英文导游词幽默
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yuexu park is considered to be one of the central parks in guangzhou city; recently it has been nominated as the scenic park of guangzhou. there are only eight certified scenic parks in guangzhou.
it acts as a natural defense in the northern part of the guangzhou city together with bai yun mountain. with height of more than 7000m above sea level, it is also historically known as yue (guangdong) xiu mountain, yue wang mountain. during the ming dynasty, in the reign of yong le, guan yin temple was built on this mountain hence it is also called guan yin mountain.
during the early west han dynasty, yue xu mountain was known to offer pilgrimage to many people, but then in the early 20th century, dr sun yat sen, suggested that yue xu should be turned into a grand park which was only realized after the liberation of china in 1949.
now, yuexu park is known for providing immense and comprehensive cultural recreation. it consists of one main hill, yue jin gang, 7 small hills guihua gang, muhe gang, yu gang, etc. and baixiu, nanxiu, dongxiu artificial lake. its total area is 860,000 sqm. its afforestation rate is at 92%. it is also a host to famous historical architectural site like zhen hai building, ming gu wall, square cannon site, dr, sun yat sen's monument etc. historical sites and ancient trees were also built and planted respectively around wu yang temple, hall of chinese idioms, a place of relaxation with trees, and bamboos, garden of flowers, art gallery, museum, recreational area, swimming pool, playground, restaurants, kiosk, states, building and pavilion etc. for people to rest and relax, making it a pleasurable experience to visit the park. the park also provides other amenities, to complete the wonderful experience, for visitors. there are many pathways for people to use to visit the places within the park. every year it also hosts a flower market festival. about more than 10 million people comprising of foreigners and locals visit this park every year,since the yuan dynasty, yue xu mountain is considered to be a good scenic park in guangzhou. recently it also has been nominated as one of the ten best scenic parks. its zhen hai building and five ram statues are nominated for the ten best scenic sites.
Located at the center of the mainlands coastline, Shanghai has long been a major hub of communications, transportation, and international exchange. The municipality covers an area of 6,341 square kilometers and has a population of more than 13.5 million. Shanghai is Chinas largest economic comprehensive industrial base, and a famous historical and cultural city.
The city consistently attracts investment and is seen as an ideal venue for business gatherings. It is also a must on any agenda during a tour of China. Shanghai has fostered a comprehensive transportation network that incorporates land, sea, and air travel, as well as a convenient urban transportation system. More than 300 airlines serve the city, proving direct flights to more than 20 countries and regions. The addition of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which went into operation in 1999, is expected to increase the annual passenger volume to some 20 million.
Special tourist trains running between Shanghai and the neighboring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as tourist bus routes along newly-constructed expressways, offer great convenience for regional travel. Shanghai has more than 400 travel agencies to assist visitors, and the 127 star-rated hotels offer a total of 40, 000 guest rooms.
Visitors to Shanghai are not only dazzled by the modern metropolis and gateway to a developing China, but are also able to immerse themselves in the unique Shanghai culture, a combination of Chinese and Western elements. Colorful festivals and celebrations dot the yearly Shanghai activities calendar, such as the Shanghai Nanhui Peach Blossoms Festival, Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival and Shanghai China International Art Festival.
Shanghai has also introduced special tour packages aimed at the different interests of visitors, such as bicycling tours, hiking tours, gourmet tours, rehabilitation and health care tours, study tours, Japanese young womens tours, honey moon tours, and convention and exhibition tours.
The well-known Bund is a must for visitors to Shanghai. Fifty-two buildings lining the narrow shoreline of the Huangpu River offer a living exhibition of Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Classic Revival and Renaissance architectural styles, as well as combinations of Chinese and Western styles. They are also a condensation of the recent history of the city. The wide embankment offers ample room for strolling and is used by locals for morning exercises and evening gatherings. In the evening, colorful lights illuminate the area and create a shimmering image deserving of the name Pearl of the Orient.
The Yu Gardens are a classical landscape in the Southern Chinese style with a history of more than 400 years. Pavilions, halls, rockeries and ponds display the finest in landscaping from the Southern style as seen in the Ming and Qing dynasties. More than 40 landscapes were ingeniously separated by latticed walls, winding corridors, and lattice windows.
Peoples Square has become the political and cultural center in Shanghai since 1994, when it was rebuilt. In and around the square are a massive fountain named the Light of Huangpu River, 10,000 square meters of lawns, six groups of relief carvings that depict the history of Shanghai, the New Shanghai Museum, the offices of the municipal government, an underground shopping plaza, the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Shanghai Exhibition Center
The Orient Pearl TV Tower
The Orient Pearl TV Tower is 468 meters high, the tallest in Asia and third tallest in the world. It faces the Bund across the Huangpu River. When viewed from the Bund, the tower and the Nanpu and Yangpu bridges create a vivid imagery known as two dragons playing with a pearl. The sphere at the top has a diameter of 45 meters and is 263 meters above ground. The observation deck in the sphere offers a sweeping view of the city. The revolving restaurant is set at 267 meters above Pudong New Area. The dance ball, piano bar and 20 karaoke rooms, at 271 meters, are also opened to the public. The penthouse, which sits at 350 meters, has an observation deck, meeting room, and coffee shop. The tower integrates broadcasting technologies with sightseeing, catering, shopping, amusement, and accommodations. It has become the symbol of the city and a major tourist attraction in Shanghai.
Cruise on the Huangpu River
Cruising on the Huangpu River, visitors can gaze at the mighty skyscrapers, the Monument Tower to the Peoples Heroes, the famous Waibaidu Bridge and Huangpu Park on one bank, and the Orient Pearl TV Tower, International Convertion Center, Jin Mao Building and the newly rising Pudong New Area on the other. The Yangpu and Nanpu bridges span the river. From the river, visitors can also view the ruins of ancient cannon emplacements and fortifications at Wusong and the magnificent view of the Yangtze River as it empties into the sea.
Nanjing Road East, honored as Chinas No. l Street, has become an all-weather pedestrian arcade. Shops and restaurants provide products and services with their own characteristics, making it an ideal place that integrates shopping, restaurants, amusement and sightseeing.
The museum and tomb are located in Lu Xun Park. LU Xun was an imminent man of letters. The museum exhibits Lu Xuns manuscripts, some of his personal effects, document., and photos. The headstone at the Tomb of Lu Xun is in the calligraphy of Vhio Zedong and reads The Tomb of Mr. Lu Xun.
Dr. Suns Residence
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of the Chinese democratic revolution, and his wilr Soong Ching Ling, lived in this building from 1918 to 1924. It was in the residence that Dr. Sun Yat-sen met representatives of the Communist Party and fostered the first cooperation between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang.
Soong Ching Lings Residence
This is the former residence of Soong Ching Ling. an honorary chairwoman of the Peoples Republic of China and the widow of Sun Yat-sen. She lived, worked, and studied here during the last years of her life.
Birthplace of the Communist Party of China.
In July of 1921, the First National Communist Party Congress was held in this building. The congress passed the Partys program and resolutions, elected the central committee, and declared the founding of the CPC.
Shanghai Library
The new Shanghai Library, which covers an area of some 80,000 square meters, has a collection of 13 million books and is considered one of the top ten libraries in the world. The library incorporates the open-stacks approach favored in the West, which allows for convenience in borrowing books.
Shanghai Grand Theater
Located in the northwestern corner of Peoples Square. the Shanghai Grand Theater covers 70,000 squat, meters. It is actually composed of three theaters. The theaters can accommodate performances of ballet opera, symphonies, chamber music modern dramas, and musicals. The theater also owns the largest, fully automatic stage in Asia. The theater has become a symbol of modern culture in Shanghai.
Cultural Celebrities Street, located along Duolun Road and surrounding areas,is a living memorial to the modern cultural celebrities of Shang-hai and is also a condensation of modern culture. Such Chinese literary giants as Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Guo Moruo and Ye Shengtao lived and wrote here,making the road an important feature in Chinas modern cultural history. In addition, the famous Gongfei Cafe. Celebrities Mansion, the Shanghai Art Opera Troupe, and Hai Shang Jiu Li also display the accumulated cultural atmosphere of Duolun Road today.
The May 4th Square is located.
The May Fourth Square is backed by the City Hall building, south to Fushan Bay, 700 meters long from north to south, with a total area of 10 hectares. It is a modern style square full of lawns, fountains and sculptures.
1919 Qingdao raised the issue of sovereignty "May Fourth" movement. In 1914, Japan replaced the German, and then proposed "The Twenty-one " attempting to take long-term occupation of Qingdao, which caused strong oppositions from people across the country . In January, 1919, at the Paris Peace, when China attended as victors and claimed the sovereign of Qingdao, they were rejected by Western powers, and Qingdao was forciblytransferred to Japan. The news came out, the students in Beijing burst out protesting in May 4th. The government was forced refuse signing at Paris Peace, which smashing Japanese conspiracy of permanent occupation. In 1922, the sovereignty of Qingdao was recovered. Across the square is the City Hall, a tall and majestic building, facing south, simple and neat, serious and solemn. The south is square-mesh-shaped, meaning the rigorous style for the government. It has become a landmark building of Qingdao . Dryland lattice fountain is an underground fountain, hiding 8 rows 9 columns, a total of 72 dots, which can jet in different shapes and heights. Right in the center of the squar ,the red torch -shaped sculpture " May Fourth Wind " is the heaviest steel sculpture in the country. It weighs 700 tons, and is about 30 meters high, 27 meters in diameter. As a high wind arousing from land, this sculpture promotes the "May Fourth" patriotism spirit and encourages people to work hard. At the south sea of the sculpture is the first offshore 100-meter fountain in China. Adopting advanced high-pressure pumps, spewing water is up to 100 meters . Because the water is extracted directly from the sea, avoiding the corrosion and salinization of shore facilities and lawn fountain, it is designed at the 160 meters away offshore. West to the square is the Music Square. The center landscape the "Sail of Music, " is a white tapered software sculpture tent, drawn by imported membrane structure, divided into two pieces, about 5 meters high, fixed by 15 anchor dots. The huge piano under the tent is commonly known as "The Piano King". It must be played by two people at the same time. Every festival , the sound of music will haunt everywhere.
The Fushan Bay in the front, is the place where held the Olymhttps://p.9136.com/1lpetition. Because of the exceptional conditions, this place was the first getting through audit of all single events.
My dear friends,Welcome to Qufu, the hometown of Confucius.
Confucius had a famous remark: “What a delight to have friends from afar.” Today I am very glad to have an opportunity of making new friends and to be your tour guide. I wish to thank you for your cooperation and also ready to take your suggestions and advice regarding my service.
What we are going to visit now is the Confucius Temple. This temple is where sacrifices are offered to Confucius. Work on these structures began during the second year after Confucius’s death. The Confucius Temple imitates the imperial palace’s construction. The layout is as follows: There are 5 halls, 1 pavilion, 1 altar, and 3 ancestral temples. It is divided into 9 courtyards. Altogether there are 466 rooms, 54 gateways and over 1000 stone tablets and steles. It covers an area of 21.8 hectares (equals to 327.5 mu) and is over 1 kilometers long from north to south. It is magnificent and resplendent and irrespective of the angle from which you enjoy viewing the temple. It is commensurate with influence and fame of Confucius. As such, it is very rare world historical treasure.
The Confucius Temple’s first gateway is called Golden Sound and Jade Vibration Gateway (金声玉振门), “Golden Sound ” and “Jade Vibration” symbolize the whole process of playing music in
ancient time. The music starts with the beating of a drum and ends with the striking of an inverted bell (磬). This means that Confucius’s thoughts are a comprehensiveexpressionssaints’ ideas.
Now we come to the Ling Star Gate. This gate was erected in Ming Dynasty and was rebuilt in 1754. The three characters were written by Emperor Qianlong. The legend has it that there are 28 constellations in the galaxy. The star in charge of culture is called“Ling Star” or “Wenqu Star”. People believe Confucius is the Ling Star. So they show respect to Confucius is as important as to show respect to Heaven.
Look at this stone stele on the temple gate’s eastern wall. It is written on the stele that “officials should dismount here.” In the past, the civil and military officials and people in the street were required to get off from their horses or sedan chairs and walk on foot when they passed by the Temple to show their reverence for Confucius and his temple.
We are now entering the Dacheng Gate (大成门). The Temple of Confucius is divided into three layouts from here. The middle gate is the Dacheng Gate; the two beside the Dacheng Gate are the Golden Sound Gate on the left and Jade Vibration Gate on the right. The one on farther western side is the Qisheng Gate (启圣门) and the one on
farther eastern side is the Chengsheng Gate (承圣门).
This is the main hall of the Temple of Confucius. Dacheng Hall, together with the Forbidden City’s Hall of Supreme Harmony and Daimiao Temple’s Tiankuang Hall (天贶殿) in Tai’an city (泰安) are called the three greatest halls in China or “the Three Greatest Halls in the East”. This hall is 24.8 meters high, 45.78 meters wide and 24.8 meters deep. It is surrounded by 28 dragon columns carved out of whole blocks of stone. The 10 columns in front are deep relief sculptures and the others are shallow ones. They are made with exquisite technique and are treasures of the whole world. Carved on each column are two dragons twisting and flying. They are made true to life and are completely different from each other. The birthday of Confucius is on September 28th and grand commemoration activities are held here in which people pay homage to Confucius. During the festival, music and dancing are performed and visitors from home and abroad swarm to Qufu. Various cultural and tour activities are rich and colorful and you’re welcome to attend this festival and enjoy yourselves in this world-famous event.
San Xian Shan is located in the northern end of the city of Penglai, there are more than 200 thousand tons of special rocks, and 3000 old trees. It is the national 5A scenic spot.
First thing we can see the Three Hall, including the Heqi Hall, Hehe Hall and Heshun Hall. There is a picture “Yi Tuan He Qi”, which means keeping on good terms, in the main Hall.
San Xian Shan refers to three fairy mountains, Penglai, Wangzhang and Yingzhou.The Penglai mountain is modeled on "Penglai fairyland map", divided into six floors, which is dedicated to the " Taoist Chi Hong ," Avalokitesvara , Zhang DaoLing , Wang Chongyang , Magu , the Queen Mother of the West and the Jade Emperor .
The Fangzhang mountain mainly shows the united thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. The first group, Dacheng Hall, is dedicated to Confucius , showing Confucian culture. The second group is dedicated to Sanqing, showing the Taoism culture. The third group of the Main Hall, Grand Hal, is dedicated to the Buddha.
The Ying Chou Wonderland major shows Confucian culture. There is a set of bells, the musical scale structure of which belongs to the same rhythm of modern C major. Reclining Buddha Hall is dedicated to the town park treasure - the world's largest Sakyamuni Buddha with ice- water species of white jade, carved from a single piece of white water jade, 108 tons and 12.86 meters long, decorated by 24k gold and more than 3,000 pieces of red sapphire, emerald .
The 11-side Avalokitesvara is made of Burmese natural water jade, 260 tons and 11meters high, decorated by 11990 pieces of precious stones.
The scenic spot further corresponding to San Xian Shan is Ba Xian Guo Hai, eight immortals crossing the sea.
The whole area is like magic gourd lying on the sea, three sides surrounded by the sea and one side connecting the land. Taoist culture and scenic closely Penglai fairyland myth, the legend to the theme of the Eight Immortals , has China's largest offshore rocks forest , the longest sea promenade, the highest maritime pavilion .The words “Ba Xian Guo Hai Kou” and “Ren Jian Xian Jing” on the front and back of the first memorial arch are inscribed by Su Shi.
The words “Yun Wai Xian Du” on the second memorial arch is inscribed by the great calligrapher Mifu. The words “Ren Jian Xian Jing” on the back is inscribed by the great calligrapher Huang Tingjian.
The two words “Xian Yuan” on Xian Yuan Pavilion Xianyuan is inscribed by Li Shimin, the Emperor Ti Zong of the Dang Dynasty. The couplets beside the door is inscribed by Mr. Ou Yang Zhoushi.
The plaque of Wang Ying Pavilion is written by the contemporary calligraphy master Mr. Qi Gong. There is a 1700-year old ancient tree of jujube, which is doubtly the king of jujube. And there is a picture of Qun Xian Zhu Shou Tu, which shows the Queen Mother entertaining the immortals fot her birthday of and holding the Grand Feast of Peaches. The picture is composed of 1888 pieces of emeralds , ivories and jades. Ba Xian Temple is dedicated to the eight immortals crossing the sea. The plaque is inscribed by contemporary calligrapher Liu BingSen..
Bai Xian Altar is located in the northern end of scenic spot. Thousands years ago, when the Emperor Shi Huang of Qin and the Emperor Wu Di of Han sailed to the east, seeking immortality of life, they specially set up the altar to hold a grand ceremony worshiping the immortals.
fellow friends:
hello! sincerely welcome you to come to taishan, today i and everybodywill mount the summit together from the taishan east road.
this big, ancient taishan has contained the rich nature and culturalaccumulating, has been included by the united nations educational,scientific and cultural organization the world nature and the culturalheritage name list. now, we still had such to ask " like ancient;dai zong husband how " then, marches into together with me themountain, understands taishan's charm.
here is daimiao. from daimiao the start, after the dai zong work place,a fontanel, the red gate, center the fontanel, rises the immortal workplace to the south fontanel, is the road which ancient times emperorancient rite of making sacrifices taishan passed through, now iscalled by the well-known person " ascends to heaven scenic area" also calls the east road, is in the present taishanmountaineering 6 roads most ancient. we will mount from this roadgoes against extremely.
everybody noted has been palatial daimiao front, but also some smallertemple, this was " remote senate pavilion " was same yearemperor the ancient rite of making sacrifices taishan's initialstation. same year the king came when taishan held the ancient rite ofmaking sacrifices standard offers a sacrifice to, all first must in here hold simply paysrespect to the ceremony, therefore before ming dynasty, called thiswas " grass senate pavilion " . when the ming dynastyperforms the extension, changes name is " remote senate pavilion" . although is a character is easy, the base was reverentactually contains.
the friends, china's ancient architecture has the unique status in theworld construction history, this remote senate pavilion constructionidea already will stem from the ancient rite of making sacrificesgrand ceremony from this but step by step to enter the high tide forthe prelude the need, after also will be esthetics thought manifestingwhich china ancient times first damped raises.
in the right noon time gate was daimiao, was even is a mysterious side.daimiao has the like this charm, decides to it own characteristic.first, its fence then is different with the general temple, the fenceweek 1,300 meters, 5 cornerstones, on build blue big the brick, assumesthe trapezoid, gets down the width 17.6 meters, on the width 11meters, the high approximately 10 meters, altogether have 8 gates:center is the right noon time gate, is daimiao main entrance. enters bythe right noon time gate daimiao comes, the front surface matches thefontanel, takes " which kong zi said; germany matches world "meaning. matches the fontanel two sides, east for works three the marquispalace, west for too , between three palaces to the wall isconnected, the constitution daimiao among as soon as enters thecourtyard.
crossed the kernel peaceful gate, then is grand big song tiankuang, itcalls the towering extremely palace, is this temple main body. day palace surface extravagant 9, 643.67 meters, depth of a house 5, 17.18meters, pass the height 23.3 meters. everybody looked that, the day palace is situated above the spacious white station base,periphery the stone carving fence surrounds, the cloud shape looksthe column uneven row, caused the day palace to have the marvelouseffect with all around environment.
around the day palace serves with the winding corridor, has formeda big courtyard, in china's construction, the porch plays enable thespace to have thoroughly, collects was mad, close, is rigorous andalso is rich in the change the role, this is in the world constructionhistory all performs to praise. daimiao the winding corridor closely issurrounding a double-eaved roof palacebig building, straight and thelofty contrast has aroused the people to day palace revering. ourcountry the ancient architecture fully realized in world notabsolutely greatly absolutely small, the size is produces from thecontrast, besides all around even low the winding corridor, in front ofthe day palace in the platform has also repaired two exquisiteimperial tablets pavilions, both has highlighted the day palace,and to the grand center house holds tranquilly is comfortable,therefore the day palace certainly was not the grand twocharacters may summarize.
slanders the back door from the day to leave, has the bricks andstones road and the latter imperial palace is connected. when songzhenzong seals taishan, because taishan will seal will be "emperor " the emperor must have " latter " thereuponthen has matched madame " for it; shu next two " . lookedlike from this point, daimiao if said is the taoism god governmentoffice, but also was inferior to said likes the imperial palace, thiskind of layout had further disclosed the feudal ruler uses daimiaocarries on the political activity the utility goal.
a moment ago, we were along daimiao main spool thread tour, butadvocates the spool thread two sides, originally in addition has 4individual courtyards, around the east side two courtyards, first is" chinese cypress courtyard " hands down 6 copals whichmartial emperor of han dynasty plants on in this courtyard; latter is" east imperial place " is emperor offers a sacrifice to theplace which taishan stays.
here was taishan famous 18. the about 2.5 billion years ago, in timeare called as by the geologist " taishan movement " in theorogenesis, ancient taishan first time is vast from a piece rises,later several vicissitudes, taishan raises submerges, the submersionraises, finally in 30 million year ago " himalaya mountainsorogenesis " center, taishan finally has formed today appearance.the ancient orogenesis has accomplished south taishan the foothillsteps and ladders type rise three fault zones, on most from the cloudfoot-bridge fault zone to goes against extremely, the elevation suddenly rises morethan 400 rice, causes this region to have the striking contrast withall around the group peak, just like checking of the pagoda, hasformed " east day column " imposing manner.
here is tight 18, also was the entire mountaineering road plate centermost difficult land sector. everybody looked that, the cliff antiquityperson's topic engraves: " diligently climb up " "wanshan " " altogether climbs blue scaling ladder " ...... that is encouraging us. everybody looked again that, thatshoulders hundred catties selects shan gong, again thought the same year didnot have a non- surname chisel stone to build roads the person... ... themountain does not have the word, but they can drive the people areupward. the friend, the mountaineering just like does any enterprise,only has is dutifully upward, can defeat difficult, can arrive thehighest boundary!
south the fontanel arrived, we have now placed oneself " day" although we have not certainly become an immortal, but weunderstood " in here; ascends tianshan but small world "heroics.
has entered south the fontanel, relative is the main hall names withit is " not porch " porch two sides each has not beenallowed north. leaves the gate to have a mountain peak toward the westto call " month view peak " on the mountain has thepavilion, famous month view pavilion. it is said, the clear sky andfresh air late autumn season, also may to as soon as look at " inhere; yellow river gold brings " strange landscape: shines upon inthe setting sun under the backdrop, the big diastrophism has beendark, only some tune yellow river water, reflected sun's glory, likedflash the golden belt, day in place continually in same place. atnightfall, under the bright moonlight, looks obviously jinan'slamplights of ten thousand families from this the north,
Lying at the center of Beijing， the Forbidden City， called Gu Gong， in Chinese， was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum， it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape， it is the world‘s largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9，999 buildings. The wall has a gate on each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate， to the north is the Gate of Devine Might (Shenwumen)， which faces Jingshan Park. The distance between these two gates is 960 meters， while the distance between the gates in the east and west walls is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section， or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section， or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court， fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries， it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987， the Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions world wide.
Construction of the palace complex began in 1407， the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty. It was completed fourteen years later in 1420. It was said that a million workers including one hundred thousand artisans were driven into the long-term hard labor. Stone needed was quarried from Fangshan， a suburb of Beijing. It was said a well was dug every fifty meters along the road in order to pour water onto the road in winter to slide huge stones on ice into the city. Huge amounts of timber and other materials were freighted from faraway provinces. Ancient Chinese people displayed their very considerable skills in building the Forbidden City. Take the grand red city wall for example. It has an 8.6 meters wide base reducing to 6.66 meters wide at the top. The angular shape of the wall totally frustrates attempts to climb it. The bricks were made from white lime and glutinous rice while the cement is made from glutinous rice and egg whites. These incredible materials make the wall extraordinarily strong.
Since yellow is the symbol of the royal family， it is the dominant color in the Forbidden City. Roofs are built with yellow glazed tiles; decorations in the palace are painted yellow; even the bricks on the ground are made yellow by a special process. However， there is one exception. Wenyuange， the royal library， has a black roof. The reason is that it was believed black represented water then and could extinguish fire.
Nowadays， the Forbidden City， or the Palace Museum is open to tourists from home and abroad. Splendid painted decoration on these royal architectural wonders， the grand and deluxe halls， with their surprisingly magnificent treasures will certainly satisfy "modern civilians".
hua shan is the highest of china’s five sacred mountains. it is 120 kilometers east of xian. it has five peaks that resemble the petals of a flower. the highest peak is 2180 meters (7085 feet).
we had had discussions about going to hua shan with some graduate students from computer science. that didn’t work out due to changes in schedules on both sides. also, they were planning to do the climb at night to be able to reach the peak at sunrise. that did not appeal to us. we wanted to spend a night on the mountain. fran’s department arranged a trip for us, making reservations at the simple hotel on the north peak. they sent two graduate students to accompany us, though they had not been to hua shan before. we met them at 8:00 on saturday morning and took a taxi to the train station. there we asked around and located a mini-bus. the bus made a couple of stops. one was to see a presentation about the traditional medicines grown on the mountain and a chance to buy some of them. it probably would have been interesting if we understood chinese. our guides gave us the general outline about what was said. the other stop was a quick lunch stop.
there are two approaches to hua shan. [chinese proverb: “there is one road and only one road to hua shan,” meaning that sometimes the hard way is the only way.] the west entrance involves 10 kilometers of walking on a road before you start climbing. we went with the east entrance, where the bus brings you to the base of a cable car that goes up to the 1500 meter north peak. our plan was to walk up to the north peak, then climb to the four other peaks the next day and take the cable car down.
we started the climb in the early afternoon. the path consists of stone steps with rough chain link handrails in the narrowest areas (we wore our bicycling gloves for hand protection). physically, it is more like climbing the steps of a skyscraper than trails at home. however, the temperature was about 95 degrees and there was not much shade. we brought lots of water, including some bottles that we froze and some gatorade that we got at the fancy department store in downtown xian. there are plenty of refreshment stands along the way where you can buy bottled water, the chinese equivalent of gatorade, and other drinks or snacks at a premium price.
we reached the north peak before 4:00 pm and rested at the hotel. our room was basic, but comfortable and clean enough. because water is scarce on the mountain, there were neither showers nor sinks available for washing. in that sense the experience felt like camping, but we were sleeping in a big tent!
after dinner at the hotel restaurant, we spent some time talking with our guides. we were a bit surprised to find that they both think of japan negatively, but like the u.s. it seems that japan’s wwii behavior in china has not been forgotten, and is emphasized in school.
we saw a beautiful sunset and watched the sky become resplendent with thousands of stars, including the milky way galaxy. this was the clearest sky that we have seen in china. the fresh air at hua shan is a treat!
our guides had both been planning to get up at 4:00 am to watch the sunrise. fran and i made sleep a priority. we did happen to wake up a bit before sunrise (our room faced east) and went outside to watch the sky become rosy. ironically, our guides missed the sunrise because they had stayed up late watching the european soccer championships on the television in their room
the plan for the day was to climb the other four peaks, but we reserved the right to shorten the route. the first part was a steep climb to middle peak. after the low north peak, all the others are at roughly XX meters. there were crowds on the way to middle peak – mostly chinese hikers but we did see a few other wai guo (foreigners) as well.
we visited two taoist temples en route to middle peak. each one had an altar with incense and offerings of fruit. the friendly monks invited us to say a prayer or to send blessings to loved ones. fran accepted their invitation. at the first temple, she lit incense sticks and knelt on a cushion in front of the altar saying a silent prayer for our safe journey to the various summits of hua shan (the prayer was answered). at the second temple, she knelt on a cushion in front of the altar and sent silent blessings to several friends who are experiencing challenging situations in their lives at present. after each blessing, she leaned forward and the monk struck a drum.
after middle peak, the crowds got much thinner. the next was east peak, which had a steep ladder climbing rock. fran was dubious about this ascent, but realized that the ladder wasn’t so bad and went for it. that was a good decision because we were then able to do a loop and the trails got almost empty at this point. after skirting the top of a cliff with a steep dropoff on both sides, we had a pleasant walk to south peak and west peak. there was even a small amount of dirt trail! the summit of south peak was the highest point on hua shan, so of course we asked another hiker to take a photo of our guides and us. the views from the tops of each peak were beautiful. hua shan and the surrounding mountains are very rugged and remind us somewhat of hiking in the southwestern united states or the sierras.
we took a route that eventually brought us to the main line returning down from middle to north peak. we were happy to have ascended each of the five peaks (petals) of flower mountain.
by cable car (the longest in asia), it was just 7 minutes down to the park entrance. we caught a shuttle bus into town, then transferred to a bus for xian.
our guides told us that we had walked up and down a total of 4000 stairs! we were glad that we did not have this information when we started. for three days after returning home, our sore leg muscles instructed us to take the elevator to our fifth floor apartment rather than climbing the stairs.
And now let’s go to see the youngest volcano in Tengchong, we called it “打鹰” Mountain, which means hunting eagles. This volcano lies in the center of the whole place and stands in a height of more than 2600 meters. It looks sheer, tall and straight, just like the famous Fuji in Japan. And we always consider it to be Fuji second.
Everyone, pay attention to this kind of special stone. It looks like a very big stone, maybe it’s too heavy to carry. And now look at me, I can hold it easily. Aha, it’s light, lighter than I think. This kind of stone we call it “浮石”, which means a kind of stone can float on the water. It’s formed by the erupting of the volcanoes.
Everyone, please follow me. Now we will go to see the hot springs. There are all kinds of hot springs in Tengchong, which occupy a vast land. When you go there you can see a vaporous world just like a wonderland. The temperature of the water is very high. If you put an egg into the hot spring, after 10 minutes, you can get it out and eat it. Of course the taste is good, would you like to have a try?
Of course you can enjoy natural beauties as well. The pearl Spring drops big and small beads continuously, just like the pearls crawling in the plate. And 醉鸟 Swell, whoes name means letting the birds get drunk, has a strange function. When there are birds flying above it, the birds will fall down and fall asleep. It’s really interesting.
And after visiting these wonderful spots, we can have a rest, and maybe some of you want to have a bath in the hot spring. I suggest you do so, because the water here can cure disease which based on medical reasons.
300 hundred years ago, a famous traveler named 徐霞客 came here and was overwhelmed by the scenery of Volcanoes and Hot Springs, today the same scenery overmaster us.
Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum and the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum
Emperor Qin Shihuang (259-210B.C.) had Ying as his surname and Zheng as his given name. He name to the throne of the Qin at age 13, and took the helm of the state at age of 22. By 221 B.C., he had annexed the six rival principalities of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei, and established the first feudal empire in China’s history.
In the year 221 B.C., when he unified the whole country, Ying Zheng styled himself emperor. He named himself Shihuang Di, the first emperor in the hope that his later generations be the second, the third even the one hundredth and thousandth emperors in proper order to carry on the hereditary system. Since then, the supreme feudal rulers of China’s dynasties had continued to call themselves Huang Di, the emperor.
After he had annexed the other six states, Emperor Qin Shihuang abolished the enfeoffment system and adopted the prefecture and county system. He standardized legal codes, written language, track, currencies, weights and measures. To protect against harassment by the Hun aristocrats. Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the Great Wall be built. All these measures played an active role in eliminating the cause of the state of separation and division and strengthening the unification of the whole country as well as promotion the development of economy and culture. They had a great and deep influence upon China’s 2,000 year old feudal society.
Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the books of various schools burned except those of the Qin dynasty’s history and culture, divination and medicines in an attempt to push his feudal autocracy in the ideological field. As a result, China’s ancient classics had been devastated and destroy. Moreover, he once ordered 460 scholars be buried alive. Those events were later called in history“the burning of books and the burying of Confucian scholars.”
Emperor Qin Shihuang，for his own pleasure, conscribed several hundred thousand convicts and went in for large-scale construction and had over seven hundred palaces built in the Guanzhong Plain. These palaces stretched several hundred li and he sought pleasure from one palace to the other. Often nobody knew where he ranging treasures inside the tomb, were enclosed alive.
Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum has not yet been excavated. What looks like inside could noly be known when it is opened. However, the three pits of the terra-cotta warriot excavated outside the east gate of the outer enclosure of the necropolis can make one imagine how magnificent and luxurious the structure of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum was.
No.1 Pit was stumbled upon in March 1974 when villagers of Xiyang Village of Yanzhai township, Lintong County, sank a well 1.5km east of the mausoleum. In 1976, No.2 and 3 Pits were found 20m north of No.1 Pit respectively after the drilling survey. The terra-cotta warriors and horses are arrayed according to the Qin dynasty battle formation, symbolizing the troops keeping vigil beside the mausoleum. This discovery aroused much interest both at home and abroad. In 1975, a museum, housing the site of No.1 and covering an area of 16,300 square meters was built with the permission of the State Council. The museum was formally opened to public on Oct.1, the National Day, 1979.
No.1 Pit is 230 meters long from east to west, 62m wide from north to south and 5m deep , covering a total area of 14,260 square meters. It is an earth-and-wood structure in the shape of a tunnel. There are five sloping entrances on the eastern and western sides of the pit respectively. The pit is divided into eleven corridors by ten earthen partition walls, and the floors are paved with bricks. Thick rafters were placed onto the walls (but now one can only see their remains), which were covered with mats and then fine soil and earth. The battle formation of the Qin dynasty, facing east. In the east end are arrayed three lines of terra-cotta warriors, 70 pieces in each, totaling 210 pieces. They are supposed to be the van of the formation. Immediately behind them are 38 columns of infantrymen alternating with war chariots in the corridors, each being 180m long. They are probably the main body of the formation. There is one line of warriors in the left, right and west ends respectively, facing outwards. They are probably the flanks and the rear. There are altogeth
er 27 trial trench, it is assumed that more than 6,000 clay warriors and horses could be unearthed from No.1 Pit.
No.2 Pit sis about half the size of No.1 Pit, covering about 6,000 square meters Trail diggings show this is a composite formation of infantry, cavalry and chariot soldiers, from which roughly over 1,000 clay warriors, and 500 chariots and saddled horses could be unearthed. The 2,000-year-old wooden chariots are already rotten. But their shafts, cross yokes, and wheels, etc. left clear impressions on the earth bed. The copper parts of the chariots still remain. Each chariot is pulled by four horses which are one and half meters high and two metres long. According to textual research, these clay horses were sculptures after the breed in the area of Hexi Corridor. The horses for the cavalrymen were already saddled, but with no stirups.
No.3 Pit covers an area of 520m2 with only four horses, one chariot and 68 warriors, supposed to be the command post of the battle formation. Now, No.2 and 3 Pits have been refilled, but visitors can see some clay figures and weapons displayed in the exhibition halls in the museum that had been unearthed from these two pits. The floors of both No.1 and 2 Pits were covered with a layer of silt of 15 to 20cm thick. In these pits, one can see traces of burnt beams everywhere, some relics which were mostly broken. Analysis shows that the pits were burned down by Xiang Yu, leader of a peasant army. All of the clay warriors in the three pits held real weapons in their hands and face east, showing Emperor Qin Shihuang’s strong determination of wiping out the six states and unifying the whole country.
The height of the terra-cotta warriors varies from 1.78m, the shortest, to 1.97m, the tallest. They look healthy and strong and have different facial expressions. Probably they were sculpted by craftsmen according to real soldiers of the Qin dynasy. They organically combined the skills of round engraving, bas-relief and linear engraving, and utilized the six traditional folk crafts of sculpturing, such as hand-moulding, sticking, cutting, painting and so on. The clay models were then put in kilns, baked and colour-painted. As the terra-cotta figures have beeb burnt and have gone through the natural process of decay, we can’t see their original gorgeous colours. However, most of the terra-cotta figures bear the trace of the original colours, and few of them are still as bright as new. They are found to be painted by mineral dyestuf
fs of vermilion, bright red, pink dark green, powder green, purple, blue, orange, black and white colours.
Thousands of real weapons were unearthed from these terra-cotta army pits, including broad knives, swords, spears, dagger-axes, halberds, bows, crossbows and arrowheads. These weapons were exquisitely made. Some of theme are still very sharp, analyses show that they are made of alloys of copper and tin, containing more than ten kinds of other metals. Since their surfaces were treated with chromium, they are as bright as new, though buried underground for more than 2,000 years. This indicates that Qin dynasty’s metallurgical technology and weapon-manufacturing technique already reached quite a high level.
In December 1980, two teams of large painted bronze chariots and horses were unearthed 20 metres west of the mound of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum. These single shaft four-horse chariots each comprises 3,462 spare parts, and has a body with two compartments, one behind the other, and an elliptical umbrella like canopy. The four horses harnessed to the chariot are 65-67 centimeters tall. The restored bronze chariots and horses are exact imitations of true chariot, horse and driver in half life-size.
The chariots and horses are decorated with coloured drawings against white background. They have been fitted with more than 1,500 piecese of gold and silvers and decorations, looking luxurious, splendid and graceful. Probably they were meant for the use of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s soul to go on inspection. The bronze chariots and horses were made by lost wax casting, which shows a high level of technology. For instance, the tortoise-shell-like canopy is about 4mm thick, and the window is only 1mm thick on which are many small holes for ventilation. According to a preliminary study, the technology of manufacturing the bronze chariots and horses has involved casting, welding, reveting, inlaying embedding and chiseling. The excavation of the bronze chariots and horses provides extremely valuable material and data for the textual research of the metallurgical technique, the mechanism of the chariot and technological modeling of the Qin dynasty.
No.2 bronze chariot and horses now on display were found broken into 1,555 pieces when excavated. After two-and-half years’ careful and painstaking restoration by a
rchaeologists and various specialists, they were formally exhibited in the museum on October 1, 1983. No.1 bronze chariot hand horses are on display from1988.
Welcome to Yunnan, Welcome to Tengchong! It’s my honor to be your guide. Today we are going to visit the volcanoes and hot springs in Tengchong, which are the most famous here.
As we will get there in a few minutes, first allow me to give you a brief intoduction of Tengchong. Tengchong is located in the southwest of China and occupies an area of 5800 square kilometers. There are 23 nationalities here, such as 汉、傣、回、白 nationalities and so on. When we mentioned Tengchong, three things will come into mind, which are: the volcanoes and hot springs having 10,000 years, the border city having 1,000 years and the fair of jade having 100 years.
Later we will get to the volcanoes and the hot spring, so now I can tell you something about the latter two ones. They all can reflect the long history Tengchong has. Tengchong is a city on boarder. And because of its location, it has been an important place for military reasons. And that’s a part of its history. It’s also regarded as the county of manners, and it is the hometown of so many famous people. And another part of its history is that Tengchong is one trade center of jade between China and Burma. So don’t forget to get a round to the jade fair. I think you will feel interested.
OK, everyone, here is the Library of the Volcanoes. Now let’s have a look at .The volcanoes in Tengchong are famous in China, and it’s one of the four groups of volcanoes in China. The strong extravasations are the cause of the landform of Tengchong. There is a lieder in Tengchong saying that:” Such a place Tengchong, nine in ten mountains have no peaks.” It’s very vivid, from that you can see so many volcanoes are in Tengchong. There are 97 volcanoes in Tengchong now with high value of tourism and scientific research.