The earliest ancient private garden in Xiangyang—Xijiachi

👍The whole garden is designed with a lot of careful thought, and it really achieves a different view at every step. 👇There are few people and beautiful scenery. It turned out to be the private garden of Xiyu, Marquis of Xiangyang in the early Eastern Han Dynasty. ↘️The environment is beautiful, the air is fresh, and the pavilions and towers are dotted among them. It is a model of ancient suburban gardens. 💗You can walk around the garden and take a stroll. What comes into view is the beautiful scenery. There are mountains behind ⛰ and water in front. 👏 You can bring your family and friends here for a walk, an outing, a tent and a picnic, ⏩feel the greenery and the air with green grass. It is a great choice for leisure and relaxation‼ ️ 📍Attraction address: The southern foot of Phoenix Mountain, about five kilometers south of Xiangcheng District, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province Opening hours: Open all year round 🎟️Ticket related: Tickets: Free admission 🚗 Transportation to attractions: 🚌You can take Bus No. 1 or Bus No. 13 in the city and get off at the "Xiangyang Tangcheng Film and Television Base" station, and walk about 900 meters to arrive; or take Bus No. 5, Bus No. 505, or Bus No. 546 and get off at the "Xijiachi" station; or take Bus No. 66 to the terminal station to the Xijiachi Scenic Area parking lot🅿️. 🚙Self-driving: Navigate to "Xijiachi" and go there according to the navigation prompts. Parking is convenient. There is an ecological parking lot in front of the door🅿️. There are 3 parking lots along the river at Fenglin Ancient Ferry and Guanyin Pavilion in the east🅿️. 🌟Highlights: 👆Xijia Pond is a private pond owned by Xiyu, the Marquis of Xiangyang. It is one of the few fish ponds from the Han Dynasty that still exist in China. ↪️It is one of the earliest existing garden buildings in China and is known as "the first Chinese suburban garden" and the private garden with the longest history. ⏪Stepping into the simple and rustic gate of "Xijiachi", you will find the garden layout is exquisite, 🔰the bluestone path meanders through the woods, the flowers and plants are flourishing, the pool water is clear and reflects the surrounding pavilions and towers, ↗️the ancient buildings are well preserved and full of historical charm. 👍️Must-see attractions: ✅Hexagonal Pavilion: ↙️It is a double-eaved, two-story hexagonal pavilion called the Lake Center Pavilion. It has double-eaved hexagonal pointed roofs and four-cornered square stone columns. The eaves and lintels are decorated with auspicious patterns such as heavenly blessings. It is surrounded by carved stone railings, and lotus flowers are planted in the pond under the stone railings. ✅Xi Clan Ancestral Hall: ⏪The current one is being restored on the original site according to the principle of restoring the old as it was. The main building is two-storeyed and arranged in a quadrangle style with two entrances. There are archway-style gatehouse, theatre building, worship hall and ancestral hall arranged in sequence, with watchtowers and wing rooms on both sides. ✅Fish-viewing Pond: 🚩It is one of the earliest scenic spots built in Xijiachi. Lotus roots, water chestnuts and water caltrops are planted in the pond. There is a fishing platform Furongtai in the northeast corner. ▶️It is a stone platform built with stone strips in the pond, surrounded by bluestone guardrails. ✅Splashing Pool and Semi-circular Pool: ⏬These are two small pools with a long history. They were built during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. There is a hidden channel connecting them. 👆Splashing Pool is in the shape of a sun; Semi-circular Pool is in the shape of a half moon. 💗Other tips: ✔️Most of the inside is ramps, and only a small part is stairs, which is convenient for strollers, children and the elderly. ✔️There is no place to buy food, you can bring some snacks or water with you, but there are many vending machines. ✔️The facilities are very complete, there are signs in many places, and there are more signs for toilets than for attractions. ✔️You can wear Hanfu to take photos, which will be very good. It is not recommended to go there at night, as it feels a bit scary. ✔️There are a lot of mosquitoes, so it is recommended to bring some mosquito repellent products, pay attention to sun protection in summer, and wear comfortable shoes.