The Dai Garden of Xishuangbanna

The Dai Garden of Xishuangbanna is located at Menghan (Ganlanba) and 28 kilometers from Jinghong, the capital city of Xishuangbanna. It is a national 4A level tourist attraction.

Within this garden, there are 5 Dai natural villages, the best preserved ones in Xishuangbanna. They are Manjiang Village (bamboo sheath village), Manchunman Village (garden village), Manzha Village (chef village), Manga Village (marketing village) and Manting Village (palace garden village). The whole garden has integrated the natural and humanistic scene of Xishuangbanna Prefecture. It is surrounded by rivers and lakes, nestled in green trees, sent forth the fragrance from fruits and flowers, curled up the Sanskrit tone, giving visitors a mystical and auspicious feeling. The 5 villages are now inhabited by 1,536 people from 326 families. Here people live harmoniously with each other, so are man and nature. It is the Dai¡¯s Mengbalanaxi (meaning glary, ideal and mystery in Dai language), and the earthly paradise of the Dai¡¯s. It is also a place to experience exotic living habits, to appreciate a typical bamboo house-on-poles, traditional handicrafts, folk songs and dances, as well as the mysterious Southern Buddhist culture. Now we will visit the Manjiang Village.

In Dai language, ¡°man¡± means village and ¡°jiang¡± means bamboo laps or sets dedicated to lift up big stones. ¡°Manjiang¡± refers to bamboo village. The Dai houses are the unique two-storied bamboo buildings on poles, a typical residential building style popular in tropical area. Building as such is cool in summer and warm in winter. The downstairs generally serves as the storage house while the upstairs is used as the living room. Bedrooms are separated from the sitting room by bamboos boards. In the middle of the sitting room is a bonfire while is regarded as a symbol of happiness and prosperity of the whole family. For this reason, any striding over the bonfire is impolite.

The whole family shares one bedroom, only separated by mosquito nets of different colors. Usually deep colored nets are used by the married, while white or light colored ones are used by the unmarried. Bedrooms are regarded as a mysterious place and no peering is allowed by strangers. Visitors to the family will be accommodated in the sitting room. Generally speaking, residential houses for Dai people are ventilated, pleasantly cool and wet-proof. They are also easy to build. The bamboo house is the dwelling place of the Dais while the Buddhist temple is a

habitat of the soul of the Dais. The Dais in Xishuangbanna worship Southern Buddhism, so where there is a village there is a Buddhist temple. There are taboos to be avoided when visiting a Buddhist temple. Visitors should shut their mouths so as not to make irresponsible remarks; Worshiping the Buddha definitely needs sincere desire, and then sincerity works miracles. On this there are several taboos: no touching on a monk¡¯s head and cassock, no patting on the shoulder and body, no gesticulating in front of the image of the Buddha, no striking on the Buddhist drum, gong and other musical instruments of the temple.

Dai people are known to believe in southern Buddhism. Southern Buddhism believes that Sakyamuni is the patriarch or teacher, so the Buddha Statue in the temples is more human-like in size, figure and facial expression. And Southern Buddhism requires that a man be a monk for a period of time in his life in order to learn religious knowledge as well as cultural knowledge. For Dai people, Buddhist temple is not only a place for worshiping Buddha, but also a school for boys. The process of being monks is period for Dai boys to learn knowledge and experience their monkhood before the age 17.

Now we are going to the largest open air theatre of Yunnan tourist area--- Mengbalanaxi Theater. It is where visitors appreciate Dai songs and dance while having a rest. Some Dai folk dances includes peacock dance, candle-bar dance, long fingernail dance, fish dance, knife dance, stick dance and fist dance, which covey unique styles of the Dais. The well-known dancers Dao Meilan and Yang Liping are regarded as two golden peacocks flying out from Xishuangbanna. Also we can join in the Eastern Carnival ¡ªWaterª²splashing Festival in the Dai Garden.

Water-Splashing Festival falls in mid April and lasts for three days. It is not only a traditional gala for Dai people but also a carnival in the East. It is the New Year for Dai people. Dai people celebrate this festival with dragon boat races, throwing pouches (a bag (pouch)-throwing contest for finding a sweetheart) and shooting ¡°gaosheng¡± (local firecracker). On the second day, the Dais often hold sand-piling and chicken-fighting activities while the third day is a time for Dai people to express good wishes to each other. It is believed that the King of Dai arrives and the Dai people are sure to give the Buddha a bath and they get together, sprinkle water on each other for a blessing. Here people can splash water on their loved ones and close friends, washing away the worries and troubles. Young girls would gently sprinkle water on visitors from afar, wishing them good luck and happiness.

ª±Dai people often say, ¡°The more splashing water one gets, the luckier he becomes¡±. Basins of sacred water would bring happiness and make one forget all the worries. This activity and the cultural elements it contains impresses tourists from around the world.

 

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Ó¢Óïµ¼Óδʲ¹¶©°æ×îÖÕ°æÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 1 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³ÒúÍÔ°µ¼ÓÎÓ¢ÎĽ²½â´Ê£¨×ÔÎÒ½éÉÜ£©Dear guests,Welcome to the Summer Palace. I am your tour guide Wang Xiaozhou.(you can call me John) I am very glad to help you have a good time in this palace. During our visit today, I will talk about the history and culture of this old palace, show you the bueatiful landscapes and let you experience the warmth and sincerity of all our staffs in the summer palace.£¨¶«¹¬ÃÅ£©Now we are standing here at the east palace gate, the main entrance of the summer palace. Under the roof there is a plaque, with three chinese characters on it:YiHeYuan. Yi means cultivating the people in good health; He means calm and harmony. Therefore, the plaque means cultivating a person¡¯s character, make him calm and give him a long life. This plaque is called 9 dragons gold plaque. If you look at it carefully, you¡¯ll find there are nine powerful dragons painted with gold painting. It has the highest grade of all the plaque in the Qing Dynasty.Look, there are three doorways at this gate. The centural doorway represents the highest power and reserved solely for the emperor, empress and empress dowager. Others can only use the side doorways. Today, I would like to invite all of you to enter the palace through the centural doorway to have the taste of how it was like to be an emperor or an emperess.£¨ÒúÍÔ°µÄÐ˽¨ÀúÊ·£©The summer palace was first started in 1750 during the goldern age of the Qing dynasty. At that time, China has vast territories and great power. The reigning emperor of the time was emperor Qianlong, the 4th emperor of the Qing dynasty. Relying on his deep understanding of Chinese ancient gardern, his supreme power and the brimming national coffers, he decided to build a garden in west Beijing ¡°to facilitate irrigation and to celebrate his mother¡¯s birthday¡±. He picked up an ideal location at the foot of the Yanshan montains to build this most exquisite garden. He borrowed all the excellent gardening techniques from classical Chinese garderns, inherited all the achievements of all the imperial gardens,and gethered a large number of the scaftsmen and artists. The project lasted a total of 15 years and the garden was first named Qingyi Yuan, the gardern of Clear Ripples. It represented the ultimate achievement of Chineese garden culture. However, unfortunately, in 1860, the garden of Clear Ripples, together with Yuanming Yuan, was ravaged and burnt down by the invading Anglo-Frence Allid Force. In 1888, Empress Dowager Ci Xi ordered to rebuild this palace on the remains of the Clear Ripple Garden and renamed it Yihe Yuan, known better as the summer palace today. The summer palace is the largest and best reserved imperial garden in the world today and carries rich cultural connotation. It is known as the museum of imperial gardens. In 1998, t

he Summer Palace was inscribed in the the World Culture Heritage List by UNESCO and was recognized to represent oriental garden culture.£¨µØͼ½éÉÜ£©The summer palace, mainly composed of the longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake, covers an area of 302 hectares, with water surface taking up three quarters of this area and a total floor space of 70,000 square meters. Here I¡¯d like to show you the route of our visit today. Now we are at the place where the emperor used to deal with the government affairs, then we will have a look at the buildings where the empreror lived, watch the beautiful scenery of the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake along the long corridor, see the Marble Boat and keep going to the back of the Hill. We¡¯ll finish our visit at the bridge of Suzhou street. It will take us about two hours in all. Now let¡¯s entere the courtyard through the central of Renshou Men, the gate of benevolence and longevity.Ó¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 2 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³£¨ÈÊÊÙÃÅ£©Look at this Taihu Rock! It is standing there like a shadow screen, so that we can not see behind this rock immediately when we enter the main entrance. It is one of a typical technique in ancient Chinese gardens-the blocking method. Since chinese gardens attach great importance to different tires of sights to attract visitors deeper and deeper, the biggest taboo is to show everything all at once. So let¡¯s imagine how it would be like behind the large rock. Why don't we go around it to have a look. Maybe you will get a big surprise.(÷è÷ë)Look at this strange animal! Have you ever seen it in our daily lives? I am sure you haven¡¯t. We call this animal Qilin. It has the head of a dragon, horn of a deer, tail of a lion and hooves of a bull.Its body is coverd with scales and laced with frame patterns. Although this animal never existed on earth, ancient Chinese craftsmen made it alive and vivid. Qinlin is the symbole of prosperity and good luck. Whenever it appears, it brings prosperity and peace.£¨ÈÊÊٵThis spacious hall is called Renshou Dian, the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. It used to be the government center in the summer palace. It was first built in 1750 and named Qinzheng Dian, Hall of Diligenet Government. Emperor Qianlong set a rule that all the audience hall should be named Qinzheng Dian in order to remind all the emperors to be diligent in their work. Emperor Jiaqing, a son of emperor Qianlong, once said in one of his articles ¡°On Diligent Government¡±: ¡°when the emperor is diligent, the country is well ruled, whereas if the emperor is slack, the coumtry will be in danger.¡± So diligent government plays an important role in the destiny of the whole country. When the Summer was rebuit after the big fire, emperess dowager Cixi renamed it Renshou Dian, Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. This name came from the sentence ¡°Ren Zhe shou¡± in The Analects of Confuci

us to singify that the benevolent rulers will enjoy a long life. Cixi¡¯s great hope was ever lasting life, therefore, many decorations were added in this hall to symbolize longevity. Now let¡¯s look up at the gray tiles on the roof. At the end of each tile, there is a Chinese character ¡°Shou¡± which means longevity. There are 412 of them in all. Please look this way. Under the big plaque hanging on top of the thorne was a mirror screen inscribed with the Chinese character ¡°Shou¡±. There are 266 such characters all together. Look, there is a huge calligraphy scroll hanging from the wall facing the gate. There are a big chinese character Shou written on it, sorrounded by 100 bats, which signify great fortune and happiness. It is said the big character is written by Empress Dowager Cixi. So we may learn that Cixi used hundreds of Shou characters in or ahout this building to express her desire for longevity.The interor decoration of the hall has been kept in its original state. On the centeral platform stands a finely made sandalwood carved throne and the accompanying long table, surrounded by fans and incense burners. When Cixi began her morning court everyday, candles were lit on the crane lamps, sandlewood incense was burnt in the tripod burner to create a bright, cloudy and solemn atmosphere.Now please look at these two pairs of dragons and phoenixes. They were the symbols of the emperors and emperess during the feudal dynasties. Each with a hole in the back, they were also used as insense burners. But if you¡¯ve been to the palace museum, you may noticed that all the dragons and phoenixes standing in front of the hall are placed by a different order. According to the convention, dragons should be palced in the middle to present the supreme power of the emperor. But why here is not? It is related to the Empress Dowager Cixi. As a female, she reined China as long as 48 years. The phoenixes in the middle metaphor that Express Dowger Cixi is the real owner of the summer palace. You empreor should be standing aside. This way, please. LookÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 3 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³as this vat. Can you guess what role does it played here? We know that most of the ancient architectures are made of wood. Yes, it is used for fire prevention. Now you may ask, ¡°it is cold in winter here in Beijing, what happens if the water in the vat freezes over?¡± Please look here. There is a small opening at the back of marble stand of the vat, with a hollow inside. In winter, workmen lit a fire in this hollow to heat the vat, sometimes they put a wooden cover on top of the vat, so that the water would not freeze.(ÑÓÄê¾®) now here we come to a well ,the well of a long life. You may feel curious about the well¡¯s name. There is a story about this well. It is said once when cixi took a tour in the garden ,she got a heat stroke.at that time ,she wes about 70 years old. So she became ve

ry sick and all her private doctors felt they could nothing to it. But after cixi drank the water lifted up from this well,she surprisingly came back to health. So she gave this well this name.£¨µÂºÍÔ°ÕûÌå½éÉÜ£©The next place we will visit is Dehe Yuan, the garden of virtue and harmony. It is the place where Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu used to watch peking opera. It is mainly composed of the Great Stage and Yi Le Dian, the hall of harmony and happiness. It was started in 1891 and finished in 1895. It cost 710,000 taels of silver, the sencond largest programme in the summer palace. Now here is a shadow screen standing in fornt of us. We can see that there is a Chinese character Shou, sorrounded by 5 bats, there are another 4 bats at the corners. There are 9 bats in all on this shadow screen. 9 is considered to be the largest number in ancient China. It is the symbol of prosperity and longinquity.£¨°çÏ·Â¥½éÉÜ£© Let¡¯s go ahead to have a look at the inside of this building. This building is called the make-up building. Opera actors and actresses used to make up themselves before they go up to the stage. Here now are exhibiting some commodities of the Qing Dynasty. As it is not allowed to take photoes here, please put away your cameras. Thank you.There is a car in front of us. It is one of the oldest cars in China. This car is an old Benz and was presented to Cixi as her birthday present. It can only reach 19 kph for it only has a small engine,just under the middle seat. Although not very fast, it represented the most advanced technique of that time. Now let¡¯s look at those 4 manpower vehicles around the car. The two in the front were used when the weather is fine, for it has no windows or doors like the two behind. Of course these were used in if the weather is unpleasant. Let¡¯s go ahead to have a look at another two vehicles. Their Chinese name is Jian Yu. Maybe we can call it palanguin in English. When the emperor or emperess climb the hill, they may use it. It is very steady with experienced workers lifting it up. so although the empress dowager has so many different kinds of vehicles,this is the one she loved best.Look, you must be familiar with this instrument. Yes, it is a piano. There is another one over there. They are respectively presented by American and German people. Both of them are still can be played today. In Cixi¡¯ s late years, she enjoyed various of advanced techniques, including car, electricity, telephone, photo technique and so on. This way please. This is a music box, presented by western friends. Compare with the music boxes we use today, this is quite a large one. It can play 16 songs. Here are fairies here. They are the symbol of longevity. Beside them stands a crane and a deer. Both of them are the indication of longevity. They are also Cixi¡¯s birthday present. This way, here in front of us is a oil painting of Cixi painted by a Netherlandish American paintress Waltze Hubur. Th

e painting was finished in 1905. At that time Cixi was 70 years old. But she still looked so young. Is it that the paintress flattered Cixi on purpose? Maybe. Because wo can see this oil painting is not in the traditional type,maybe it is somehow more like a chineseÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 4 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³water colour painting . but soon we will see some photoes of Cixi, you may find the answer there. Photoes will never cheat you. Let¡¯s go. Mind your steps.£¨¶«¿´Ï·ÀȽéÉÜ£© Here we have come to the east gallery. It used to be the place where the ministers watched the opera. Here we can see lots of things used in the old days. In the first three show windows, we can see the costumes of the Qing Dynasty. They are all imitations, for it is difficult to keep them for a long time. It is the typical finery style of Manchu people. Sometimes they are considered to be the symbol of China. Look at this unique shoes! Manchu people used to wear these kind of shoes with a wooden sole. It looks like high-heel shoe,right? It is said when woman these shoes,they looks more slim and beatuful. Ok, now here we can see a photo of Cixi. It was taken in the courtyard of Leshou Tang, hall of happiness and longevity. At that time Cixi is 68 years old. Do you think she look that old? We have to say that Cixi herself did care much about her health. Here are things that Cixi used to make up. Some are presented by foreign friends. And you can see a finery box presented by japannese government. In this window placed some dishware used in Cixi¡¯s age. Most of them is made of silver and gold. While the ones made of porcelain are also very beautiful. Cixi led a very luxurious life everyday. 128 dishes were prepared for each of her dinner. Even if the dish she loved best, she would not eat it up. These are glossy ganoderma. It is the symbol of virtue and wisdom. There are also some other western inventions here such as gun and telescope. I think if you want to see more antiques in summer palace,you may go to wenchang gallery after our tour through the palace. Now let¡¯s go ahead into the courtyard.£¨´óϷ̨½éÉÜ£©This spacious structure in front of us is the Great Stage of the Garden of Virtue and Harmony.It is 21 meters in height and 17 meters in width.There are three famous stages in the Qing Dynasy. . The Garden of Virtue and Harmony is the largest and best reserved of all.The other two are in the Palace Museum and Chengde It is famous not only for its size, but also for its historical value. During April and October every year when Cixi was in the summer palace, many famous actors were invited here to perform.. And cixi is a fan of peking opera, it is said during the 13 years between the completion of the garden of the great stage and cixi¡¯s death in 1908,she watched 262 days of performce here ,even just 35 days before her death. after each performce she always gave support of differern

t kinds. So Peking opera developed quickly here. And the Garden of Virtue and Harmony is also called the cradle of Peking Opera.The great stage had three tiers, they respectively stand for longevity, fortunate and happiness from the bottom to the roof. They all connected with each other, and were opened at the same time during the performance. There is a manpower elevator on the roof and several dry wells at the bottom of the stage. Do you know what their function is? Sometimes there may be some scenes of ghost and god. God flew up in to the sky, or the ghost might go into the ground. Then what about the pools? It is interesting; we know there were not microphones in old days. The pools can help to enhance the acoustic effect during the performance. In 1994, China Youth Peking Opera Troupe performed here, and the sound effect still exist today. It is really a scientific device. So this stage si not only historic value ,but of great scientific value,too.£¨ÒÃÀÖµî½éÉÜ£©Please follow me and we will have a look at the place where Cixi watched the opera. This is Yi Le Dian, hall of Harmony and happiness. In the middle of the hall, there is a throne. After meeting the ministers here, Cixi would go aside to this bed. This is a kang, in winter workers would make a fire underground. Thus, it would be very warm. Later, I will show you the entrance of back ground fire. Cixi used to stay here drinking tea and eating some fruits. TheÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 5 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³windows here could be opened so that Cixi could see the actors on the stage directly. And she would get a special script which conclude many details such as the performer¡¯s eyes and facial expression. Sometimes she would lie down here and just listen. If she were tired, she would take a nap in the room next.This is the entrance of the heated kang. In winters, eunuchs went down there to make a fire. In the summer palace there are numbers of such entrance. This is the only one that opened for the tourists. The others were all covered with a wooden board like that. Now let¡¯s go straight and turn left to the west west gallery.The gallary east and west used to have no windows. When Cixi came to watch the opera, she would invit the ministers together. They had to stay here. When the performance went on, colorful curtains were hung between the two stages corners to and the side of Yile Dian so that the ministers here would not be able to see Cixi inside the hall and they can only watch the performce aside.Well this brings an end to my introduction to the Garden of Virtue and Harmony. I hope the unique style of this place would give you a beautiful impression about our chinese traditional culture!.£¨ÓñÀ½ÃŽéÉÜ£© Here we go. This is Yulan Meng, the Gate of Jade Ripple. It is named after a poet of the Jin dynasty¡ªLu Ji. He discribed the beautiful view of the fine ripples created by spring water from th

e Jade Spring Hill. and since the courtyard is at the side of kunming lake whose origin is in the jade spring hill, this name is a nice fit. It used to be the residence of Emperor Qianlong. During the years of Cixi, Emperor Guangxu lived here for a long time. Let¡¯t go in and have a look. Now we have come to Yulan Tang, the Hall of Jade Ripple. It is a triditional chinese courtyard.£¨Î¬Ð±䷨ÀúÊ·£©This place is closely connected with ¡°Hundred-day Reform¡± in 1898. Guangxu was the nephew of Cixi. After the death of EmperorTongzhi, Cixi let 4 years old Guangxu succeed to the throne in order to control over the government. When Guangxu grew up to 19, Cixi reluctantly agreed to return the power, but actually she still hold it. Later the confilct on political affairs between Guangxu and Cixi became more and more obvious. In the year 1898, Guangxu decided to pursue reform with the support of reformists such as Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao. All of them wanted to save the crumbling state of Qing Dynasty and launched a particular plan of the reform. Unfortunately, the under the violent and brutal seppression of Cixi, the reform movement came to an end after only 103 days. Six reformists including Tan Sitong were killed after the failure. Then how about Guangxu? During April and October of the year when Cixi was in the summer palace, Guangxu was house arrested here. Cixi ordered to build walls around the Hall of Jade Ripple to ensure the ¡°safty of the emperor¡±. What is more, Cixi commonded her trust eunuchs to guard the gate. Thus, Guangxu lost his freedom completely here. It is a prison more than a emperor¡¯s residence. After the October of the year, Cixi went back to the Forbidden City, and Guangxu was kept on island of Ying Tai in Zhong Nan Hai. Thus the Emperor Guangxu ended his life in imprisonment.£¨Ö÷µî½éÉÜ£©The interior of Yulan Tang has been preserved as it used to be. In the middle, there is a sandalwood throne with a long table in front of it. Behind the throne there is a glass screen. Beautiful paintings were painted on it, showing us the representational veiw of both Chinese and western paintings. Inside the hall, there are two mirrors standing facing each other. If you stand between them, you will see numerous reflections of yourself in the mirrors. On our left side is theÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 6 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³bedroom of the emperor, while on the other side is the study of the emperor. We must have know that Guangxu lead a distressed life In his late years. Then how about the empress of Guangxu? Let¡¯s go ahead to see it.£¨Ê¨×ÓÁÖ£©Here you can see a pile of rocks. Its name is lion forest, for the rocks look like hundreds of lions playing together. This is Xijia Lou, Tower of Beautiful Sunset. Emperor and empress used to watch sunset of the Jade Spring Hill here.The name came from a famous line of Tao Yuanming. When the sun is setting behind

the colorful clouds, the birds will whisper home with the beautiful sight.£¨ÒËÜ¿¹Ý£©Now here we will go to the Yi Yun Guan, hall of Yiyun Yun is a kind of herb which can be made into a bookmark to prevent books from worms. The two characters tell us it is the place suitable for keeping books. At the very beginning, hall of Yiyun was the library of Emperor Qianlong. By the time of Guangxu, it became the residence of Longyu, emperess of Guangxu.Longyu was the last empress and empress dowager in Chinese feudal history. She is the niece of Cixi. Actually she didn¡¯t win guangxu¡¯s faver, but Cixi ordered this marriage to Guangxu in order to have a better control of his thoughts and behavior. Of course they lead an unhappy life. It is said that whenver guangxu and cixi had conflict, longyu was always on cixi¡¯s side.this surly made guangxu dislike her. The emperor didn¡¯t come to see her except the days when they got married. And they didn¡¯t have children,either. In the year 1908 when Guangxu and Cixi died, Longyu let the 3 year old Puyi to secceed the throne. In fact, Longyu herself controled the power. However, the situation didn¡¯t last for long. In the year 1911, the revolution led by Sun Zhongshan successfully overthrew the Qing Dynasty. In 1912, Puyi was deposed, which brought the end of the 2000 years feudal history in China.£¨Ö÷µîÄÚ²¿³ÂÉ裩Although they were husband and wife, Guangxu and Longyu didn¡¯t lead a happy life. Guangxu wasn¡¯t content with the marriage that Cixi arranged for him. They didn¡¯t have any children either. Let¡¯s have a look at the interior decorations. Maybe something can show us the lone life of Longyu. This is a golden fish table with a liitle space inside it. Longyu rised fish here. When she felt lonely, she usually sat beside it ,eat fruit , drinking tea and watch the fish swimming. Look, there are 12 fragrant bags hunging on the wall. They are the symbol of love between emperor and emperess. However, none of them was presented by Guangxu. Instead, they were all made by Longyu herself. We can see that imperial marriages are not aways successful ones. Let¡¯s keep going to have a look at the residence of Emperss Dowager Cixi.£¨ÀÖÊÙÌÃÒýÓOne of Cixi¡¯s close maid have said that the most beautiful place in Beijing, while the best place is Le Shou Tang, the Hall of Happiness in Longevity. It is the residence of Emperess Dowager Cixi. So why it is the best place in Beijng? First of all, the sight here is beautiful with stone decroration and variety plants reflected with the spacious main hall. The arrangement of plants here is very interesting. This is magnolia which blossoms in March; this is flowering crab apple and blossoms in April. Look at the short pine there. In the past, peonies used to be planted there. It is considered as a noble flower which blossoms in May. Therefore, we can see flowers here in this yard from March to May every year. Altogether, the composition of thes

e plants here signify a wish of prosperity. You can imagine what a wonderful sight would it be. Nice plants own to the nice climate. It is cool in summer and warm in winter. Beacause in winter the hill blocks the cold wind from north while in summer cool air is brought here from Kunming Lake. So Cixi must have enjoyed herself very much here. What is more, the location of Hall of Happiness in Longevity is perfect. Through this gate, Cixi can reach the Garden of Virtue andÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 7 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³Harmony to enjoy the Peking Opera. Outside the front gate, there used to be a dock, Cixi could take a boat and go to the forbidden city directly from there. If we walk along this way, we can get to the world longest corridor and enjoy the great sight of Kunming Lake and the Longevity Hill. When it rained, Cixi would walk through the back gate and go up the hill. From there, she could enjoy the veiw of Kunming Lake in rain.£¨Ö÷µî£©This structure is the main hall of Leshou Tang. It was a builing with 2 floors in Qianlong¡¯s age. After it was ravaged and burnt down, Cixi ordered to rebuild it. As there wasn¡¯t so much money left in the late Qing dynasty, this building has only one floor. There are 5 parts inside the hall: bedroom, tearoom, living room, dressing room and the office. Now let¡¯s look at the interioer decroraions here. A mirrior screen is standing behind the throne so that the hall looks bright and capacious and the mirrors are surrended by many chinese character. They are all shou! longevity .Above the throne we can see a electric lamp. It is fixed by German in 1903. The electrical machine was fixed on the Wenchang Tower. We will see the tower later. Look, there are 2 big plates standing beside the throne. They were especially prepared for fresh fruits. In addition to the buring incense, Cixi also liked the fragrance of the fruits. Of course Cixi didn't eat them as food. They were only used for their fragrance. On the 2nd and 16th day of each month, the fruits would be replaced by new ones. There would be 20,000 kilograms of fruit wasted in all in a year. Cixi really led a luxurious life in those days. In front of the hall stands pairs of deer, cranes and vases.the deer in chinese means lu,similar to the pronunciation of no. 6 ,liu. And crane means he in chinese,which also has a meaning of harmony. And the vases symbolize peace in chinese troditional cultuture . so together, they signify peace and harmony. Let¡¯s turn around. Look up at the structure there. It is 9 meters high. In the past, a lamp was hung there as a lighthouse in case there was a rain or fog. Someone have said that when Cixi was living in the summer palace, the lamp would be lit up to tell all the people in or around the summer palace that Cixi was here. Do be honest and quiet!£¨°Ü¼Òʯ½éÉÜ£©This huge rock is a north Taihu rock. It was found in western Beijing and has two name

s: Blue Iris Hill and the Stone of bankruptcy. The first name given by qianlong sounds good for Emperor Qianlong liked it very much. It posed like a glossy mushroom. But there is a interesing story that made it a symbol of black sheep. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a scholar named Mi Wanzhong. He was crazy of collecting stones. On his trip to Fang Shan, he found this huge rock and decided to move it to his private garden. He hired lots of people and spent great amount of money. It took a long time. But the rock was so huge that it made the transference so costly. Unfortunately, he was bankrupt halfway and had to put the rock along the road with a shed covering over it. He said himself that whenever I have money, I will come back and get it back. But he wasn't able to achieve it. His wish was gone with the death of himself. About 100 years later, Emperor Qianlong came across the rock on his way to pay respect to ancestor¡¯s tomb and decided to move it to Le Shou Tang in the summer palace. But by the time it was transported here, the front gate has been finished. The rock was too big to enter. Qianlong ordered to tear down the gate so that the rock could come in. On hearing this, Qianlong¡¯s mother was very angry and said ¡°This rock made the Mi family bankrupt in the first place. Now, it has broken my gate. It is an ominous symbol.¡± So people call it the stone of bankraptcy. But the emperor qianlong liked it so much and gave it a beatiful name , Blue Iris Hill .However, the emperor qianlong¡¯s mother¡¯s foretell didn¡¯t realized on Qianlong but on Cixi , she bankrupted not only her family but also the whole country.Ó¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 8 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³£¨Ë®Ä¾×ÔÇ×£©Here we have an exhibition of imperial telephones. In the year of 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Force invaded in Beijing. Cixi fled to Xi¡¯an together with Guangxu. When she came back in1902, she experienced the facility that brought by the war . Trains, cars and of course the telephones. There are several old telephones exhibiting there. Two of them were the exact things of Cixi¡¯s years. During Cixi¡¯s late years, she led a modern life. Ok, the beauty of the summer palace not only exists in the architectures, but the charming scenery as well. Please follow me and have a look.£¨³¤ÀÈÆðµã¼°²¼¾Ö½éÉÜ£©Here we are standing at the entrance of the long corridor YaoYue Men, the Inviting-Moon Gate. The long corridor was first built in 1750. And it winds its way along the south foot of Longevity Hill on the bank of Kunming Lake. Here the long corridor plays a very important role. It not only connects different architectures at the foot of the hill, but also stands as the transition from the lake to the hill. Empress Dowager Cixi liked walking in the long corridor very much. It is cool in the summer and warm in winter, too. If a rain comes, it can prevent us from being caught in the rain. It can p

rotect us from the sun in summer, too£¨×ÜÌåÌصãÇé¿ö½éÉÜ£©The long corridor starts from the Inviting-moon Gate in the east and ends in Shizhang Ting in the west , the Stone Man¡¯s Pavilion. In the year 1990, the long corridor was listed in the world record of Genius. It is proved to be the longest artificially painted corridor in the world. So how long is it? It is 728 meters in length with 4 octagonal double-eave pavilions standing in the way. They are respectively represents for the 4 seasons of a year. They also have their own names: Retaining the Good, Living with Ripples, Autumn Water, as well as clear and distant. The 4 pavilions plays an important role in the long corridor. They were all built on the junctions of rises and falls, twists and turns. So although the long corridor makes many turns here and there, you will not feel the rises and falls or the twists and turns when you are walking along the long corridor.The long corridor is not only famous for its great length but also for its paintings. There are 14,800 paintings on the beams and lintels of the corridor. They are all different from each other. The paintings cover a vareity of sujects. There are natural sceneries such as flowers and birds, mountains and rivers. There are famous characters such as seven sages of bamboo grove. There are classical novels such as Journey to the West and three kingdoms. There are also fables such as the eight immortals crossing the sea. From here, people all over the world can know more about our culture and history.£¨³¤Àȱ߽²ºþ£©This large water surface is the Kunming Lake. It is the best part of the summer palace. Covering an area of 220 hectares, the Kunming lake takes up three quarters of the entire garden. In order to celebrate the birthday of his mother, Empress Qianlong ordered to shape the lake like a peach. In China, peach is the symbol of longevity. The sight of Kunming Lake is beautiful. The average depth of the lake is about one and half metres, and most of the place along the bank is within one metre, so when you fall into the lake accidently, you don¡¯t have to worry about your life, just stand up!£¨Öª´ºÍ¤½éÉÜ£©Look at that small island on which there is a pavilion. That is the Pavilion of Heralding Spring. People considered that spring comes with the willows. There are many willows there on the island. When spring comes, we can see green branches everywhere on the island. Thus, the pavilion gained its name.£¨ÄϺþµº½éÉÜ£© Please look at the big island in the middle of the water surface. That is Nan Hu island. On the island there is a temple. The temple is used to show worship for the god of rain. TheÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 9 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³water surface is divided into 3 parts. Each has an island built on it. That is beacause people in the past thought there are 3 fairy hills in the ocean and wanted to have an ever lasting life

like the fairies. So many emperial gardens were designed to this. The long bridge connected with the island is called 17-arch bridge. The bridge is 150 meters long and 8 meters wide. There are 544 stone lions carved on the bridge. (ÀªÈçͤ)At the starting point of the bridge there, we can see another pavilion standing there. It is the largest pavilion among all such structures in China. It covers an area of 130 square meters with 40 pillars supporting it. On my right is the west bank of Kunming Lake. There are 6 bridges along the bank. Here we can also see the sights of the Western Hill. It is another typical method of Chinese garden: the borrowing method. The Western Hill and the vast lake reflect the beautiful scene of the summer palace and make the garden more beautiful. If you take a boat and look around, you may find the beaty of every aspects of the summer palace.£¨ÅÅÔÆÃŹ㳡£©In the middle of the long corridor is the most splendid architectures in the summer palace. Paiyun Dian, the Hall that Dispel the Clouds and Foxiang Ge, the Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha. We are now standing here at the starting point of these architectures. Look at this archway. It has the highest grade among all such structures in the summer palace. On the plaque there are four Chinese characters which mean that clouds reflect the imperial palace. Look, this is Paiyun Men, the Gate that Dispel the Clouds. The two characters Pai Yun comes from an old Chinese poetry ¡°When the fairies dispel the clouds and emerge, the gold and silver terraces will appear.¡± Cixi compared herself the fairy coming out from the winds and greet all the people.£¨ÅÅÔÆÃÅÉÏð·ÎǽéÉÜ£©Let¡¯s look up at the corner of the roof. There are some small animals there. They are used to show the grade of a building. In the Qing Dynasty, the more the animals are, the higher grade of the architecture is. The number of them can reach as many as 11. The Hall that Dispel the Winds was the place where Cixi celebrate her birthday. It has the highest grate in the summer palace. Then how was it like when there was a birthday ceremony? Cixi herself sat in the throne inside the main hall to receive the greeting of the others. That Gate is called the Second Palace Gate. Emperor Guangxu went down on his both knees and kowtowed at that gate. The ministers greeted Cixi between the Second Palace Gate and this archway.£¨·ðÏã¸ó½éÉÜ£©That structure on the hill is called the Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha. It was firsted built in 1750, burned down by the Anglo-Franch Allied Force in 1860, and rebuilt in the year 1888 according to its original style. It cost 750,000 taels of silver and that made it the largest project in the summer palace. The tower is 41 meters high and considered as the symbol of the summer palace. There is a Guanyin inside the tower. It has 12 faces and 24 arms. Guanyin is considered to be the benevolent Goddess of Mercy. She can help the people in need. On the le

ft of the tower is Baoyun Ge. It is made of bronze. People used to call it Bronze Pavilion. On the right of the tower is a temple where emperor and empress used to read scriptures.£¨Ìýð¿¹Ý£©Now let¡¯s go ahead along the long corridor and enjoy the beautiful sight of the Kunming Lake and the Longevity Hill. This is the Hall of Listening to the Orioles. There is a small stage in it. Befor the Garden of Virtue and Harmony was built, Emperor and Empress used to watch Peking Operas here. Now it is the best restaurant in the summer palace.£¨Ê¯ô³£©This is the Marble Boat, the symbol of the summer palace. It was first built in 1755 during Qianlong¡¯s years. At that time, the body of the boat was made of white marble and colorful bricks. The upper part of the boat was made of wood. It is a boat of oriental sytel. So why did Qianlong put such a boat here? On one hand, he used to enjoy the beautiful sight of the lake on the Marble Boat. In the distance, the tower on the Jade Spring Hill was borrowed here to make theÓ¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 10 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³sight more beautiful. On the other hand, Qianlong put this unsinkable boat here to metaphor the unshakable reign of the Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately, the Marble Boat was burnt down in 1860, with only the body survived. In the year 1893, Cixi ordered to rebuild it and renamed it Qingyan Fang which means peace and harmony. The upper part was made of wood and painted with marble patterns. Cixi ordered the addition of two pedal wheels on both sides of the boat. She liked to watch rain and meet foreigners here. There are 4 hollow pillars on the corner of the boat. When it rains, the rainwater could drain through the pillars and go down into the lake. It is really a scientific device. The Marble Boat is the only occidental style structure in the summer palace.£¨´¬Îë½éÉÜ£©There are two boatyard in the distance. The bigger one is considered to be the longest one among all the woodern architechtures in China. As were built on the water, they weren¡¯t burnt down in 1860. They are nearly 300 years old. The gate we see now is the tower of the suyunyan, and it is used to defend the garden. Here we are standing at the junction of the front hill and the back hill. Let¡¯s go along this road to enjoy the natural scene of the hill.£¨ÖÐÓù·½éÉÜ£©This road is call Zhongyu Road. It suggests that emperor and emperess used to walk here. Zhong means this road winds along the middle of the hill; yu means it is only reserved for the emperor and empress. But the road has another name: the Clove Road. Beacause many cloves are planted beside the road. When spring comes, the fragrance of lilac is brought everywhere by the wind. In the year 1860, the back of the hill was destroyed completely. As Cixi appropriated naval funds to build the summer palace, there was no money left when the project came to the back of the hill. Many of the p

lants such as grasses and small trees were planted in the beginning of the 1990s. and now you can see the green plants everywhere. Sometimes you might see the squirrels and pies looking for their food.£¨Î¶ÏÐÕ«ÒÅÖ·£©Later, as we go on, we will see a broken courtyard on our right hand. It is the site of Weixian Zhai, one of Qianlong¡¯s libraries. He liked it very much. Each time he came to the summer palace, he would came here and read books. There were 3 floors of this building. They were built to the terrain of the hill. Now it remains the look when it was burnt down.£¨ËÕÖݽֺÍËÄ´ó²¿ÖÞ£©Now let¡¯s keep going and have a look at the Suzhou Street and the Four Great Regions. Plelase look up. There is a group of Tibetan style temples on the hillside. It is called Four Gteat Regions and was first built in 1758 during Qianlong¡¯s age. He ordered to built a group of structures like this mainly for strengthen his rule over the people in Tibet and Mongol. Beacause most people there believe in Lamaism. And this group of structures is thought to used as the temple for the lamaist. So the building of these structures in emperial garden shows the government¡¯s respect to the religion. Unfortunately, this group of structures were burnt down by the invading Ango-Franch Allied Force in 1860. The present one was partly restored in the late Qing Dynasty and partly in recent years.(½éÉÜÔµÓÉ) Before I talk about these structures, I think I should first tell you something about the Buddhists¡¯ understanding of the world. They think in the centre of the world, there is a fairy island where gods and fairies live on. It is called mount xumi.This island is surrounded by salty water. And beyond the salty water, there are 4 huge lands. They were called four great regions. That is the name of this group of this structures It is said there are two small islands accompanying each island. We called them Eeight Small Regions. For these building were built on this understanding, we may find some corresponding parts in the building. In the middle, this main structure is the hall of the buddha confirming his doctrine,it stands for the mount xumi. Inside the hall, there are 3 Baddhas together with 18 arhats standing beside them. Around the hall, there are 4Ó¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 11 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³big islands. They are called Four Great Regions. The Four Great Regions are in different shapes and respectively stand for earth, water, wind and fire. Along with each big island, there are two small buildings. We called them Eeight Small Regions. Behind the hall, there are 2 structures called the Sun Alter and the Moon Alter. They symbolise the sun and the moon around the mount xumi. There are also 4 pagodas in white, black, green and red around the hall. Each stands for a direction. I think that is the details of these structures. In the past, visitors could worship Buddha here. Today, it

served as a special scenic spot greeting the tourists all over the world. Now we will go to our last scenic spot----suzhou street£¨ÊÐÃí½áºÏ£©May be you will feel strange that these building of two completely diferent style built together. But what I want to explain is In ancient China, the development of temples could aways bring about the development of the market. So it is common to see the market and the temples together.£¨ËÕÖݽ֣©The place we see now is a folk-style market street¡ªthe Suzhou Street. This street was first built 28 years after the completion of the Garden of Clear Ripples during Qianlong¡¯s time and has a history of more than 200 years. It is located in the center of the back lake. The street is 300 meters in length and was built as the river street .It has 64 different shops such as teahouses, workshops, restaurants, banks and so on.(½¨½ÖÔµÓÉ)How come such a street inside an imperial Garden? We know that emperor and emperess led a luxurious life in the palace. But they nearly have no chances to hunt around in the market. Sometimes they also wish they were ordinary people. Emperor Qianlong had been to the south of China for 6 times accompanied by his mother during all his life. He was deeply expressed by the culture there, espeially the River Street there. So he wanted to build a imitation in Beijing. When he came back to beijing from his fourth trip to southern china, a minister suggested he should build a market street in palace, for his mother was too old to travel thousands of miles to southern china. That jiust met qianlong¡¯s idea. So he ordered to build thisstreet. It is a street of southern water village style. The empress, concubines and empress dowager may boat on the river and buy something. I think It must be quite a intersting experience for them. As the street was located inside the imperial garden, ordinary people weren¡¯t able to come in.so Eunuchs and maids acted as the merchant and served in the street.£¨ÀúÊ·£©Unfortunately, the street was also burnt down in the year 1860. As is at the back of the hill, the Suzhou Street wasn¡¯t restored until the resent years. The restoration project was started in 1987 and lasted four years. Each structure here was restored according to its original style. Now All the staffs here in the street are dressed in the clothes of the Qing Dynasty. When you transacte in this street, you can exchange RMB into copper cions of the Qing Dynasty to have a taste of the business cultrue in the late 18th century.In the distance stands the Tibetian style temple reflecting the southern village style Suzhou Street. It is an unique structure in all imperial gardens. It has shown and is showing is beauty and harmony to the tourists all over the world.(½áÊøÓï)This brings the end of my introduction to the summer palace. Here I will say goodbye to you. I hope my words can give you a clear introduction of summer palace. The gate over there is the second largest

gate of this garden, the North Palace Gate. The communication outside is very convenience. You can find the buses you need there. Wish you have a nice journey!Ó¢Îĵ¼Óν²½â´Ê£¨ÍõÐ¥ÖÞÖø ÁÎÏèÓîÐÞ¶©£© ÐÞ¶©°æ All rights reservedµÚ 12 Ò³¹² 12 Ò³Mainly written by Wang XiaozhouModified by Liao XiangyuMonday, September 18, 2006