A fusion of colour and seasons

A fusion of colour and seasons

Source: By Michael Rhys Card | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2021-11-12 14:52

View of Beijing Central Axis seen from the peak of Jingshan. [Photo by Michael Rhys Card]

Lakeside view at Xiangshan Park.[Photo by Michael Rhys Card]

Forbidden City seen from the peak of Jingshan. [Photo by Michael Rhys Card]

A white winter in Beijing is nothing new, the city is frequently enveloped in snow over the colder months, but the earlier than usual snowfall last weekend, only 7 days later than the earliest on record, led to a unique coalescence of the seasons and a contrast of colours, with the rich autumn palettes prevalent across the city partially shrouded in white.

Famous locales were blanketed with a layer of snow and visitors, including myself, flocked to landmarks across the city to take in these familiar sights with a new perspective. Camera in hand and braving the cold, I headed off to two of my favourite locations.

My first stop was Jingshan Park, constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) the manmade hill and surrounding park offer remarkable views of the ForbiddenCity, the Beijing CentralAxis and wider city as a whole.

After a lengthy queue to get into the park, and an even greater one to reach the peak of Jingshan, or Prospect Hill, itself, I battled my way through the crowds to take in the landscape around me. It is a view I have seen innumerable times and remains one of my favourite in the city, and the coating of snow, contrasting with the vibrant colours of the autumn leaves and ancient structures only added to its elegance and mystery.

Next up was Xiangshan park, or FragrantHills, which dates back to the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234).

The park is most famous for its gardens that spring to life in the autumn, with people travelling from all over China to take in the natural scenery of the tree-covered hillsides transforming from their rich summery greens into striking yellows and reds like a blanket of fire, however the weekends abnormal weather had partially extinguished these fiery vistas.

The park had become a strange amalgam of two vastly different seasons, icicles hung menacingly from the eaves of temple roofs, while the golden leaves of the pungent gingko trees sprung out of the snow coating the ground.

Whatever the reason for this early snowfall, the contrasting colours of these two seasons colliding highlighted the natural and manmade beauty of the city, the results of which led to an incredible fusion that I won’t soon forget.