyuan. This is the place where the candidates' numbers were announced for the imperial examinations since the Ming Dynasty. When the rankings of the candidates are announced, it is probably time to go to the Shanxi Governor's Mansion to receive an audience with the "parent official". The thousand-year-old government office, the Governor's Mansion, has been the administrative center of Shanxi since the Song Dynasty. The combination of the four cultural relics of "Huanghua Hall - Shanxi Imperial Examination Hall - Chanting Sutra Tower - Governor's Mansion" can be regarded as a "route map" for the ancient imperial examinations, which can be regarded as a witness to the long history of the ancient city of Taiyuan. 📍Location: No. 23, Chunyang Palace, Yingze District, Taiyuan City ⌚Opening hours: 12:00-14:00 18:00-21:00