The Red Stone Canyon, which is a rare canyon sight in north China withwaterfalls, lakes, pools and gullies, is highly acclaimed by gardening expertsas a “natural gallery for mountain and river collections” because of its grandand exclusive landscapes. The most splendid waterfall in the canyon is theBailong Waterfall, divided into three falls, measuring 30 meters in height. Itlooks as shiny as a huge silver dragon. A good place for waterfall watching isthe Heilong (Black Dragon) Cave, which is as long as 30 meters with absolutedarkness inside. Standing in the cave, you can not only see the marvelous fallsdashing down into the deep pools but also the perilous high stiffs, narrowlyseparated from each other by fast-flowing gullies so that the sky is scarcelyvisible. The spring water flowing down the cliffs splashes into water drops thatdazzle in the sunlight like colorful diamonds, looking like a unique picturehanging on the wall. Yuntai Mountain is famous for its grotesque hill, whichextends as far as eyes can see. The main peak, Cornel Peak, is 1308m above thesea level.It is said to be famous for a poem by a famous poet in the TangDynasty called Wang Wei, who worked out a popular poem when he climbed up themountain. The poem Thinking of My Brothers in Mountain Climbing Day fullyconveys his emotion of missing friends. Mounting to the mountain top and lookingfar into the distance, you can see the Yellow River winding like a silver belt.Having a bird view of the foot of the mountain, you can see chains of peaks likesea waves. The weather on the top is often unpredictable. All at once cloudsgather and wind blows,
with mist rising among the mountains. The mountains looming in the mist andclouds look so vague that you feel as if you were in a fairy world. Also, It hadbeen the secluded place of seven Bamboo Forest Sages of the Wei and the JinPeriod. Medicine King, Sun Simiao, once collected Chinese medicine here. Manyhistorical stories are spreading in the area related to some fames once visitedhere. Yuntai Mountain is famous for its numerous rivers, lakes, pools andsprings. Here we can see the highest waterfall in the country---- YuntaiSkyscraper Waterfall, which is 314 meters high like a huge pillar, reminds us ofa famous peom of Libai“ The waters puring down from thousands above of themountain, like the silver river dropping down from top of the heaven”. It looksespecially magnificent, forming a unique spectacle along with other waterfalls,such as the Tianmen Waterfall, Bailong Waterfall, Huanglong Waterfall andY-shaped Waterfall, dashing abruptly downward. Well,next spot for us is theQinglong Canyon here, renowned as “First Canyon in Central China”, attracts manypeople for ecological touring for its mild climate, rich water resources andvarious vegetations.
The Garden of Market in Qingming Festival Now we’re leading our way to thecity of Kaifeng. Kaifengis one of the 8 major ancient capitals of China. Thecity of Kaifeng was already in existence before 700 B.C. During the period ofWarring States more than 2,000 years ago, King Hui of the State of Wei moved hiscapital to Kaifeng, rebuilt the city and called it Daliang. Since then, Kaifengwas the capital of several dynasties. As an ancient capital, Kaifeng has a lotof historical relics and scenic spots. Some of them have been preserved, such asthe iron Pagoda, Po Pagoda, Xiangguo Monastery, Dragon Pavilion. They areprecious heritages of the Chinese culture. The famous painting Qingming Scrollis believed by some to portray daily life in Kaifeng. The painting, of whichseveral versions are extant, is attributed to the Song Dynasty artist ZhangZeduan. Have you ever dreamed of going back to Northern Song Dynasty in Chinaand enjoy the prosperity and culture of those years? If so, come to the Gardenof Market in Qingming Festivallocated in the old city of Kaifeng in HenanProvince. Find yourself in the spectacular scenery there and you are sure torealize that dream. The Garden of Market in Qingming Festival located on thewestern bank of Longting Lake is a grand cultural garden. It covers an area of600 mu, and the construction area is more than 30,000 square meters .The builtarea consists of several architectural complexes which are re-creations based onthe famous twelfth century painting by Zhang Zeduan of 'The Qingming Festival bythe Riverside'.
When you enter the Garden of Market in Qingming Festival, a statue which is16 meters tall comes into view. This figure is none other than the artist ZhangZeduan, who holds his famous drawing of 'The Qingming Festival by theRiverside'. This picture is a painted scroll which is 525 cm in length and 25.5cm in width depicting life along Bian River during the Qingming Festival. Thescenes in this painting are highly detailed and the spectacle is magnificent.There are large numbers of people and buildings. The people are shown in avariety of contemporary clothes that indicate their social standing andoccupations. The lively throng includes many animals and it is not difficult toimagine the sounds in the street scenes where the people are crowded and noisy.We can almost hear someone’s bargaining with a shop owner while others arecheering entertainers. The picture is like a live symphony of life during theSong Dynasty.
Now we can find these scenic spots such as City Gate Tower, Rainbow Bridge,distinctive shops and others which are re-created in the Park according to thescenes in the painting. The Garden of Market in Qingming Festival not onlyreappears the vast vigor of the Millennium Picture, but also makes the historyliving by flexible creative idea, makes tourists the sense of backward flowingtime by entering the park, just like passing through the space tunnel. Anotherscenic spot called Rainbow Bridge is a well-known feature in the Park. It is areplica of one of the ten ancient timber bridges. The bridge is 5 meters high.The first bridge was built in 1050, and reconstructed in 1998. Four 9 metershigh columns, two at either end of the bridge, replicate the poles that wereweather vanes at the time of the Song Dynasty. A white crane sits on a disk atthe top of each column and they turn to face into the wind, indicating itsdirection. As a scenic spot for folk-custom tours, Chinese authorities have donea lot to preserve folk handcrafts and folk customs. You can see the process ofmaking handicrafts, such as Bian embroidery, paintings for new years, enamelwares, tea ceremony, spinning and weaving, figures made from flour and sugar andfolk-custom performances, such as acrobatics, folk arts and performances ofbirds, fighting cocks and dogs. Here, you are not only a visitor, but an actor.For example, you can act as Mr. Right in the competition for marrying Mr. Wang’sbeautiful daughter and have the opportunity to enjoy the traditional weddingfestivities. And you can be the No.1 Scholar in the imperial examination tobring honor to your ancestors. There is a large amusement hall built in the Songstyle, where many amusement activities are held, including swings, balance beamsand many other amusements. As an ecological scenic spot, this garden was builtand forested according to the Market Day During the QingMing Festival. The wholegarden combines natural beauty with historical flavor, thus forming a favorableplace to have a true rest and evoke your full energy both physically andspiritually.
Yin Ruins Yin Ruins is at Xiaotun Village of Anyang City. In ancient times,Xiaotun was called Yin and it was the capital of the Shang Dynasty. So theperiod was also called Yin Shang. After the Yin had been overthrown, the citydeclined and the remains of it was later called the Yin Ruins. Since thefounding of new China, the Yin Ruins had been listed as the first group ofcultural relics under national protection. In order to preserve its culture, thegovernment built “Garden of the Yin Ruins” on the site. Today the garden isdivided into several sections with ancient objects on display. Because of itsgreat value in not only the historical relics of Chinese culture but also thehuman civilization of the whole world, Yin Xu topped the 100 GreatestArcheological Discoveries of China in the last century and it was listed in theWorld Cultural and Natural Heritage List of United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Yin Xu is revealing its beauty tothe world.
OK, everybody. Soon we’ll get to the Museum on Yin Ruins, the best museumfor the study of the Yin Shang Culture. The Yin Ruins is famous for threethings,i.e.the oracle inscriptions, the bronze wares and the ancient capital ofthe Shang Dynasty. As you know, China is one of the earliest countries todiscover characters. As early as 4,000 years ago, people used bones or tortoiseshells to record events of their social life. It is the earliest written form oflanguage in the world. Today we call them the oracle bone inscriptions, whichwere first discovered in the Yin Ruins. Well,let’s come to the main hall wherethe oracle inscriptions are exhibited. The oracle bone inscriptions were firstdiscovered during the years of Emperor GuangXu, in the Qing Dynasty. In 1899, inXiao Tun Village of Anyang City, Henan Province, villagers found many tortoiseshells and bones carved with letters and symbols, which unveiled to the worldfrom Yin Xu, an ancient city with a long history and splendid culture.Then morethan 16,000 pieces of bones and shells were found. But in the Shang Dynasty,they were used as divinations, when people were very superstitious. Theinscriptions cover a wide range of fields, such as sacrifice, wars, stateaffairs, weather, hunting, etc. Today, they provide important information forthe study of the Shang Dynasty. And the study of the oracle bone inscriptionshas become a new subject and is getting more popular among people. Since
then this place has become of great interest to worldwide archeologists,because those inscriptions have proved to be the earliest written characters ofhuman beings, the Oracles. Apart from the oracle bone inscriptions, bronze waresare another important part of the cultural relics discovered from the Ruins,which show that the technology of bronze casting reached its peak in the ShangDynasty. The bronze wares include vessels, weapons,chariots and so on. Among allthe unearthed wares, SimuwuQuadripod unearthed in the mausoleum area of the YinRuins, the largest and the most famous bronze sacrificial vessel in the world,is 875 kg in weight, 133 cm in height. Standing on the open plaza in front ofthe great hall is an enlarged copy of the original one for the convenience oftouring and appreciation, with the original one cherished in the Museum ofChinese History. With its unusual air of majesty, together with its elegance inappearance and intricately carved in patterns, it is considered a treasure inthe bronze culture of China as well as a glorious pearl shining on the peak ofthe world art. To cast such a significant vessel carrying such a great weight,advanced techniques and experiences in organization of laborers are necessary.As many scholars have pointed out, this huge bronze quadripod reflects theadvanced slavery system of the Shang Dynasty and the unusual power of creationof the people. Finally we come to the side of the imperial palaces and tombs.Lying on the southwest of the Foundation Ruins C, Fuhao Tomb is one of the mostimportant archeology discoveries in the temple. It is also the only discoveredand well-reserved tomb of Shang royal members since the science excavation ofYin Ruins. Now, let’s know something about the first woman general in Chinesehistory.FuHao was Emperor Wu Ding’s wife,both intelligent and courageous. Shehad bravely led the Yin army fighting in many wars and made great contributionsto the protecting of the country. After her death, Wu Ding built a large tombnear the palace to honor her merits. Buried together with her were many slavesand war prisoners as well assacrificial objects. The large numbers ofsacrificial objects are valuable cultural relics in the treasure house ofChinese art.