Epang Palace
The remains of a never completed palace complex of the ancient Qin dynasty in the west of the city of Xi'an in today 's Shaanxi province in the People's Republic of China are referred to as the historical site of Epang Palace ( Chinese 阿房宫 遗址 , Pinyin Ēpánggōng yízhǐ ) .
In the then capital Xianyang and the surrounding area, the first Chinese emperor and one of the empire, Qin Shihuang , had more than 300 palaces built on the banks of the Wei He . 212 BC BC began building work on the Epang Palace. Until Qin Shihuang's death two years later, however, according to Chinese archaeologists, only the front hall was completed. In Shiji , the historian Sima Qian wrote that this hall was 500 paces long from east to west and 165 meters wide in a south-north direction. Under Qin Shihuang's son and successor Qin Er Shi , construction continued with numerous multi-storey buildings and pavilions. As a result of the civil wars and uprisings at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu took Xianyang City and burned down the unfinished palace. Du Mu , a well-known poet of the Tang Dynasty , described the palace in detail in one of its feet .
The Shaanxi Committee for the Management of Cultural Remains and local archaeologists of the province carried out excavations at the presumed site of the palace in 1956. In doing so, they discovered a foundation made of rammed earth south of the village of Epang - the so-called “sky platform” with a circumference of 310 meters and a height of 20 meters. In addition, an apparently artificially created, rectangular plateau, known as the Meiwu ridge, was found southwest of the village. Both areas together cover an area of around 260,000 square meters and are the clearest remains of the palace. The site has been on the List of Monuments of the People's Republic of China since 1961 (1-151).
In 1995 the palace began to be rebuilt. Five years later it was opened in 2000 as a sight within a 275 hectare area. The cost of reconstruction amounted to the equivalent of 32 million US dollars . The majestic looking buildings often formed a pretty film set . Due to the poor tourist infrastructure and the unfavorable location in a western suburb of Xi'an, the number of visitors remained far below expectations. The palace was therefore torn down again in September 2014. An archaeological park is to be set up in its place.
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Individual evidence
- ↑ In Chinese reference works, together with other palaces, also dealt with under the umbrella term Qin-period palace site of Xianyang ( 咸阳 秦 宫殿 遗址 , Xiányáng Qín gōngdiàn yizhǐ ).
- ↑ http://english.people.com.cn/200412/28/eng20041228_168965.html Epang Palace legends blasted
Coordinates: 34 ° 15 ′ 30 ″ N , 108 ° 48 ′ 36 ″ E