| Autumn-Admiring Pavilion | |
|---|---|
爱晚亭 | |
 Autumn-Admiring Pavilion. | |
  Location within Hunan | |
| General information | |
| Type | Traditional Chinese Architecture |
| Location | Mount Yuelu,Yuelu District,Changsha,Hunan, China |
| Coordinates | 28°11′12″N112°56′42″E / 28.186564°N 112.94499°E /28.186564; 112.94499 |
| Completed | 1792 |
| Renovated | 1952 1987 |
| Height | |
| Roof | Spire roof |
Autumn-Admiring Pavilion orAiwan Pavilion (simplified Chinese:爱晚亭;traditional Chinese:愛晚亭;pinyin:Àiwǎntíng) is aChinese pavilion onMount Yuelu, inYuelu District,Changsha,Hunan.[1][2][3][4][5] Alongside theZuiweng Pavilion,Taoran Pavilion andHuxin Pavilion, it is one of the Four Great Pavilions ofJiangnan.[1][6]
The Autumn-Admiring Pavilion was first constructed with the name ofRed Leaves Pavilion (红叶亭) in 1792 in the reign of theQianlong Emperor (1736–1796) byLuo Dian [zh], the then president ofYuelu Academy.[1] And laterBi Yuan [zh] (1730–1797),Viceroy of Huguang, changed its name to Autumn-Admiring Pavilion. It is cited from the verses of that "I stop my carriage to admire the maple trees at nightfall, whose frosty leaves are redder than the flowers of early spring." (停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花) byTang dynasty (618–907) poetDu Mu (803–852).[7][2]
WhenMao Zedong studied atHunan First Normal University, he frequented the area with his friends.[2]
During theSecond Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the pavilion was devastated by theImperial Japanese Army.[2]
After the establishment of the Communist State in 1952, thegovernment of Hunan reconstructed the pavilion. In 1987, the pavilion was completely restored by the government.[2] The pavilion has been designated among the seventh group of "Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hunan" by theState Council of China in 2013.[1][8]
The current Autumn-Admiring Pavilion is of pure stone structure. The roof is covered withgreen glazed tiles. It has two layers of overhanging eaves, eightgranitehypostyle columns in the pavilion. Right above the pavilion, there is a big caissons (藻井). In the center of the second floor of the pavilion is a red stele, on which there are the words "Autumn-Admiring Pavilion" (爱晚亭), written byMao Zedong in 1952. The stone is engraved with a couplet in Chinese characters: "山径晚红舒，五百夭桃新种得；峡云深翠滴，一双驯鹤待笼来".[2]
Acer palmatum in autumn is a major attraction of Autumn-Admiring Pavilion.[9][10]