Yangzhou Travel Notes (5)--Slender West Lake (middle)
UP ChinaTravel
2024-07-25 11:07:06
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The "Chunbo Bridge" across the river appeared in front of me. This bridge turned out to be a scene in the "Four Bridges of Misty Rain". Unfortunately, the original bridge has been destroyed. The one I saw first was rebuilt in 1991. The shape of the bridge body is straight and uninteresting, and seems to have nothing to do with the word "spring wave".

The left bank is "Xuyuan", and the right bank connected by Chunbo Bridge is "Xiaojinshan". Both attractions are planned to be visited on foot. Looking at the water first is also a prelude.

The arch bridge in front is the "Jade Bridge". The arch of the bridge body is very beautiful, which is in sharp contrast to the Chunbo Bridge. It really deserves the word "jade version".

This pavilion on the left bank is the famous "Diaoyutai". Watching on the water gives you a more picture feeling.

I saw the "Wuting Bridge" in front of me, which is the landmark building of Slender West Lake. The five pavilions and bridges set off against the green waters and blue skies constitute a natural picture as beautiful as a fairyland. It is really intoxicating!

The official name of Wuting Bridge is "Lotus Bridge".

In the 22nd year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1757), in order to welcome Qianlong's second southern tour, Gao Heng, the Yanghuai Salt Patrol Censor, mobilized salt merchants to raise funds to dig the Lianhuange Xinhe River leading to Pingshantang, and invited skilled craftsmen to imitate the Wulong Pavilion and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge in Beihai, Beijing, built this Lotus Bridge.

Lianhua Bridge is 58 meters long and has three bridges, with a middle hole spanning 7.13 meters and a small hole spanning 3 meters.

In the fifth year of Xianfeng (1856), Wuting Bridge was destroyed in the war of the Taiping Rebellion. In 1971, Wang Boling initiated fund-raising to rebuild Wuting Bridge. Wang Bailing personally wrote "The Story of Wuting Bridge", which was written in regular script by Chen Hanguang, and Wang Dundquan Le Shi stood on the bridge. Today, this inscription no longer exists.

The Lianhua Bridge has undergone many major repairs in the future. Today's bridge pavilions are supported by twenty-eight red columns. In the center of the bridge are the four-corner double-eave pavilions. There are four wing pavilions at the four corners and four single-eave pavilions at the four corners. Granite stone railings are set on the outer side of the bridge body, with stone lions carved on the columns, and rough granite stones are laid on the bridge deck.

When the cruise ship passes under the bridge, you can see the four wings below the bridge, with fifteen rolling holes open, which are connected to each other.

This is the "Forest Fragrance Pavilion" in the "White Pagoda and Clear Clouds" scenic spot. The word "Lin Xiang" may come from the poem of Wang Han of the Tang Dynasty: "Spring breath fills the forest with fragrance, and spring outing must not be forgotten." Couplets: "Famous gardens rely on green water; Fairy Tower Liyun Village" is a collection of poems from Du Fu and Ma Huaisu in the Tang Dynasty, written in calligraphy by Lai Shaoqi.

I saw the Xichun Terrace in front of me. "Xichun Terrace" was built by Yangzhou salt merchants to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Qianlong. This scene is the "Spring Terrace Bright Moon", one of the "Twenty-Four Scenery".

Xichun Terrace is the most spectacular building in Slender West Lake. From its splendid decoration, we can see the strong financial resources of Yangzhou salt merchants.

The cruise ship docked at Xichun Terrace Wharf. Everyone went ashore and looked up at the magnificent Xichun Terrace.

The "Xichun Terrace" we see now has been recently renovated. The Xichun Platform faces west to east and is built on a three-story platform. The building has two floors and three towers, with two eaves resting on the top of the mountain, flying eaves and angled corners, and covered with green glazed tiles. There is a building in front of the hall, and corridors are set up on all sides. A horizontal plaque of "Xichun Terrace" hangs on the upper eaves and under the lower eaves. The word "Xichun" is taken from Lao Tzu: "Everyone is bustling, like enjoying a prison, like stepping on stage in spring."

A plaque "Spring Terrace Celebrating Birthday" hangs under the eaves of the lower level, written by Kang Yin. On both sides are couplets written by Mr. Qigong: "The resort is located in Huainan. Look at the clouds and shadows in the sky, equating the autumn color with the water; when a boat crosses the bridge, you ask where the flute is, and someone blows it until the third night of the moon."

Looking north from here, the single-hole arch bridge across the water is the most famous 24th Bridge.

The twenty-fourth bridge is composed of Du Mu's poem "To Judge Han Chuo of Yangzhou":"On the bright night of the twenty-fourth bridge, where can the jade people teach to play flute?" and is famous all over the world.

I always thought that the "Twenty-Four Bridges" in the poem was a general term for Yangzhou. When I came here 20 years ago, I realized that 24 is just a bridge!

It is said that the 24th Bridge was originally the Wujia Brick Bridge, named after twenty-four beauties played flute here in the Tang Dynasty.

The original 24th Bridge has long since collapsed. What we see now was rebuilt during the restoration of Slender West Lake. The bridge is a single-hole white stone arch bridge with a length of 24 meters and a width of 2.4 meters. It has 24 columns and 24 floors of platform levels. Perhaps it was the pursuit during the new construction, and everything corresponds to 24.

In fact, the metric system was not used in ancient times, and those digital designs were actually fabricated.

Although the 24th Bridge is famous, it is actually just a newly built stone arch bridge. It's a long way from here. Because I went there last time, I don't want to walk there this time. Just took a few photos in the distance.

The building under the twenty-four bridges is called the "Cross Pavilion" because its plan is cross-shaped.

There is a horizontal plaque hung under the lower eaves of the front, titled "Twenty-Four Bridge Bookstore".

There are horizontal plaques hanging on both sides, which are couplets written by Mr. Wu Rangzhi, a famous seal carver in the Qing Dynasty: "Open the book and travel for thousands of years; hang the curtain and your heart are in the mountains."

There is a Wan Garden Scenic Area on the other side. Because the road is long and the core attractions are all on this bank, I don't want to go.

Walking along the river bank, strange rocks, flowers, and small bridges dot the scenery along the way. The building under the bridge is the "Qingyunxuan" restaurant.

Then I saw the Wuting Bridge in front of me.

As we walked under the bridge, the angle of Wuting Bridge kept changing. It shows every beautiful figure of his.

When I arrived under the bridge, I saw the horizontal plaque "Lotus Bridge" at the bridge. This was the handwriting of Yi Bingshou, the governor of Yangzhou during the Jiaqing period.

The island under the bridge is called "Fuzhuang". The scenery looks charming, but unfortunately there is no time to go.

Arrived at the "White Tower and Clear Clouds" scenic spot under the Wuting Bridge.

The first thing I saw was this tall white tower. This is a Buddhist pagoda of Tibetan Buddhism, which is probably unique in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

It is said that Emperor Qianlong went down to Jiangnan and came to Yangzhou. The emperor took a cruise ship at Slender West Lake. The cruise ship came to Wuting Bridge and pointed to the island in front of it and said,"This place is like the spring shade of Qiongdao in the Beihai of the capital, but it is a pity that there is no white tower."

When the local salt merchants heard this, they immediately invited craftsmen to work overnight. On the island pointed out by Qianlong, they built a white tower modeled on the North Sea with white salt bags.

The next day, when the emperor saw the white tower rising suddenly, Long Yan was overjoyed. He repeatedly sighed: "Humanity Yangzhou salt merchants are among the richest in the world. They really live up to their reputation."

After Qianlong left, local salt merchants officially raised funds to build this white tower in the forty-ninth year of Qianlong.

Compared with the Beihai Sea, this white tower is lower and thinner, so it looks more straight and beautiful.

The white tower base stands on a high platform. The high platform is surrounded by stone railings, and the stone steps are paved with white stones with fifty-three steps, symbolizing the fifty-three ginseng of the good fortune boy worshiping Guanyin.

The front of the high platform is inlaid with the inscription "White Tower and Clear Clouds".

The White Tower is divided into three parts:

The lowest part is the base, with a rosette and diamond ring supporting the tower body.

The middle level is a niche room, and a "Eye Gate" is set in the south, where statues of great scholars in white are housed.

The top layer is the tower sha. The lower layer of the pagoda is a thirteen-story conical phase wheel, the middle layer is a hexagonal cover, with wind chimes hanging from the corners, and the top was once a copper gourd top.

(Unfinished, to be continued)

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