Wandering around the First Historical and Cultural Mountain – Zang Mountain

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Zang Mountain is the first historical and cultural mountain, and named after the story of “The Orphan of the Zhao”. It is located at the western foot of Taihang Mountains, 18 kilometers north of the Yu County, Shanxi province. In the mountain area, there are towering peaks and crags, as well as ancient temples, waterfalls, and flowers, gathering lots of Chinese culture. 
 
By the principle of the protection and development, integrated the unique natural scenery of Zang Mountain, repair old temples, with the implementation of the Yusen Park and Spring and Autumn Period loyalty park tourist facilities, as well as fairy peak ecological construction. There are four main tourist areas in the mountain, including 158 tourist attractions.


Autumn, October 3, we came to Zang Mountain by car from Yangquan, arriving an hour later. During the Chinese golden week, compared with those popular attractions, it was much more comfortable. 


We first came to the Yugu Park as soon as entering the scenic area, where reproduced the whole story of The Orphan of the Zhao.


In this season the Acer mono basically turns red, pleasing to the eye, especially in the early morning sunlight.


There are several small Taoist temples along the way. This is the Mawang Temple.


One of the top ten scenic spot in Zang Mountain- Shenma Spring


Upper to an open area, that is the "China Hidden solitary resort”.

Many people with lofty ideals regard this place as the holy land of loyalism. There are many inscriptions and relief murals hand down form the ancient literati.


Zang Mountain is a colorful volume with vicissitudes changes of China.


The stairs are not too high, so climbing the Zang Mountain is rather easy, mountaineering experience. The huge rock engraved with some word.


Ancestors Temple is the tallest building in the Zang Mountain Temple, which enshrines Zhao's three generations of ancestors of the Orphan of the Zhao.


Peaks here north versus south


Zang Mountain’s temple murals 


A building at Zang Mountain Temple


The south peak “Wat Peak" stands straight.


There is always a corner of temple exposed on the hilltop, which is a kind of scenic feature of Shanxi. 


Zang mountain scenery: dripping water rocks 

 
Zang Mountain Temple is also known as Wen Zi Temple


Zang Mountain Temple is the main building of the Spring and Autumn Period Zang solitary Holy Land. 


Hidden solitary hole is located in at the foot of the North peaks, a big house-like hole, without invaded by wind and rain. 


Zang Mountain Temple is a large scale and spectacular momentum building groups, incense exuberant year by year.


In addition to the palace was built in the Yuan Dynasty, most existing ancient buildings were new built in Jiajing Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. 


The surrounding steep mountains, lush forests, beautiful scenery and fresh air  

Climbing high and looking afar, there are beautiful mountains, as well as verdant green the ditch and gully. There is the extremely steep stone road south from the "Heavenly Gate".

After the Heavenly Gate, the south-facing is the cultural attraction of the three religions.


The statue of the sage Lao Tz (Laozi) 


The ancient plank road of the Zhenwu Temple 


Sun and Moon waterfall


Lotus Temple

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The Night Liuzhou

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Liuzhou is a magical and picturesque land. 

Liuzhou was known to people mostly because of a Guangxi folksong in the famous movie “Liu San Jie (Third Sister Liu)”. This trip to Liuzhou, mainly to for the 2012 China Liuzhou International Water Carnival, but let me have a full understanding about Liuzhou, as well as the life of Liuzhou. 

This beautiful city has a series of laudatory title of "the world's first natural bonsai", "China Stone City", and "commercial port of Central Guangxi ". 

As a national historical and cultural city, Liuzhou has several prehistoric cultural sites such as "Bailian (White Lotus) Cave Site", “Liujiang Man Site", “Liujiang wave prehistoric cultural site”, etc. 

Liuzhou today has become a vibrant, interpretation of the modern history of the legendary cultural city, tourist city, national garden city not because of its beautiful landscape, favorable environment for economic development and social prosperity, leisure livable, but also because of the "eco-industrial city, livable entrepreneurial city". 

The lively pedestrian street in the evening


There are Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yao, Dong and other 48 ethnic groups living in harmony in the 1.86 square kilometers of land, which become the charming landscape of the city. 

Apart from the natural beauty of the mountains and rivers, there’s lots of delicious cuisine in Liuzhou: the well known at home and abroad snail rice noodles, the original ecological local food in the restaurant named “Wangjiangzhai”, which has been a special presentation in the famous video “A Bite of China”. 

International Water Carnival, the performers are guests from around the world.


After the hustle and bustle of the day, the night Liuzhou has a different kind of style. Every night, flashing neon lights on both sides of the river just like colorful glowing pearl reflect on the river.


Take a luxury cruise ship on the river at night, fresh and cool. 

Happy people on the carnival


Dazzling fireworks


Night water motor boats performances



Gorgeous stage

 

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A Journey of Cultural Enlightenment in Xi'an

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This cultural tour is a 4 days tour in Xian, the first three days visited the Huaqing Hot Spring, terra cotta, Qianling,Shaanxi History Museum, The Ancient City Wall of Xi'an, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Famen Temple, encompasses the east and west tourist line and the classic in the center of the ancient capital, while the last day strolled in the place where full of cultural atmosphere to fully appreciate the charming of the ancient capital. 

gentle hot spring water, eternal romantic Huaqing Palace


This is the Huaqing Hot Spring: one side is the Lishan Spa water, quietly flow thousands of years, and witnessed tragic pathos love in the Palace of Eternal Youth; on the other side is the flower-shaped washbasins, very bustling.



This is the bathing pool of the great beauty Yang Yuhuan a thousand years ago.


In fact, this is the toilet


The spectacular underground army - sleeping thousands of years Terracotta Warriors and Horses

I was deeply shocked in front of the majestic underground vivid terracotta warriors army of thousands of years ago!


These are not stone, but terracotta army in accordance with the life-size dated back to more than two thousand years ago, painted and then fired and burned, and like this now. After the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang, many underground armies were built to protect the security of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum.



This is the senior sergeant among the terracotta army.


Terracotta Warriors not only momentum, but also great attention to detail carving, the expression, shape, tall, short, fat, thin of the more than 8,000 soldiers figurines are all different with each other.


We can see the color of the newly unearthed Terracotta Warriors and Horses is still very bright from the picture.


A man was quietly standing here a long time, thinking of something.


The brick texture is very hard.


Buddhist shrine - old and new Famen Temple

Famen Temple was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it became the the Chinese Buddhist shrine because its placement phalanx relic of Sakyamuni Buddha.

Today, Sakyamuni’s phalanx relic is enshrined in the new built stupa.


Boarded on the hands clasped together stupa, looked back at the long road that seems to endlessly


Seeing the Buddha relics is seeing its real body, although it is far from the shrine, I was still very excited!


The new site is next to the old Famen Temple, where is more pronounced to rhyme.


Underground museum of Famen Temple store many treasures, and this is the most famous one.


Sitting in the yard to have a rest




The Pearl of Ancient Capitals, China treasure house - Shaanxi History Museum

Shaanxi Museum is a must if travel to Xi'an, because since the heyday in the history of China, Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang Dynasty established their capital near Xi'an, so there are Shang and Zhou bronzes, Han and Tang gold and silver wares, the Tang Dynasty murals, Tang Sancai etc precious relics unearthed, nowhere else can compared. 

Shaanxi History Museum is now free of charge, so the long queuing, if you do not want to queue, you can spend 30 Yuan and do not need to line up.  



The Neolithic pigment grinding: you can also see the red grind out 4000 years ago very clearly. 

Sheep head spoon of Shang Dynasty, a dinner spoon, 5,000 years ago, when there were sheep, dogs, tigers and other sophisticated modeling on spoon.


The Western Zhou oak clock, a set of eight chime bells, which is the ideological root of Confucius as "Ritual and Music can make the country prosperous”


The famous Qin bricks and Han tiles with typical geometric patterns



This is the gold woodpecker behind the magnifying glass molded in the Spring and Autumn Period, just a fingernail size, very fine. 


Eastern Han Dynasty green glazed pottery peacock lamp, because there are nine peacocks on the whole body, so also called “Nine lamps”. These exquisite works of art were made in two or three thousand years ago, the era of low productivity and the material was extremely scarce. 


There are also piles of gold of Han Dynasty!


Western Wei Dynasty White Stones niche: these statues are well preserved, white crystal and beautifully. 


Collection of exquisitely Tang Sancai horses, camels, and stained Heavenly King figurines 


Face of glamorous and fullness of the Tang Dynasty beautiful painted


History is on the foot - The Ancient City Wall of Xi'an

In ancient times, people can ride horse, garrison, rack cannon on The Ancient City Wall, in order to guard the residents of the city. And now here has become a place of cycling, viewing and couples walking. Here is a living history, the real history at the foot!



The northeast corner of the Xi'an City Wall was built in the Sui Dynasty, and now is still intact. 

The trash on the Xi'an city wall looks antique and unique. 
 
 

The next following day, we strolled leisurely in the Xian City, feeling the history and modern of the ancient city. 

Chinese classic "Broadway" & elegant and poised “Tang music and dance" 

The Tang Dynasty is the heyday of China's political, economic and cultural. Since came to the Chang'an City, we naturally wanted to experience the music and dance culture of the Tang Dynasty. There are only two Tang music and dance shows in Xi'an City, one of which is the Tang Yue Gong, near our hotel, and is said to be the main reception of dinner and performances for foreign tour groups, so the price is natural not cheap.

Walk from the antechamber of Tang Yue Gong to the two scarlet palace doors, there is a magnificent theater, surrounding with the Tang Dynasty murals, lotus chandeliers on the zenith, as well as the lanterns on the tablecloth, all full of Tang Style.


Tang Palace maid-in-waiting dance lightly, the graceful posture arouses envy. Ribbons windward lightly fluttering skirt sleeve of a robe fluttering ruffles.


Tang beauties Concubine Yang’s sleeves performances stunning debut surrounded by the maids of honor, the audience exclaimed cheers for her!



Trance, the Tang emperor and Empress slowly walked into stage from the red lacquer door, jubilant scene. 

The woman sitting on the lotus danced for Tang emperor. 


Xinjiang performances also add to the fun: Xinjiang dance and belly dance are somewhat charming and refreshing.

We were indulging in the performances, and then one hour passed by.  
 

   

Shuyuan Gate - experience the ancient charm 

Shuyuan Gate Ancient Culture Street is not far from the Drum Tower. There is an ancient and tall archway in the west corner of the street, with two eye - catching couplets on both side the archway. The sides of the street are the shops selling selling ink, paper and ink, as well as paintings and calligraphy works, rich of cultural atmosphere, visitors can appreciate a different urban landscape from other places in the Xi'an city.







This Guanzhong Shuyuan was one of the leading academies in ancient China and the highest institution of Shaanxi Province in Ming and Qing Dynasty. 

We had a very keen interest in the ink, paper, ink, seals, seal carving and antique trinkets.

Went inside is the famous Stele Forest, but we had no time, because we had to rush to see the superb performance, as well as the non-material cultural heritage - shadow play in the Drum Tower. 

Intangible Cultural Heritage - eternal farewell shadow play 
Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated figures (shadow puppets) to create the impression of moving humans and other three-dimensional objects. It originated during the Western Han Dynasty in Shaanxi, but now it faces the doom of the lost due to the complex process, making difficult, opera accents make it difficult for the modern people to accept.


The show was performed in a small hotel. This man is the boss as well as the main actors of show, who greeted us warmly and explained while performing. 

The show we saw that day is a happy story about a peddler and a girl has betrothal with each other, but never met each other, so the peddler goes to sell groceries in the front of the house of the girl, in order to peek at the wife-to-be. To his delight, the girl is very beautiful and smart to be a good wife. 


Look, the peddler came to the stage with his carrying pole, and selling groceries outside the house of the girl, but nobody responds to him, so he sit on the carrying pole and wait the girl. Because there is nothing to do, he tilted his legs and starts to smoke. It looked so funny, and we were amused laugh. 


Then the heroine made a show. She didn’t know the man is her fiancé and bargain with him. 


The end of the show


I noticed that there is new generation of shadow play works on the wall. They tried their best to do all kinds of attempts to try to protect and maintain this ancient craft so that it will not be lost. 



Xi'an customs in the Drum Tower Hui Street

After watching the shadow play, we strolled to famous Drum Tower Hui Street, the most prosperous area of Xi'an city, and is the good place to experience Xi'an customs.

Mouth watering Xi'an snacks

The famous Jia’s Baozi


sweet and delicious candy Sydney



sour soup noodles

Roasted Nang, bigger than the face

The lamb shashlik, very delicious

Hair-thin dragon's beard candy 

Rose stuffed fried dried persimmons taste sweet, favorites by young girls

Squeezed sweet pomegranate juice


Crystal persimmon


fried sweet potatoes, sweet and crisp


Good business, the boss kept urging the man a little quick


Hui customs - Hui inhabited by about 30 million Hui people, rich in Muslim culture and atmosphere and form a specific landscape for Xian. 

A Muslim grandfather with a small white hat nap in front of the home


Shaanxi characteristics Tigers cap and tigers shoes are placed in front of thehouse to sell


Features Shadowgraph


The grandmother walked into the yard. 


The gentle beauty Hui woman adds a lot of beautiful scenery for the whole street. 




The first time to see so many people queuing up to buy meat

The mosque was hundreds of years ago, the people living in the street walk in the historical monuments. Strolled out, the end of our perfect journey 
          

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