Royal Gardens

In history, the City of Hangzhou had twice been national capital, respectively during the time of the Five Dynasties （907-960）when it was the capital of a small kingdom called Wuyue which lasted for a total of 72 years under Qian Liu the king and his son and grandson, and then during the Southern Song Dynasty （1127-1279） after Emperor Gao Zong acceded to the throne in 1127 in Hangzhou. The latter had his palace built on Phoenix Hill that includes a garden for the sole use of the imperial family. It is said that the palace consisted of 30 big halls, 33 spacious rooms, 13 chambers, 4 rooms for study, 7 towers and more than 80 pavilions, terraces and other semi-decorative garden structures all of which as a rule were gorgeously decorated.

Royal Gardens

In the palace, it is said, there was an artificial lake big enough for the imperial family to go boating upon and it was given the name Imperial West Lake that had six bridges built on it. We might say it was a reduced version of the scenic West Lake on the grounds of the imperial palace. Unfortunately nothing is left of this grand and magnificent palace as it had been razed and burned to the ground during the Yuan Dynasty（1206-1368）.

Apart from the palace described above, the Southern Song emperors, in order to enjoy more fully the scenic beauty of Hangzhou, had a number of imperial gardens built round the West Lake, including the well-known Jujing（Scenic Sights Assembled） Garden located on the site of today's Listening to Orioles Singing in Swaying Willows where in early spring one can see range upon range of lush green hills in the distance while nearby willow trees of a tender green are often swaying in mists and orioles are singing somewhere in the woods.