重庆英文导游词
Evening Scenes of Chongqing
The Red Star Pavilion in the Pipasha Park, the Kansheng Pavilion in the Eling Park, and a place called Yikeshu on the Nanshan Mountain are vintage points for observing the nocturnal scenes of the mountain city of Chongqing. At night the entire city is inundated in an ocean of lights, which form a colorful three-dimensional painting, with waves of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers glistening against the moonlit, star spangled sky.
Sites of the Provisional Capital
Chongqing figured importantly in modem Chinese history. During the War of Resistance against Japan, it was the “provisional capital” of China under the Kuomintang rule from November 1937 to October 1945. Vestiges of that period are still there in and around the city. These include the Red Crag Village and 50
Zengjiayan, as well as Chiang Kai-shek’s mansion, Guiyuan Garden, Linyuan Garden, and the mansion of C.C. Kong, the embassies of various countries to China, as well as former residences of important politicians, generals and cultural figures.
Martyrs’ Mausoleum at Mount Gele
The former headquarters, radio station and prison of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics of the Military Council (a colossal secret service of the Kuomintang) at the foot of the Gele Mountain in Shapingba District have become the mausoleum for those who died a martyr’s death there in China’s dark days. In the dying years of World War 11, it was the site of the “Sino0US Institute for Cooperation in Special Technology”.
Dazu Grottoes
The Dazu Grottoes in the county of the same name is best known for the stone carvings on the Baodingshan and Beishan mountains, which are fine example of grotto sculpture in the late years of Chinese feudalism. The sculptures, done in fastidious chisel
work and gracious imagery, are marked by a new sculptural language that eschews religious taboos and espouses true life.
Yangtze River’s Three Gorges
Sailong down the Yangtze from Chongqing to Yichang allows visitors to see the spectacular scenery of the Three Gorges along with its splendid cultural heritage and fabled local folklore. The cruise, which combines sightseeing with scientific, artistic and folklore exploration, is a national-caliber tourist program. The 193-km-long Three Gorges, consisting of the majestic Qutangxia, statuesque Wuxia and ferocious Xilingxia gorges, is one of and ferocious Xilongxia gorges, is one of the world’s major canyons. Along the way there are such scenic attractions as the Fengdu Mountain. Baidi city, Shibao village, Zhang Fel’s Temple, Qu Yuan’s Temple, and the Three Gorges Dam.
Lesser Three Gorges
The Daning River is the largest Yangtze tributary, which rises in the southern side of the Daba Mountain and flows for 250km
before emptying itself into the Yangtze at the western entrance to the Wuxia Gorge. The Lesser Three Gorges on the Daning River, a 50km-long affair covering the Longmenxia, Bawuxia and Dicuixia gorges in the lower reaches of the river, is billed as one of China’s 40 best scenic resorts thanks to its gorgeous mountains, elegant peaks, turbulent rapids, limpid water, exotic rock imagery and serene scenery.
Diaoyu City, Hechuan
Established in 1242, or the 2nd year of the Chunyou reign of the Southern Song, Diaoyu City covers 2.5 square km up the Diaoyu Mountain on the southern shore of the Jialing River in Hechuan City’s Heyang Town. In 1258, the Mongols launched a three-way attack on the Song, and in February the next year Diaoyu City found itself besieged. The Song army mounted a valiant counterattack that last3ed for 36 years, and made world war history by rebuffing a strong enemy with a weak force. This prompted some European historians to laud Diaoyu City as the “Mecca of the East” and “Where God broke his whip”. The ruins of the ancient battlefield of Diaoyu City are well kept there.
Jinyun Mountain
Nicknamed “Less Mount Emei”, Jinyun Mountain is a national scenic resort 55km from downtown Chongqing.
Furong Cave, Wulung
The Furong (Hibiscus) Cave is located by the Furong River in Wulung County. The main part of the cave is 2,700 metres in length and 3.7 square metres in area. The Splendid Cave is the most impressive. Housed in it are nearly 30 varieties of stalactites chiseled into every manner of exotic imagery by the cunning labor of nature. Major attractions are Gold Throne Hall, Leifeng Pagoda and Sky-reaching Jade Pillar.
Chongqing Museum
Located at Pipashan Street, the Chongqing Museum is in the possession of more than 100,000 cultural artifacts, including 10,000 or so valuable ones.
Chongqing Nature Museum
Local natural history and fauna and flora samples are on display in the Chongqing Nature Museum in Beibei district, which includes a display room for dinosaurs that have been founding Sichuan.
Other Scenic Attractions
Other scenic attractions include the south and north Hot springs, Red Crag Village, Simian (Four-Face) Mountain, Jinfo (Golden Buddha) Mountain, Earth’s Chasm at Tianjing Gorge, and Heavenly Crate at Xiaozhai village.
Three Gorges Tourist Festival
Time: June every year
What’s On: Cruise on the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, the Ghost City at Fengdu, Dazu Grottoes, Shibao Village, Zhang Fei’s Temple, Baidi City at Fengjie and Lesser Three Gorges. Other activities include float parade, full-length variety show and tourist business talks.
Beidaihe - A Must for Birds Watchers Set on the coast some 280 km east of Beijing, the seaside holiday resort of Beidaihe is famous not only as a tourist center and as a good place to recuperate after illness, but also as one of the best places in the world to see migratory birds. China’’s Yanshan Mountain Range winds its way thousands of miles from the west to the eastern seaboard. It sends a number of waterways like the Henghe, Daihe, Yanghe and Luanhe rivers down to the Bohai Sea at Beidaihe. They create a vast area of wetlands, mud-banks, and lagoons with rich feeding and good places for birds to rest. Here migratory routes come together like great seasonal rivers of birds linking northeast Asia with south China, Indo-China, Australia and even far off east Africa.
Nature has richly endowed Beidaihe with bird species and of the 1,198 found in China, 416 have been recorded at Beidaihe. This is a part of the world that plays host to eighteen species of gulls, three of swans, and six of cranes.
Xu Weishu, vice director of the China Ornithological Society tells of the time when as many as 2,729 oriental white storks were recorded in Beidaihe, doubling the previous world record.
Look into the skies of Beidaihe in the first ten days of November every year and you will be sure to see flocks of red-crowned cranes and white cranes.
The year from May 1999 to May 2000 saw ten new bird species added to the list for Beidaihe.
Back in the 1940s Danish scientist, Axel Hemmingsen, published a report saying that he had seen large numbers of cranes at Beidaihe, but no one followed up on this at the time. Then in 1985 guided by Hemmingsen’’s report, British ornithologist Doctor Martin Williams first came to Beidaihe. With the help of an official from the Beidaihe tourism authority, Dr Williams visited Shijiutuo Island in nearby Laoting County. What he discovered there was far beyond his expectations and he found many new kinds of birds. Since then, accompanied by his Chinese counterpart, Xu Weishu, he has brought many overseas professionals together in Beidaihe every year to enjoy watching the birds and carry out research.
Since the first two parties of Chinese bird enthusiasts visited Beidaihe in 1999, more and more domestic visitors have joined bird watching groups going there on vacation.
Beidaihe has enjoyed a good reputation since 1893. It was then that a British engineer helping build a railway line recognized
that with its low hills, beaches and sea breezes, the headland was an ideal place to go to escape the summer heat of the interior. On his recommendation, the first holidaymakers arrived. Beidaihe, until then a poor fishing village, quickly became popular with diplomats, merchants, missionaries, and well off Chinese.
Meanwhile the birds are regular visitors here too. Flocks of gulls are easily spotted. What might not be so easy is to be able to distinguish among the bewildering variety in the skies over Beidaihe. Many different birds pass through here as the seasons come and go and every year still sees fresh species spotted. It is a magnificent sight to see the occasional flock of large cranes pass by or to watch the birds of prey, however the larger birds have been decreasing in number. Round the calendar
The period spanning the last ten days of April through the last ten days of May is the best season for bird watching. This is when you can see the greatest number and variety of birds in Beidaihe.
Then the period from the last ten days of August through September is the time for the medium and small wading birds to pass through.
October brings another peak season as many birds pass through the area, going south for the winter.
As the colder weather comes in with the first ten days of November, flocks of cranes will be making their way south. They will come north again the following March.
The best spots· For waterfowl and songbirds, try Chitu Hill, Lianfeng Hill and the hilltops in Geziwo Park or the many well-wooded courtyards in Beidaihe District.
· For swimming and wading birds, Daihe, Yanghe and Dapu rivers should not disappoint.
· Visit Jiaoshan Mountain to enjoy watching birds of prey and songbirds.
· Shijiutuo Island in nearby Laoting County is well worth an extended visit of a few days duration.
Guiyuan Temple
Chinese Buddhist temples are never single buildings. They always consist of a group buildings following a fundamental patter, which can,
;however, be modified. The main buildings and their symmetrically corresponding secondary buildings form individual groups and courtyards. The entire temple complex is spacious. The building inside the complex are usually single-storied and the main halls are sometimes decorated with a double roof. The towers, pavilions and halls can be multi-storied structures.
The Chinese temple complex has been subject to great structural changes throughout the centuries. But temple architects follow the basic principles of secular structures from the Tang Dynasty onwards. The complexes stand on a central axis, usually a north-south axis: east-west only as an exception. (Guiyuan Temple is just the very ex
ception.) The main buildings are strung along this central axis, their broadest sides facing south or east.
The most important and most frequently presented building inside a Buddhist temple complex are the main entrance gate, the bell and drum towers, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Buddha and a pagoda.
Buddhism is said to be founded in India in the 6th century BC by Siddatha Gautama (BC565 –BC486), the son of a nobleman and member of the Kshatriya caste near the present borders of India and Nepal. Buddhism advocates that all the people are created equal and turns against the ca
ste system of Brahmanism, so it was popular with the common people.
It was said that Buddhism was spread to China in 2 BC. At the beginning, it was only regarded as a kind of witch. About 200 AD, Chinese version of Buddhist s criptures began to appear, and thus, Buddhist doctrines began to emerge with traditional Chinese religious thought. From 2nd century to late 6th century, translation and research of Buddhist sects with Chinese characteristics were becoming more and more popular and many temples were built, which reached its peak in Sui Dynasty (581AD-617AD) and Tang Dynasty (618-907). Some Buddhist sects with Chinese characteristics came into
;being. Buddhism exerts a great influence on Chinese philosophy, literature, art and folk customs.
What is presented before our eyes is a copper statue of a famous bodhisattva in Hynayana Buddhism. Bodhisattva is a tittle which is only next to Buddha. This statue is the image of Avalokitesvara, which has been popular with Chinese people or more than 1,000 years. She is called the Goddess of Mercy cordially by Chinese and is regarded as the symbol of kindness, mercy and benevolence. When we visit the Avalokitesvara Pavilion after a while, I will give a detailed introduction about her. This copper statue was sent to Guiyuan Temple by Taiwan Buddhists in September 1990.&
nbsp;It shows that all Chinese, whether in the mainland or in Taiwan, are eager for the reunion of the country, even including religion believers.
The building we see now is the Buddha Hall where one certain Buddha and his two assistant bodhisattvases are worshiped. This Buddha is Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha means incomparable brightness. According to Buddhism, time and space is limitless and thus there are many many Buddhas in different spaces and times. But in a certain space or in a certain period of time, there is only one certain Buddha who is in charge of instructing all living creatures. Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha who presides over the Land of&n
bsp;Ultimate Bliss in the west, which will come in the future. Buddhist s criptures describe the Land of Ultimate Bliss as a wonderland, in which no pain exists and the people enjoy their lives. In one word, it
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s very attractive. Some people will think it must be very difficult to enter such a world. How can I go to such a paradise? Maybe I have to work hard and bear a lot of sufferings. In fact, it
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s very easy to enter the world. He only need often murmur ‘
May Buddha preserve us
’
sincerely. It’s enough.
You see, the statue in the middle is the very Buddha. On his left is the Goddess of Mer
cy. On his right is the other bodhisattva who follows the Buddha. It is said that he can save all the living creatures from three kinds of terrible disasters.
Now, let
’
s step into the Buddhist s criptures Pavilion where the s criptures of Buddhism are kept. But I
‘m afraid what attracts our attention at the first sight must be this snow-white statue. It is a statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. This statue was carved out of a big piece of jade which is 2-meter-tall and weighs 3 tons. It was carved by Myanmar handicraftsmen and donated to the temple by the Ra
ngoon Buddhists in 1935.
If we watch the statue, we may sense that the peaceful expression on the Buddha
’
s face has brought us to a quiet and harmonious state.
The last building we will visit is the Avalokitesvara Pavilion in the north yard. When we entered the yard just now we saw a statue of her. Now I
’
d like to introduce her carefully.
As a goddess, she swore that she would not become a Buddha until all the living creatures suffering from pains were saved. So she became a bodhisattva who is most popular among the people&n
bsp;and attracts the most believers of all the gods and goddesses in Buddhism. It was said that one would be saved from trouble and disaster as long as he (she) chanted her name and if it was heard by her. Thus she is called Guanshiyin, which means
‘hearing or looking on the voices of the suffering’. Because of her kind heart and benevolence she got another title ‘the Goddess of Mercy’.
According to Buddhism, bodhisattvases have no distinction of sex, that is, they are neither male nor female, because they are immortals. But it
’
s very strange and interesting that most of bodhisattvases were engr
aved or carved in the images of various kinds of men in human society. Changes didn
t take place until an emperor
’’
s mother thought it was inconvenient to worship a male bodhisattva in her bedroom. From then on, Guanshiyin, the bodhisattvas began to appear before her believers in the image of a beautiful and elegant lady. We
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ll pay a visit to a very serious, sacred place. Generally, the place is regarded as the most holy by Buddhists. It is the Grand Hall, where the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni is worshiped. It is always the center of a Buddhist temple in construction and in Buddhists’ mind.
The statue in the middle is Sakyamuni. According to Buddhism his mother gave birth to him in a garden. He belonged to Kshatreya Caste. He married his cousin when he was 16 or 17 years old. At the age of 29, he was confronted with the sights of an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic. With eyes opened to aspects of life newly revealed to him, he broke from the material world and became an ascetic. Six years later, he gave up mystic concentration that at last brought him enlightenment under a bo tree. He then founded an order of mendicants and spent his next 45 years preaching his ideas until his death.
These two statue beside the Buddha are his two disciples. The one on the right was said to be Sakyamuni
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s cousin and he had good memory so that he could remember all the Buddha told his disciples. The one on the left was said to be the lord of Brahmnism and he once was Sakyamuni
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s tutor. But afterwards he was convinced by Buddhism after long-term debate between Buddhism and other religions and he accepted Sakyamuni as his tutor. Thus he became the eldest one of all Sakyamuni’s disciples.
Next, we
’
ll pay a visit to the Ahrat Hall in the south court.
The Ahrat Hall is an important structure in a Buddhist temple. But not all temples have an Ahrat Hall, especially, well-kept Ahrat Halls are very rare in China. This one is among them, and what
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s more, it has its own unique characteristics.
Generally, an Ahrat Hall is a square building. The building is subdivided into four small square courts so that the hall can get enough sunlight. This kind of structure show some lucky implies in Chinese Buddhist culture.
Another characteristic about the hall lies in these sculptures themselves. They were neither made up o
f wood, nor stone, nor clay. A special way was taken in making them, which could prevents them from being burned, being soaked or being eaten by insects. All the sculptures were floating in water while Wuhan was flooded in 1954, but, surprisingly, they were sound and safe after the flood had receded. It was really a wonder.
Ahrats are the immortals in Buddhism. But when you have a look around the sculptures, you may find from the expressions on their faces that they are so familiar to you. That
’
s only because they were molded on the basis of the people in the reality, so they are human beings in our daily life&nbs
p;rather than immortals.
Ahrats are the symbols of harmony, happiness, and good luck, so the Wuhan natives have got used to counting ahrats since ancient time to pray for peace. There are a few ways of counting ahrats. We can count from the first ahrat from left to right or from right to left, when we just enter the hall. We can also choose any ahrat as our starting point, and count in the same way, left to right or right to left. We should base counting on our own ages whatever we take. For example, I
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m 25, so I should stop in front of the 25th ahrat from the starting ahrat. The sculpture&nbs
p;in front of which I stop is my lucky ahrat. My lucky ahrat will accompany me to spend a peaceful and lucky year. Wouldn’
t you like to have a try now? If you need, I can explain connotation of some ahrats. That
’
s all for the explanation to Guiyuan Temple. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. You will have another 30 minutes to have a look around the temple. If you have any problems, do let me know. I would like to repeat our bus number, A3074. Please don
t forget. See you later.
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