Fragrant Hills

Fragrant Hills
Palace hall sitting at top of Fragrant Hills
Type	Urban park, Forest park
Location	Beijing, China
Area	188 hectares
Created	3rd century (in the record) 1186 (officially built) 1441 (rebuilt) 1956 (as public park)
Owned by	Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks
Status	Open all year

Fragrant Hills Park (Xiangshan Park; Chinese: ; pinyin: Xiāngshān Gōngyuán) is an imperial garden at the foot of the Western Mountains in the Haidian District, in the northwestern part of Beijing, China. It was also formerly known as Jingyi Palace or "Jingyiyuan" (靜宜園). It covers 1.6 km² (395 acres) and consists of a natural pine-cypress forest, hills with maple trees, smoke trees and persimmon trees, as well as landscaped areas with traditional architecture and cultural relics. The name derives from the park's highest peak, Xianglu Feng (Incense Burner Peak), a 557 meters (1827 ft) hill with two large stones resembling incense burners at the top.

The xiang in the name refers to incense, not fragrance per se. This name is perhaps derived from the name of the highest peak Xianglu feng 香炉峰, or "Incense-burner peak," the bronze-cast incense burner (with remote roots in ritual bronzes) being a common article found in temples. Indeed, incense was also often used as a metonym for temples.

The park was built in 1186 in the Jin dynasty (1115 to 1234) and expanded during the Yuan dynasty and Ming dynasty. In 1745, the Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799) of the Qing dynasty ordered the addition of many new halls, pavilions and gardens and gave it a new name, Jingyi Palace (Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure). Many of the relics in the park were damaged by foreign troops during two major attacks. In 1860, British troops set the Old Summer Palace ablaze, burning it to the ground along with the Gardens of Perfect Brightness, causing extensive damage to many relics in the park. Another attack in 1900 by the Eight-Nation Alliance caused destruction to the park and to the Summer Palace built by Empress Dowager Cixi. Since 1949, the Chinese government has been engaged in continuous restoration and development in the area.