Tour Guide to Heavenly Lake on Tian Shan

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Tianchi is an alpine lake in Xinjiang, Tianchi lies on the north side of the Bogda Shan(Tian Shan) range of the Tianshan Mountains, about 30 kilometers south of Fukang City and 45 kilometers east of Urumqi. (Bogda is a Mongolian word, meaning “God”.) It is an alpine drift lake shaped in the Quaternary Glacier period. This crescent-shaped lake deserves its name, Pearl of Heavenly Mountain (Tianshan Mountain). With melted snow as its source, Heavenly Lake enjoys crystal water.
















Our Bus routes: Urumqi northern suburb Bus Station - Fukang City - Heavenly Lake Scenic Spot

It costs ¥10.5 and about 1 hour from Urumqi northern suburb Bus Station to Fukang City.

There are shuttles from Fukang Bus Station directly to the Heavenly Lake, the fare is ¥5, and it takes about 20 minutes.

Generally, most tourists arrived at 10 am to 12 am, and the bus departure as soon as it is full.

The ticket price is RMB 100 per person, and you need to take a scenic coach to the lake, which cost RMB 70, travelling about 40 minutes.

There was cable car directly to the Heavenly Lake nearby the scenic ticket center in the past, and now it has moved to scenic area outside the ticket center, and the cable car has been shutdown. 

winding mountain road inside the Heavenly Lake scenic area, twists and turns

There is an ancient elm standing by the northern shore of Heavenly Lake of Tianshan, which is 15 meters high. 

Some vendors leased Xinjiang feature clothing beside the Heavenly Lake.

The left picture is the Goddess Temple, the right one is the elm we saw when cruised on the ships in Tianchi.

Heavenly Lake Tourist Center provided a variety of feature Xinjiang snacks – this is toasted steamed buns, each RMB 5.

The gate of the Heavenly Lake on Tian Shan


Xinjiang Tour: http://www.tourdechina.cn/ChinaTours/Southern_Xinjiang_Cultural_11_Days_Tour.html

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Tengwang Pavilion: One of the Three Famous Pavilions in Ancient South China

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The pavilion was built in AD 653, when Tengwang Li Yuanying (King Teng), a younger brother of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was the governor of Nanchang. This is also the reason why Li Yuanying is more well-known than his other brothers.

Li Yuanying was born in the imperial family, and he was a typical image of a flamboyant dandy by the influence of court life. In 639, he was enfeoffed as Prince Teng and spent his early years in Suzhou. In 652 he was assigned the governorship of Nanchang. Later, he built a pavilion as his townhouse, which is the famous Tengwang Pavilion.


The reputation of Tengwang Pavilion, to a great extent, is due to a well-known text - "Preface to Tengwang Pavilion" by Wangbo. It was said that when the author, a reputable poet of the Tang Dynasty, passed Nanchang on his way to Guangdong, he wrote this prose on the subject of the banquet which was being held to celebrate the reconstruction of the pavilion. Because of the famous text, most people remember Tengwang Pavilion, while few remember Li Yuanying. Pavilion of Prince Teng became a popular place to welcome and send off guests in history, compose poetry, and lyric writing in this pavilion became a long-lasting fashion. Even commoner emperor Zhu Yuanzhang also set up the celebration party on this pavilion. The pavilion was to be destroyed and rebuilt a total of 29 times over the next centuries.


In 1926, tragedy struck when the pavilion was totally destroyed by fire during that period’s tangled warfare among warlords. In 1989, the pavilion was rebuilt again according to the architectural style of the Song Dynasty. This nine-storied structure stands 57.5 meters in height and occupies a construction area of 13,000 square meters with a 12-meter-long base symbolic of ancient city walls. Made of reinforced cement, the pavilion, featuring flying eaves and engraved beams, looks quite splendid. 

The Pavilion is reached by a zigzag bridge and is circled by rock gardens and lakes. The main building of the pavilion is 57.5 meters tall with nine storeys, occupying an area of 47,000 square meters. There are two smaller towers standing on the north and south sides of the principal building. The charm of the pavilion is in the green tiles and the up-turned double eaves. Moreover, there are great collections of musical instruments, religious ornaments, bronze sacrifice ornaments, and series bells which reflect the true classical elegance of the new pavilion.

There is a large white marble relief in the main hall of the first floor.

The second layer is a dark layer, and there is a large meticulous re-color frescoes "outstanding personality map" in the main hall, painted the eighty leading ancient Jiangxi celebrities from the Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. The third layer is a corridor around the next four layers, is also an important Pavilion level, there are four giant gold plaques under the hallway. In the middle of the hall, there is a fresco on the screen wall, based on the story of "The Peony Pavilion".

The Peony Pavilion is a play written by Tang Xianzu in the Ming Dynasty and first performed in 1598 at the Pavilion of Prince Teng. After that, Pavilion of Prince Teng was gradually evolved into an opera stage from a dance balcony. The fourth layer is a dark layer.

Similar to the third layer, the fifth floor is also a corridor around the fourth layer, it is the best place to view the landscape and meet friends with texts. There are four gold plaques under the hallway, whose contents were based on the Preface to Tengwang Pavilion. The wall in the middle of hall was inlaid with Wang Bo's brass monument " Preface to Tengwang Pavilion ", about ten square meters.

There is a flowers butterfly picture hanging on the east wall of the West Hall, which is chose from story that Li Yuanying loved butterfly and also loved to paint butterfly.

The sixth layer is the highest floor of Pavilion of Prince Teng. The West Hall is known as the "Antique Showcase Room", which is a small stage, where there are some rare copies of ancient musical instruments display. And there are some twenty minutes of the Tang Dynasty musician performances every day.

As one of the three famous pavilions in ancient China, Tengwang Pavilion fully reflects the profound Chinese culture although it is reconstruction in recent years, it is also reflects the characteristics of ancient civilizations in Jiangxi.


More attractions in Nanchang: http://www.tourdechina.cn/chinaguide/nanchang/Attractions/

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Miao Dragon Boat Festival

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Shibing County is located in the north of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, the center hinterland of state-level scenic spot: Wuyang River. The county has a population of 150,000, and more than 50% of the Miao ethnic minority population, mainly inhabited in the south county, that is Qingshui River.

Ping Village is a Miao village by the Qingshui River, the birthplace of the unique Miao canoe boat race in the world. Every May 24 of the lunar calendar, all the boat must first go to Ping Village to worship dragon (a ceremony of praying for rain) before going to other villages to accept gifts to friends and relatives. Then the next day, 25th, all the boats gather together at Shidong Town to hold the Dragon Boat Festival of Miao People. 

Dragon Boat Festival is one of national grand festivals at Shibing County, falls between the 24th and the 27th of the fifth lunar month and is separate in origin from the Han people’s festival of the same name. On that day, ladies who have married take some Zongzi(rice dumpling) back home, and hand ducks, geese on the head of dragon boat in the uncle's home, while some will take some pigs and cattle, means sending blessing and congratulations, as well as sending harvest and lucky.

This is a native Miao stockade. One ancient legend about "dragon" was born here, from which evolved into a "Dragon Boat Festival." Every May 24 is a holiday in Ping Village. The beginning of the Dragon Boat Festival is not the sound boat race, but visit relatives first. Look at this picture, this is the scene that the relatives of a family carry the gifts and heading for the village...


These sticky rice dumplings are essential for Dragon Boat Festival.


Adult bring the children who wear new clothes to the entrance of the village to pick their relatives up.

Seeing some new faces of the relatives, the girl was a little nervous.

As usual, no matter friends or relatives, you have to drink a cup of wine to enter into the village. 

There are guests and hosts, but no boundaries, and friends here were from all sides.

After dinner, we came to the riverside, and found there were all kinds of stalls besides the river.

The people who sold duck were chatting to each other.

The man had bought ducks and was going home.

Vendors from outside were very joyous.

There were many people under the large tree to watch the coming boat race.

The girls were playing water at the side of the boat.

These women were talking their everyday matters.

glory on the face of these women

Everybody was very happy.

A canoe boat was heading for the meeting place.

Miao young and adult were prepared well for the race.

The captain was having a rest, to wait for the "battle".

Relatives of the clans came to toast.

Also hang the kinship and hope to the neck of the "Dragon".

Red silk flag expressed blessing

Toast embodies hope

The elderly carried a child came to the bow to take a picture.

A boy about 10 years of age was wearing dresses, beat drums and gongs.

In the drum field, women beat the drums.

The young man also beat the drum.

Miao shaman killed the white cock as a sacrifice for dragon.

Wearing a gown and a mandarin jack, the old man beat a drum to set the pace for the oarsmen.

The competition was very fierce…

After the race, the boat was leisurely flowed back.

The winners were cleaning the field.

Look back, lingering these simple and beautiful landscape. 


Miao Travel Guide: http://www.tourdechina.cn/ChinaGuide/guizhou/

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