Shanghai: Ancient Town of Qibao

Qibao is an ancient town which is nearest to downtown Shanghai. It is divided into north street and south street, with curio, scripts and paintings, handiworks and special snacks as their main characteristics respectively. Qibao ancient street is a place that I am familiar too well. My father has told me that my grandpa’s grandpa’s ancestors had lived in the Six Bridge region in Qibao for generations. Later, due to the expansion of the road, our ancestral residence was pulled down. After that, my grandparents moved to Xujiahui area, and my father was born and grow up there. When he was young, he had went back to Qibao twice to see some old relatives. But when it comes to my generation, no one has been back there.

Today’s Qiaobao ancient town sets in the Eighth Bridge area of the former one, where is near our old home. Perhaps because of an innate intimacy to Qibao ancient town, my family and I like to have a walk here or find a restaurant by water or have a taste of tea and chat in a small tea house. Sometimes, we would sucked into the delicious street snacks, all along from this side to another.

The Chinese Spring Festival is coming. Many friends are planing to travel in the holiday. If you join a Shanghai to Xian tour, then why not come to the ancient town of Qibao and have a taste of Chinese Lunar New Year? By the way, if you travel to Xian, Hui Street is a good place for you to enjoy the local favor snacks.

Beijing: Zhenjue Temple

 Zhenjue Temple, also known as Wuta Temple, is the earliest Vajra throne pagoda in China. hidden in the Wutasi Street in the back of animal zoo, it is now the Beijing Museum of Stone Carving Art. Zhenjue Temple was a very splendid temple in ancient time, but now it is known by very little people, because the temple site has been vanished. Therefore, last time I visit the Beijing for 4 days, I did not even heard about it. In Oct, I join a Xian one day tour from beijing, in there I had visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda which is built by a great monk Xuanzang in Tang Dynasty。

 It has been said that the Vajra throne pagoda was built according to the structure of India’s Buddhagaya temple and was built with white marble. There are four pagodas constructed like the one in Zhenjue Temple. The first one is Qingjing-Huacheng Pagoda in Huangsi Street, the second one is Biyun Temple in Xiangshan Hill, and the third one is Miaogao Pagoda in Yuquan Mount, and the last one is Zhenjue Pagoda.

It is said that the pagoda can be climbed up before, but it is now closed. Several years ago, when I walked here I had been to the top of the pagoda. In 1987, many stone inscriptions were moved here from different places in Beijing, then the themed museum of stone inscription was officially established in Beijing. In autumn, Zhenjue Temple is a good place for tea tasting and gossip. I have a wonderful trip during my xian tour.

Hubei: Autumn in Wuzu Temple of Huangmei County

After finishing my Beijing Xian tour, today is the first day of the “Nanyue Journey” for Audi Q5. The first day’s journey is over 600 kilometers. Leaving from Wuhan City at 8 o’clock in the morning, and after 200 kilometers ride, we arrived at the first stop: Wuzu Temple in Huangmei County.

Built by the fifth founder of Zen Buddhism in theTanghui 5th year of Tang Dynasty (654), Wuzu Temple is the sacred place where the sixth founder Huineng became immortal and. Located in the East Mountain in Huangmei county, the temple is hailed as “the World Ancestral Home”. As the shape of the mountain is like a phoenix which is ready to fly, therefore it is also called Phoenix Mountain.

I have heard about Wuzu Temple long time ago. In my childhood, I had known little about Zen Buddhism by reading Cai Zhizhong’s cartoon Wisdom of the Zen Masters. In fact, I know little about Buddhism, but the famous poetry wrote by Huineng is widely known by most of Chinese people. It is said that the senior monk of Hong-jen's monastery wrote a poem on a wall that went like this:

Our body is like the bodhi tree,And our mind a mirror bright.Carefully we wipe them often,And let no dust alight.

Huineng, not yet a monk then, saw this verse and composed another one —

There is no bodhi tree really exists;Nor the frame of a mirror bright.While nothingness (i.e. wholeness) is the essence of nature,Where can the dust alight?

The second poem seems to say that bodhi tree, mirror, dust and alight are all concepts if one falls into a conceptual perspective. If one could go beyond the conceptual perspective, i.e. the observation of the enlightened one, none of these really stands for existence.

Perhaps only those who really have a affinity to Buddha can understand the profound meaning of the poem. Although I am not interested in Buddhism, but the feeling about temple is the same. Just like when I attended the Xi’an package tour, I visited Da Ci’en Temple where Monk Xuanzang lived in, I felt a kind of inner calm in my heart.

Yangcheng LakeJiangsu: Yangcheng Lake and Yangcheng Lake Fairy Crab

Yangcheng Lake

Yangcheng Lake is located northeast suburb of Suzhou City, China’s eastern Jiangsu Province. Crossing Suzhou downtown, industry zone, Kunshan City and Changshu City, Yangcheng Lake is one of the important freshwater lakes in Jiangsu Province. With a total area of 120 square kilometers(about 180,000 mu), it is divided into west lake and east lake. The water is very clean and looks like a piece of crystal-clear emerald from a far distance. Boating on the ripping lake, you will felt yourself in a gorgeous picture.

Yangcheng Lake are abundant in Aquatic resources, with 70 freshwater products living there, namely mandarin fish, soft-shelled turtle, white fish, eel, freshwater shrimp and fairy crab, which are the “Six Treasures” of Yangcheng Lake. In particular, the fairy crab, hailed as “Crab King”, is famous both at home and abroad.

Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab

Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab, also translated as Chinese Mitten Crab, is a special cuisine in China, especially in E China.The fairy crabs migrate from Yangcheng Lake towards the Yangtze delta for mating in September and October. Each year during this period, the fishermen go the juncture of the Yangtze River and the sea crabbing with nets, fishing grates, baskets, and even bamboo poles, presenting a scenery bustling with excitement.

Jiangsu: Jinxi Town—enjoy slow-paced life

Jinxi is located at the southwestern Kunshan City, China’s eastern Jiangsu Province. With lakes surrounding out the town and streams crossing in the inside town, Jinxi presents visitors a world of water. Because the river would be glittering when it is at sunrise and sunset, just like a splendid(translated into Chinese as “Jinxiu”) scroll painting, hence the name Jinxi.

Like many other towns in the south of lower reaches of Yangtze River, Jinxi is built with gray tiles and white walls, and mixed with gurgling water. However, it is different from most of the watery place. There are neither overwhelming amount of stores nor dense crowd. It remains its original serenity and clean. If you visit other towns like Wuzhen and Xitang in nine or eight PM, what comes to your eyes will be the hustle and bustle life with people shouting. But when we went through a quiet wood gallery, ethereal songs floating from far away, gentle and intangible. The river is in quiet reflection of light, and the light spot gleaming on the river.

Luoyang: Longmen Grotto

Mention about Luoyang, most people will take peony as the name card of this ancient city. But as for me, I went Luoyang for one of the four famous grottoes — Longmen Grotto.

Longmen Grotto is located between the Yique valley in the south of Luoyang City, with Yihe River flowing across the two mountains,west mountains and east mountains. Boating on the river, I felt just like weaving through the long history of China. Walking along from the east to west in front of the statues of Buddhas, I imagined myself acting in a time-travel drama, beginning from Northern Wei Dynasty, and going through Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang Dynasties and Five Dynasties (709-960).

With more than 400 years carving from Northern Wei Dynasty to North Song Dynasty, now Longmen Grotto posses more than 2,100 caves, 100,000 statues and 3,600 stone tablets.

There is a tallest one among them , which is at a height of 17.14 meter . Its head is 4 meter high and its ear is 1.9 meter long . The carving buddha looks like a smiling, bright and kindly middle-age woman with wisdom. It was built at the Tang dynasty while the Li zhi and Wu ze tian were king and queen, and the shortest one is only 2 cm height.

Sichuan: Guangwu Mountain in Autumn

The best time to visit Guangwu Mountain is in autumn, because the mountain will be decorated as a fairytale world with red leaves everywhere by the magical power of nature. When a gentle breeze blows, the leaves will be flying in the sky just like a rain of red leaves. How romantic!

Guangwu Mountain is located at the border of Sichuan and Shaanxi Province, adjoining with Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. The scenic area is divided into four parts with different features. But in autumn, the best place to appreciate the red leaves is dam zone, particularly the Great Lan Gully and Little Lan Gully where grown the most beautiful red leaves.

The best time to see the red leaves is the period around Oct 26. It will last for about one months. With 580 square kilometers sight, the scene is very magnificent. The color of red leaves in Guangwu Mountain takes on as ladder-like distribution, which is unmatchable for any other red leaves viewing areas.

The Wall of Inner City Π

The third phase of construction was during Zhengtong period. The main content of construction was to build city gates and turrets. Yingzong Emperor ordered eunuch Ruan An, General Shen Qing and Minister of Works Wu Zhong to lead tens of thousands of workers and soldiers to build the nine city gate towers. The project lasted for four years. Compared to the city gate towers of Yuan Dynasty, Ming city gate towers were much more splendid. After repairs, the turrets were more imposing, which can be evidenced by the remaining southeast turret of the Inner City. Besides, the emperor also ordered to widen and deepen the city moat. At some important places, moat band were built with bricks and stones. Originally, wooden bridges were built over the moat to link the nine city gates with the outside. This time, the wooden bridges were all replaced with stone bridges with water lock. Over all, the wall of the inner City(the main wall of Beijing)was completed after numerous repairs and enhancement in a long period of time. This grand and arduous project lasted for nearly 70 years, from the first year of Hongwu reign to the period of Zhengtong (1368-1436). Before its demolishment, the Inner City wall was 20 kilo- meters long, in a shape of rectangular with the east and west sides longer than the north and south sides. The walls were extremely strong, with rammed earth inside, stone and bricks covered outsides, and huge rectangular stone supported the basis. The actual height of the wall was 11.36 meters. The crenels were 1.8 meters high. Altogether, the wall was 13.2 meters high, 19.84 meters wide at the basis and 16 meters wide at tho top-secure against assault.