4. Penglai Pavilion
Penglai Pavilion （see picture 24-4）, seated on the cliff of Danya Mountain close to the sea in the north of Penglai City, is a famous coastal tourist site in easternChinas Shandong Province It is listed as one of the four famous towers in Chinatogether with Yellow Crane Tower, Yueyang Tower, and Tengwang Pavilion. Havinglong been known as a fairyland and famous place for watching mirages, PenglaiPavilion is regarded as the place where immortals inhabited, and thus it was frequentlyvisited for wonder herbs by emperors since Qin and Han dynasties.
Built in 1061 by Governor Zhu Chuyue in the sixth year of Emperor Jiayou of theNorthern Song Dynasty, the Pavilion was intended for people to enjoy the sea view. Inthe 17th year of Wanli of Ming Dynasty, official Li Dai added more buildings around,which together with the Pavilion was called Pavilion complex. In the 24th year ofEmperor Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty, the Pavilion was expanded again on the basis of theexisting buildings sponsored by local government secretary Yang Fengchang andgarrison commander Liu Qinghe to the present complex occupying a construction areaof 18,960 square meters. After 1949, the government has appropriated funds manytimes for its renovation. In 1965, the Pavilion had resumed its original look, reflectingthe traditional architectural characteristics of ancient China.
The Pavilion complex occupies a land of 32,800 square meters, a constructionarea of 18,960 square meters, composed of six buildings and their attachedconstructions, main hall of Penglai Pavilion, Longwang Palace, Tianhou Palace,Sanqing Temple, Lizu Temple and Mituo Temple. Constructed with double-deckwood, the main hall of Penglai Pavilion is seated on the north, facing the south, withsymmetrically built side rooms and wing rooms in front of both east and west sides.Wing rooms perform the role of halls, with hallways linking side rooms and stonestairs running up the Pavilion. Its ground floor measures 14.8 meters in length, and9.65 meters in width, with winding corridors and 16 columns surrounding all sides.Hung on the front door is a huge horizontal tablet inscribed with three Chinesecharacters： Penglai Pavilion （Penglai Ge）, written by famous calligrapher Tie Bao ofthe Qing Dynasty.
Three huge stone tablets are embedded in the outside of the north wall of thePavilions ground floor. One reads Blue Sea, Cool Breeze （Bi Hai Qing Feng）, writtenby Lu Qiguang, a renowned Qing calligrapher. Another reads Placid Seawater （Hai BuYang Bo）, of which the word Bu was struck by a cannonball during the 1894 to 1895Sino-Japanese war, leaving a visible scar. The other reads The Clear Sea （Huan HaiJing Qing）.
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