When the Silicon Valley speed meets the elegance of the Prince's Mansion
In China, there is no place as radiant as Haidian.
Over the more than 300 years from the prosperous era of Kangxi and Qianlong to the present, it has been a unique gathering place in the capital Beijing that combines history, culture, art, and political spirit. If there is a most symbolic representative, it can only be the "Three Hills and Five Gardens" that have witnessed numerous historical upheavals.
Since the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the Three Hills and Five Gardens have stepped out of history.
As the emperors didn't like to stay in the imperial palace for a long time, Haidian in the western suburbs of Beijing, which was praised by Wen Zhengming as "Walking in the paintings along the ten - mile green mountains, the flying white birds are like those in the south of the Yangtze River", became the location of the imperial summer palaces. Thus, the pinnacle of Chinese royal gardens was created.
Although they have the grandeur of royal gardens, the Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace and other gardens also incorporate the delicate charm unique to southern gardens. Moreover, they cleverly utilize the terrain and landforms to integrate natural and cultural landscapes. Relying on techniques such as scenic view alignment, they break the physical boundaries, making the beautiful scenery of each garden set off each other, presenting the gardening art of "Although created by man, it seems to be created by nature".
The Summer Palace
Therefore, the famous French writer Victor Hugo wrote the praise that "All the achievements that the imagination of an almost superhuman nation can produce are here."
This "Forbidden City of Gardens" is not only for rest and recreation. "Managing state affairs in the garden" is also a tradition. From Emperor Yongzheng to Emperor Xianfeng, five generations of emperors handled domestic and foreign affairs in the Old Summer Palace for 138 years. Empress Dowager Cixi also handled state affairs in the Summer Palace all year round. The actual political center of the Qing Dynasty once shifted to the Three Hills and Five Gardens, and the sense of historical weight has been passed down to the present.
Since then, "the Three Hills" have become the bones and physique of Haidian, and "the Five Gardens" have turned into the temperament and spirit of Haidian, deeply intertwined to form the cultural and geographical veins of Haidian, which have continued endlessly.
In the western suburbs of Beijing, this royal garden that has been passed down for hundreds of years has now gained new life in Haidian. Jianfa Haiyan recreates the new glory of Haidian's cultural and geographical veins with a unique and ingenious Chinese - style royal mansion garden.
01
The New "Possibilities" of Haidian
After the Three Hills and Five Gardens removed their royal veils, Haidian became the "gathering place for literati and masters". Countless educators, thinkers, and writers such as Cai Yuanpei, Wang Guowei, and Lu Xun, on the fertile land of Haidian like Tsinghua Garden, either through academic research or ideological and cultural influence, awakened the people and explored the way for the nation to save itself from extinction. New cultures and new trends of thought became the most touching features of Haidian at that time.
Lu Xun, the founder of modern Chinese literature who also served as a lecturer at Peking University, first shouted, "May the young people of China get rid of the cold air and just move forward. If there is no torch in the future, I will be the only light." He pointed out the direction for countless young people. Then, through works like "A Madman's Diary", "Kong Yiji", and "The True Story of Ah Q", he and many other advanced intellectuals at Peking University at that time created an era of awakening for the Chinese people.
Lu Xun - Still from the TV series "The Age of Awakening"
After the founding of New China, science and technology became a powerful weapon for the country. Haidian, which was prosperous in cultural and ideological aspects, once again reached the peak of national science and technology. The research and development of China's first atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb started here. "Dongfanghong - 1" was born here. Twenty - two meritorious figures of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project worked and lived here... The spirit of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite", which is about being brave in taking on responsibilities and serving the country with science and technology, was nurtured and passed down in this hot land of Haidian, laying a very profound foundation in terms of talents and technology for Haidian.
In the current new era, Haidian, which continues the spirit of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite", opens a new chapter in scientific and technological innovation. As the core area of the China International Science and Technology Innovation Center, it contributes the strength of Haidian to the development of China's major national equipment and the progress of human science and technology.
The world's first urban - level commercial humanoid robot demonstration area is located in Zhongguancun.
Zhongguancun, known as the "Silicon Valley of China", is the center of this wave of scientific and technological innovation in Haidian. From 5G, AI to DeepSeek, the continuously iterative scientific and technological power in Zhongguancun makes Haidian create new legends with each breakthrough and redefines "possibilities".
Nearly 7,000 technology companies and the artificial intelligence industry with an annual growth rate of 30% have driven Haidian's GDP in the first half of the year to exceed 663.6 billion yuan, ranking first among districts in Beijing for a long time. In the recently released list of the top 500 private enterprises in China, half of the enterprises from Beijing on the list are in Haidian, including Xiaomi, Lenovo, and many enterprises in Zhongguancun.
For Huawei, which has shown national confidence internationally, Zhongguancun is an important R & D base. Hundreds of senior experts are gathered here. The first router Quidway R2501, the NE5000E 400G core router, etc. were all born here. Xiaomi, a local enterprise in Haidian, has grown into a Chinese technology giant with three coordinated growth curves of "mobile phones + automobiles + large household appliances" in just 15 years. DeepSeek, which is popular all over the world, started in Zhongguancun, and its R & D center is still here. Here has become the forefront of China's scientific and technological innovation, and Haidian has become the source of China's national confidence.
The night view of Zhongguancun
History and culture are its past imprints, while science and technology, education are its present appearance. The reason why Haidian has become what it is today is not just focusing on the present, but while carrying the past accumulations, it complements today's "scientific and technological innovation" to create the current prosperous scenery.
Inheritance and innovation are the spirit of Haidian. If the former skilled craftsmen and ideological masters continuously pushed Haidian's culture, education, and skills to new heights, then the technology giants and new tycoons in Zhongguancun, as the inheritors of the contemporary Haidian spirit, are actively exploring new technologies on one hand and inheriting and continuing the past cultural essence in new forms on the other hand, making the traditional and the modern collide with new vitality in Haidian.
On this fertile land, Jianfa, with the name of Haiyan, presents an "inheritor" of the Three Hills and Five Gardens for the new inheritors. With the appearance of a Beijing - style royal mansion, it explores the new possibilities of Haidian's cultural inheritance.
02
Coming from the Royal Gardens
Among the "Three Hills and Five Gardens", the most famous one is the Summer Palace. As the last glory of the Qing Dynasty's royal garden art, the excellent construction techniques of the Summer Palace have been regarded as the reference standard for Beijing - style architecture since the Republic of China. The most familiar example to the public is the West Gate of Peking University.
It is also the main entrance of Peking University, built in 1926. In that year, in order to match the magnificent buildings on campus, the West Gate in the style of a magnificent royal mansion gate was built by imitating the East Palace Gate of the Summer Palace. It has a single - eave hip - and - gable roof with a rolled eave, five bays in width, three pairs of vermilion double - opening gates, and a pair of stone lions standing on both sides. Elegant, dignified, and magnificent, the current West Gate has become a symbol of Peking University with its rich spiritual and cultural connotations.
A hundred years later, also in Haidian, Jianfa Haiyan builds a new royal mansion gate based on the East Palace Gate of the Summer Palace.
The "form" of the mansion gate is an eight - purlin porch hall referring to the shape of the East Palace Gate, and the roof also inherits the rolled eave hip - and - gable roof of the Summer Palace, showing the grandeur and elegance of the royal family in its magnificence. The upturned eaves stretching out from the roof are just like "Like the wings of a standing bird, like the points of arrows, like the soaring of a bird, like the flying of a phoenix", showing both elegance and the philosophical thinking of the unity of heaven and man. Under the double - eave about 6.6 meters high, the metal - colored Dougong (brackets) protrude along the eaves. In the classical construction method, modern architectural techniques are integrated, perfectly interpreting the beauty of architecture with "ancient charm and modern style".
The real - scene photo of the gate of Jianfa Haiyan
The real - scene photo of the gate of Jianfa Haiyan
The real - scene photo of the gate of Jianfa Haiyan
In terms of space, it also follows the highest - level layout of "five - bay and three - opening gate" of the royal mansion gate like the East Palace Gate. On both sides of the gate, referring to the "Eight - character screen wall" of the Qianqing Gate, it extends left and right. The rafter ends are decorated with traditional colored paintings. On the vermilion background, gold lines outline the Ten - Thousand - Character pattern, containing the charm of heaven and earth. In the flowing light of the palace lanterns, a scene of "peace and tranquility" slowly unfolds. The gate and the screen walls on both sides form a nearly - hundred - meter - long scroll. With an eave about 36.3 meters wide and a ridge about 9.8 meters high, the large - scale space makes the grandeur of the royal mansion of Jianfa Haiyan more vividly displayed.
Custom - made by a master
And the inner "spirit" of the mansion gate is the interweaving of cultural treasures such as calligraphy and intangible cultural heritages over thousands of years.
Under the eight - purlin porch and between the lintel of the royal mansion, the four characters of "Jianfa Haiyan" written by Guo Baoqing, a calligraphy master of the Olympic Games, reflect the past and the present in his strokes, showing the solemnity and profoundness of the Beijing - style royal mansion. Under the plaque and in the middle of the gate, the door knocker made by Zhang Tiecheng, a national - level inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of jade carving and the designer of the "Gold - inlaid Jade" medals of the Beijing Olympics, is made of bronze - colored and golden stainless steel. On the begonia - shaped knocker, inlaid with jade carvings on luxurious stones, it engraves the glory of generations of the Beijing - style royal mansion.
The gate of Jianfa Haiyan
