英文导游词怎么写
英文导游词怎么写1Now we cne to Hanwengong Shrine, which is beside Hangjiang river and west of Bijia mountain.
This shrine had been constructed since Song Dynasty and becne the oldest existing and the most cnpleted reservation memorial of Han Yu, who is the great literary man in Tang Dynasty.
In the year of A.D.819, for some political reason, Han Yu was exiled to Chaozhou, a backland at that time. But he was not depressed by this, he helped local people to develop education, agriculture, irrigation and release slaves. To memorize what he had contributed to the development of Chaozhou, people constructed this shrine and name him “Hanwengong” respectfully.
The two sentences carved in this ancient book like stone are extracted from one of Han Yu’s text to encourage people to study, and its meaning is: hard working improves your career, meditation leads to success.
The shrine is constructed cling to mountains and has front and back two parts. Now we play a small game: count the stone steps, later I’ll tell you a secret. How many steps there are? Yes, 51 steps! So when Han Yu came to Chaozhou, he was 51-year old. When Han Yu was to Chaozhou, he was impressed by the beautiful scenery and hospitality of local people. You see that tree? Before it was an oak tree there, which was planted by Han Yu himself. People say more flowers in the oak tree, more well-educated students are. But in Qing Dynasty, this magic oak tree died, so people planted this tree instead.
Han Yu is a Confucian, he supported greatly to develop local education and even donated many money. This statue was done by Han Yu’s portrait.
This is a story: when Han Yu was living in Chaozhou, there is a very fierce and cruel crocodile in the Hanjing river. It was a big social harm. One day Han Yu drafted a rebellious declaration to against the crocodile and announced it beside the river publicly. Since the next day, the crocodile gone. Later people constructed this stage and carve his declaration text on this stele to memory his achievement.
Let’s climb to the “shi lang pavillion” and have a overlook to Chaozhou, the ancient city!
英文导游词怎么写2Yandang Mountain, locating in Yueqing Wenzhou City Zhejiang Province, is of the first group of national important scenic sites and it is considered as one of ten famous mountains in China. The name "yandang" cnes from the lake of beautiful view on the top of the mountain and where the spreading reed, and the wild geese cne and live here in autumn. Yandang Mountain, famous for its peaks, screen-like peaks, caves and waterfalls, is a mountainous natural resort on seaside. With the good reputation of "the famous mountain in the sea", "the emperor of mountains" it was called as "The First Mountain in Southeast China". With abundant and rich culture, it was set afoot in South and North Dynasty, and developed in Tang Dynasty.
Yandang Mountain was formed 120 million years ago. It is a typical ancient rhyolite volcano with area of 450 square meters in total, 550 scenic sites and 8 scenic zones included. Lingfeng Peak, Lingyan Rock and Dalong Qiu Waterfall are called as "Three Famous Scenic Sites of Yandang Mountain".
Yandang Mountain has its special features, "it can stand scrutiny in daytime, and it can thrill with joy at night", "Different positions, different sceneries" and "Tasting seafood while watching landscape". All of these are the three features which are different from other famous mountains.
英文导游词怎么写3Deqing town is mother dragon’s hometown. Its Panglong Gorge touring region occupies over 20xx hectares, its central area is 650 hectares. Panglong gorge is long, deep with lots green plants, and is abundant of water all the time.
Why the gorge is named “Panglong”? The mother dragon has 5 sons, the youngest son is very naughty and often makes his mother angry. One day mother dragon is furious to her little son, she sent her little naughty boy to this gorge for meditation. Sometimes his elder brother will also cne here to visit this little naughty kid. Attracted by the beautiful scenery, the two dragons are entrenched in this gorge and help local people for rains. Thus this gorge is named “Panglong Gorge”.
Now we cne to “Feifeng Pond”. There is also a legend of this pond. “Feifeng” means flying phoenix. Once the two dragon brothers want to present an unique birthday gift to their mother dragon, so they invite their good friend, a phoenix, and showed a 7-color cloud sky dancing together. After the party show, the phoenix followed the two dragon brothers and had a vacation in this gorge. The place the phoenix lived at that time is this pond, so today we name here “Feifeng Pond”.
At “Feifeng Pond”, we can take two different kinds of river drifts: one is bamboo raft floating, the water speed is slow and the watercourse is flat and smooth, you may enjoy the beautiful views on both sides leisurely. Another one is “warrior drift”: the watercourse is 3.8km long, full of rocks, fierce up-and-down with riptide, the total fall is 100m. it’s a good test to our warrior’s courage.
In this gorge, there is a large waterfall group, the biggest fall is 80 meters high. Here is the waterfall area, the concentration of negative ion in air is very high, are you enjoying your breath now? what we facing is “two-dragon pond”. To offer a quiet and separated environment to the dragon brothers to meditate, the mother dragon tore a piece of cloth from her sleeve and threw it here to form a waterfall curtain on our left hand. After meditation, the two dragon brothers fly back to the heaven above our right hand waterfall.
Do you hear the strong DISCO rhythm? Do you want to dance disco in water in this green gorge? Let’s join it.
You see these waterwheels? There are totally 62 units waterwheels. In ancient China, it is used for irrigation, rice or flour powder production.
The loom and other weaving wares in this hut show Chinese ancient weaving know-how 700 years ago. At that time, the local people were nearly naked only with few tree leaves and barks, and winter was really hard time for them, many froze to die. Until a lady named “Huang Dao Po” brought the weaving skill here, did the local people have clothes to wear.
英文导游词怎么写4Mawangdui is located in the eastern outskirts of changsha, about 4km from downtown changsha,In the preceeding centuries, it was bured here, hence the name "mawangdui"formerly there were two eastern mounds here closely linked together.
From 1972 to early 1974, chinese archacological workers unearthed three tombs of the wester han dynasty here and achieved tremendous results that attracted wide attention at home and abroad.they excavated more than 3000 cultural relied and a well-preserved female corpse from the tombs.according to seals unearthed from tomb no2"chancellor to the prince to changsha","seal of the marquis of dai"
we know that the mawangdui was burial ground of licang , chancellor to the prince of changsha statte and mqrquis of dai in the early western han dynasty and his family.
according to the historical records , licang died in the secong year of the reign of Empress lu . the occupants in tomb no3 were believed to be his son. unearthed from the tomb was a wooden tablet with the burial bate, which reads"the first day of the second month in the twelfth year" after careful textual research this was indentified as the twelfth year of reign of the han emperor wen ci . the corpse in tomb no1 is that of licang ' wife, whose personal name , according to an unearthed seal, was xingzhui, a study of conclusion that "tomb no1 dates from about the 6th dacade of the 2nd century B,Ca little later than tomb no3 tomb no1 is the best preserved, and most of the relies showed here were excavated from this tomb.
now , i will introduce this thing to you one by one:
these are figurines 162 wooden figurines were unearthed from tomb no1 and 104 form tomb no3 , they fall into three categories:attendants, musicians and odd-jobservants. no doubt , they represent the numerous servants enslaved by the marquis of dai, which reveal the parasitic life of the family.
now , pls look at these instuments, an intact zither with 25 strings, pipes composed of 22 pierced bamboo sticks and a set of pitch pipes were found in tomb no1 , in addition , a zither , a T- stringed harp, pipes and bamboo flutes were excavated from tonb no3 . strinkingly bamboo reads were found inside . the pipes found in tomb no3 , there is a silvery point on each reed, which controls the pitch, this is the material evidence of the earliest reeds , ever used in wind instruments in the world.
these are weapons:they wre excavated from tomb no3, there are 38 weapons altogether, including bows a crossbow, arrows , an arrow seabbard, a weapon stand , halberds, spears.etc.compared with the weapon of the warring state period, the bow , the crossbow and arrows were somewhat improved so that arrows
could travel futher, along with the garrison map. they help us to get an idea of the military situation in chansha state.
we know that china is a very big agricultural state, and long long ago, when people lived in western han period , there had come into being somewhat developed cultivation and animal husbandry. look ,all these things were excavated from the tombs . the agricultural produce includes rice , wheat , barley, soybean, red peas, hemp seeds, vegetable;the animal produce includes deer , oxen, goats , sheep, pigs, bares ,chickens , fishes and even chicken eggs.
well. lacquer ware, so beautiful! 184 pieces of lacquer ware were unearthed from tomb no1 and 316 pieces from tomb no3, they includ tripods vases, square vases, boxes , toilet boxes, pitchers, ladles, cups, caved cup - containers, an armreat, a screen, a game tool and a dustpam , most of them r made of a wood base coated in lacquer, and some of a bamboo or hemp base, the designs, either painted in lacquer or pasted or incised with very fine strokes, were done in smooth and graceful.lines with gorgeous color, the exquisitely wrought lacquer wares indicate the highly developed state of lacquer crafts- manship and a side light on the economic situation of the early han dynasty. now, we have seen the areound parts of the first hall, pls follow me to the central past . here you can see the silk fabrics.
英文导游词怎么写5From 1972 to early 1974, Chinese archaeological workers excavated three tombs of the Western Han Dynasty at Mawangdui and achieved tremendous results which attracted attention at home and abroad. The more than3,000 cultural relics and a well-preserved female corpse unearthed from the tombs are of great value in studying the politics, economy, military, affairs, culture, science and technology of the early Western Han period.
Mawangdui is located in the eastern outskirts of Changsha, about four kilometers from the center of the city. For centuries it was said that King Mayin of Chu of the Five Dynasties period was buried here and hence the name “Mawangdui”. Formerly there were two earthen mounds closely linked together in the shape of a horse saddle, thus it also called “Maandui”. In some historical documents it was called “Erfeimu”, and “Shuangnvfen”. It was said that Lady Tang, the mother of Liufa, Prince Din of Changsha in the early Han, and another imperial concubine, Lady Cheng, were buried here. Yet another record said that these were the tombs of Prince Liufa and his mother Lady Tang.
The opinions about who was buried here varied widely and the truth did not come out until the excavations began in 1792. It turned out that there were three tombs at Mawangdui. The eastern mound was known as Tomb No.1, and the western mound as Tomb No.2. The third Tomb was located to the south of Tomb No.1 and covered up by the sealing soil of the latter so there was no visible trace of its existence. The three seals unearthed from Tomb No.2 “Chancellor to the prince of Changsha”, “State the Marquis of the Dai”, and “Licang” indicate that Mawangdui was the burial ground of Licang, chancellor to the prince of Changsha Stare and Marquis of Dai in the early Western Han dynasty, and his family. The historical records give Licang’s death as occurring in the second year of the reign of Empress Dowager Liu. He occupant in Tom No.3 is believed to be his son. Unearthed form the tomb was a wooden tablet inscribed with the burial date.
After careful textual research this was identified as the twelfth year of the reign of the Han emperor Wen Di. The corpse in Tomb No.1 is that of Licang’s wife, whose personal name, according to an unearthed seal, was Xingzhui. A study of the stratigraphical relation of the tombs and the burial objects led to conclusion that Tomb No.1 date from about the sixth decade of the second century B.C, a little later than Tomb No.3.
The three Han tombs were immense. Tomb No.1 preserved very well. Tomb No.2 the coffins were mostly rotted. Most of the funeral objects were damaged and the corpse was totally decomposed because the tomb had been robbed in the past. The construction of Tomb No.3 remained that of Tomb No.1 but it was slightly smaller in size and there were only three steps at the mouth of the pit. There were three coffins in the wooden chamber but only a skeleton remained in the in the innermost coffin because the sealing was not tight enough. The funeral objects unearthed are abundant. There are paintings, books, maps, weapons, musical instrument, silk fabrics and so on. Both the innermost coffins of tombs No.1 and No.3 were covered by a T-shaped.
Color painting on silk. The two paintings are of similar subjects. The heavenly world, human society and the nether world are depicted. The top section portrays the sun, moon, stars, a big tree of a mythic island, celestial beings, heavenly gate guards, etc. The middle section depicts a scene of the tomb occupant offering sacrifices to gods. The bottom section represents a giant standing on the back of a pair of big mythical fish, holding up the earth. Well balanced and ingeniously composed, the paintings harmoniously interweave fairy tales with reality. The artistic skill of the paintings makes them masterpieces of ancient art. Judging from the shape, content, and the positions where the paintings were placed in the tombs, we know that they were a kind of funeral banner called “Mingjing”. These banners were used in funeral ceremonies to usher the spirit up to heaven, reflecting the superstitious thinking of the feudal rulers.
英文导游词怎么写6The tour will take 4-6 hours. The route is as follows:
Out side the East Gate-side the East Gate –in front of the Hall of benevolence and Longevity- in front of Garden of Virtuous Harmony-in front of the Grand Theater Building- a lakeside walk from the Garden of Virtuous Harmony to the Hall o Jade Ripples- in front of the o Jade Ripples- in front of the Yiyunguan (Chamber of Mortal Being)-Hall of happiness and longevity- in front of the Yaoyue (Chamber of Mortal Beings)-Hall of Happiness and Longevity-in front of the Yaoyue(Inviting the Moon ) Gate of the Long Corridor- strolling along the Long Corridor- visiting an exhibition of cultural relics- in front of the Hall of Dispelling Clouds- inside the Hall of Dispelling Clouds- atop the Tower of Buddhist Incense- on a hilltop leading from the back door of the Tower of Buddhist Incense- on a hilltop leading from the back door of the Tower of Buddhist Incense- inside the Garden of Harmonious Interest –outside the south gate to Suzhou Shopping Street- atop the stone bridge inside the Suzhou shopping street –on the road from the south gate of suzhou shopping street- on the road form the south gate of suzhou shopping street to the marble boat- in front of the ruins of the Garden of complete spring –along the lakeside by the marble boat-boating on the Kunming Lake-leaving out through the East Gate.
(Out side the east gate)
Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the Summer Palace. (After the self-introduction of the guide -interpreter) I hope this will be an interesting and enjoyable day for you .
During our tour, you will be introduced to time honored historical and cultural traditions, as well as picturesque views and landscapes.
The construction of the Summer Palace first started in 1750. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was in its heyday and China was a powerful Asian country with vast territories. The monarch in power then was Emperor Qianlong. With supreme power and large sums of money, he summoned skillful and ingenious artisans from all over the country to carry out this construction work in honor of his mother `s birthday. After 15 years and one seventh of the nation` s annual revenue spent, the Garden of Clear Ripples was completed and served as a testimony to China` s scientific and technological achievements. In 1860, this vast royal garden was burnt down along with the Yuanming Yuan (Garden of Perfection and Brightness) by Angol-French allied forces. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi reconstructed the garden on the same site and renamed it the Garden of Nurtured Harmony (Summer Palace). Characterized by its vast scope and rich cultural embodiments, the Summer Palace has become one of the most famous tourist sites in the world.
This is the main entrance to the Summer Palace-the East Gate On top of the eaves of the door there is a plaque bearing a Chinese inscription which means “Garden of Nurtured Harmony” , whose calligrapher was Emperor Guangxu. The gate that you are now entering was used exclusively by the emperor, the empress and the queer mother. All others used the side doors.
(Inside the East Gate)
the Summer Palace can be divided into two parts: Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake .The whole garden covers an area of 290 hectares, of whih three- fourths consists of a lake and rivers .This imperial garden features 3,000 room-units and covers an expanse of 70,000 square meters with more than 100 picturesque spots of interest. The layout of the Summer Palace includes three groups of architectures: palaces where the emperor attended to state affairs, resting palaces of the emperor and empress, and sightseeing areas. Entering the East Gate we will come the the office quarters. Entering the East gate we will come to the office quarters. The annex halls on both sides were used for officials on duty.
This is the Gate of Benevolence and Longevity. Above the door there is a plaque bearing the same name in both Chinese and Manchurian characters. The gigantic rock in the foreground is known as Taihu rock, or eroded limestone, quarried in Jiangsu Province and placed here to decorated the garden.
On the marble terrace sits a bronze mythical beast, known as Qilin or Xuanni . It was said to the one of the nine sons of Dragon King. A point of peculiar interest is that it has the head of a dragon, antlers of a deer, the tail of a lion and hooves of a ox, and is covered with a unique skin. IT was considered an auspicious creature that brought peace and prosperity.
This grand hall is the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. It was built in 1750 , and was known as the Hall of Industrious Government. Emperor Qianlong ruled that the halls where monarchs attended to state affairs would be named after them . After the rebuilding of the Summer Palace, the hall was renamed, suggesting that benevolent rulers would enjoy long lives.
The arrangement of the hall has been left untouched. In the middle of the hall stands a throne made of sandalwood and carved with beautiful designs. In the background there is a screen carved with nine frolicking dragons. On either side of the throne there are two big fans made of peacock feathers, two column-shaped incense burners, crane-shaped lanterns and an incense burner assuming the form of Luduan, a mythological animal which was suppose to have the power to prevent fire. The small chambers on eight side were where the Emperor Qianlong and Empress Dowager Cixi rested and met officials on formal occasions.
On the verandah in the foreground of the hall there are bronze statues of dragon and phoenixes which served as incense burners on major occasions. They are hollow and smoke comes through holes on their backs. Also on the veranda are Tai Ping (Peace) bronze water vats made during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. As a precaution in case of fire, a fire was lit underneath the vats in the winter to keep the water in them from freezing.
(At the entrance of Garden of Virtuous Harmony)
we are now visiting the Garden of Virtuous Harmony, where Emperor Qianlong and Empress Dowager Cixi were entertained with Beijing Opera performances. IT mainly consists of the Dressing House, The Grand Theater Building and the Hall of pleasure smiles. The grand Theater Building known as the “Cradle of Beijing Opera” was uniquely laid out and magnificently decorated. On September 10, 1984, the Garden of Virtuous Harmony opened its doors to visitors. There are also 7 exhibition halls with articles of daily use on display here. The staff here put up court dresses of Qing Dynasty in order to give the visitor a more vivid impression.
(In front of the Grand Theater Building)
this building is 21 meters in height and 17 meters in width and features three tiers of tilted eaves and stages. All of the stages are connected to a raise ,and a winch is installed at the top. A well and 5 ponds were sunk under the ground stage. There are trapdoors in the ceiling for fairies to descend, as well as on the floor for demons to surface. The underground passages also served as a means of improving resonance and making the performers` voices more audible .Of the three main theater building of the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Theater Building is the tallest and the largest. The other two are Changyin (Fluent Voice ) Pavilion in Chengde, an imperial summer resort. The building played a major part in fostering the birth and development of Beijing opera: since the completion of the Grand Theater Building, many performances were held in it in honor of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
(A lakeside walk from the Garden of Virtuous Harmony to the Hall of Jade Ripples)
we are now standing in the middle of a rockery behind the Hall of Benevolent and longevity. It appears that there` s nothing special ahead. However, after we clear the rockery, we will reach Kunming Lake. This is a application of a specific style of Chinese gardening.
Not far away in the lake there is a islet. It is filled with peach and weeping willow trees and serves as a ideal place to appreciate the scenery. The pavilion on the islet is called Zhichun (Understanding Spring) Pavilion and is chardcterized by four- edged, multiple eaved roofs.
(In front of the Hall of Jade Ripples)
this group of special and quiet courtyard dwelling is the Hall of jade Ripples. It was first used by Emperor Qianlong to attend to state affairs. IT was also where Emperor Guangxu of the late Qing dynasty was kept under house arrest.
This hall is a hallmark of the Reform Movement of 1898, Emperor Guanxu was Empress Dowager Cixi` s nephew. After Emperor Tongzhi died, Empress Dowager Cixi made her nephew, who was at that time four years old a successor in order to continue her wielding of power behind the scenes. When Emperor Guanxu was 19 years old ,Empress Dowager Cixi relinquished power to him but continued to exert considerable influence. In 1898, the Reform Movement took place with the aim of sustaining the corn principles of the Qing Dynasty while reforming outdated laws. The movement lasted for 103 days until it was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi. The emperor` s six earnest reformists were beheaded and Emperor Guangxu was placed under house arrest which lasted for 10 years .All the back doors were sealed and a brick was was put up behind the wooden partition on each side of the two annexes of the courtyard. Emperor Guangxu was closely watched by eunuchs. The wall remains intact for tourists to see.. Dynasty while reforming outdated laws. The movement lasted for 103 days until it was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi. The emperor` s six earnest reformists were beheaded and Emperor Guangxu was placed under house arrest which lasted for 10 years .All the back doors were sealed and a brick was was put up behind the wooden partition on each side of the two annexes of the courtyard. Emperor Guangxu was closely watched by eunuchs. The wall remains intact for tourists to see.
(In front of Yiyunguan (Chamber of Mortal Beings)
this was where Empress and empress dowager of China` s feudal system. However, Emperor Guanxu was not the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The last in the line was Emperor Puyi, who ascended the throne in 1908 at the age of three, too young to be married . In 1912, he was forced to abdicate. During the short reign of Emperor Puyi. Empress Longyu handled state affairs on his behalf in the name of Empress Dowager. In 1911, a revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sun succeeded, and the year after, Empress Longyu announced the abdication of the last emperor of China.
(In the Hall of Happiness and Longevity)
the aged empress Dowager Cixi was so fond of the Summer Palace that she decided to live here from April through October of every year. This group of buildings served as her residence.
This group of courtyard dwellings consists of a forecourt and a backyard with annex courts on each side .The whole compound was basically made of wood, which is ideal for ventilation and lighting . With its quiet and tasteful layout, the Hall of Happiness and Longevity made life very easy and convenient. No wonder one of Empress Dowager Cixi` s pleasure boat. On the pier there is a tall lantern post. Flanking the staircase leading to the main entrance of the hall, there are bronze cranes, deer and vases, symbolizing universal peace. The interior layout is the same as the imperial court, with throne, a large table and incense burners placed in the middle. At mealtime, eunuchs-in –waiting would make a gigantic table out of this table and Empress Dowager Cixi would dine on 128 courses. Because of this more than 1,800 tales of silver would be spent each month on meals. On the east side of the Living Room is the Cloak Room. The bedroom in on its west.
In front of the yaoyue (Inviting the Moon ) Gate of the Long Corridor
The famed Long Corridor is ahead. Facing Kunming lake and in the foreground of Longevity Hill, the Long Corridor stretches from Yaoyue (Inviting the Moon ) Gate to Shizhang (Stony Old Man) Pavilion. IT is 728 meters in length and consist of 273 sections and connects four octagonal pavilions. In 1990 ,it was listed in Guinness Book of World Records.
(Strolling along the Long Corridor)
The Long Corridor is one of the major structures of the Summer Palace .Since the corridor was designed to follow the physical features of the southern slope of Longevity Hill , four multiple-eaved, octagonal pavilions (Beauty-Retaining Pavilion, Enjoy-the Ripples Pavilion, Autumn Water Pavilion and Clarity Distance Pavilion) were placed at bends and undulation. Thus sightseers will hardly notice the rise and fall of the terrain. As a major part of the architectural style of the Summer Palace, the Long Corridor serves as an ingenious connector between the Lake and the hill. Scattered buildings on the southern slope were linked to creat a unified complex.
This corridor can also be called a “corridor of paintings ”: There are more than 14,000 paintings on its beams. Some of them are of birds, flowers and landscapes of the West lake in Hangzhou, Zhejian Province. Others present scenes from literary classics. The majority of the landscape painting were done under the order of Emperor Qianlong, who preperred the scenery of South China.
(By the door leading to the exhibition of cultural relics)
this group of temple-shaped structures are known as Qinghua (Clarified China) Hall ,also known as Arhat Hall during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. The original hall burned down in 1860. After it was reconstructed, it was renamed.
Qinghua Hall is now used as a exhibition hall displaying rare cultural relics collected in the Summer Palace. The hall consists of 6 exhibition rooms with tens of thousands of articles of treasure on display in turn. Among the exhibits there are bronze ware, porcelain, jade assemblages from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and rare and paintings. There is also a gigantic stone slab, which is more than 3 meters in height and width. It bears the handwritten inscriptions of Emperor Qianlong is commemoration of the suppression of a rebellion in the Xinjiang region. Only this slab survived when the Angle-French allied forces set fire to the Summer Palace.
(In front of the Gate of Dispelling Clouds)
Now we are approaching the central part of the structures on the lakeside slope, the Tower of Buddhist Incense within the Hall of Dispelling Clouds. The Hall of Dispelling Clouds was where numerous palatines kowtowed to Empress Dowager Cixi. It was surrounded by galleries and flanked by annex halls. In the forecourt there is a pool and marble bridges . Starting from the lakeside, there lies in succession a memorial archway, the Gate of Dispelling Clouds, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds and the Tower of Buddhist Incense. All of these structures are built on a central axis and each is taller than its predecessor. This was designed to give prominence to the last structure, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, which was a symbol of imperial power. The layout of this group of architectures was based on scenes described in Buddhist sutras. This group of structure are among the most magnificently constructed here in the Summer Palace.
(Inside the Hall of Dispelling Clouds)
The original buildings on this site were burned down by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860. A new set of structures was built during the reign of Emperor Guanxu, and was called the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, suggesting that it was a fairyland.
The hall was built on a high terrace, and has 21 room. Inside the hall are a throne, screens, tripods and mandarin fans. On a platform you will see bronze dragons, phoenixes and tripods. At the foot of the platform there are four bronze water vats, the ancient form of fire extinguishers.
The 10th day of lunar October was ,Empress Dowager Cixi` s birthday. On that day ,she sat on the throne here to receive congratulations and gifts.
Now we are going to pay a visit to the highlight of the Summer Palace- the Tower of Buddhist Incense. What we are now standing on is a stone terrace which is 20 meters in height. It has a semi housed stairway of 100 steps, you will live for 100 years. So, let` s go !
(In the front of the Tower of Buddhist Incense)
An octagonal structure with three storeys and quadruple eaves, the Tower of Buddhist Incense is the very center of the Summer Palace, and is one of the masterpieces of ancient Chinese architecture. The tower is 41 meters in height, and is buttressed by 8 solid pillars made of lignumvitae logs. With its complex structure, ingenious layout, towering terrace and convincing grandeur, the Tower of Buddhist Incense was artfully set out by the imperial gardens and beautiful scenery surrounding it .The Tower overlooks Kunming Lake and other picturesque spots within an area of tens of kilometers .On the west side of the Tower stands Baoyunge (Precious Cloud Pavilion). IT is made of bronze and is7.5 meters in height and 270 tons in weight. It resembles its wooden counterparts in every detail. It is one of the largest and most exquisite bronze pavilions still on existence in China. Lamas prayed here during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in honor of the monarchs and their families. At the turn of the century 10 bronze windows were spirited abroad. In 1992 an American company bought the windows and returned them intact to China.
(On a hilltop leading from the back door of Tower of Buddhist Incense)
Now we can see the long and snaking Western Causeway and a shorter dike that divides Kunming Lake into three areas that contain South Lake I