Bower of crimson snow (Jiangxue xuan)
The Crimson Snow Kiosk is a small building located in the Imperial Gardens. If it bears this name it is because of the trees that are planted there that, when they are in full bloom, bring down their petals of flowers as the snow falls. However, it is bright red flowers, hence the word "crimson". The scientific name of these trees is "Philadelphus pekinensis".
It seems that this place was so beautiful that the emperors Kangxi (1662-1722) and Qianlong (around 1736-1795) came here to compose poems here. The Belvedere ladder and floor plan are complemented by the Mind Culture Gazebo (Yangxing Zhai) which is in the same location on the west side of the garden. Buildings like these were part of the original arrangement of the Imperial Garden in 1420.
See too:
Back to the list of the pavilions of the forbidden city
