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Pagoda, bridge a pair of top sites
By Tan Meiyi |
March 29, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SINCE ancient times, numerous scholars and poets have been inspired by the Six Harmonies Pagoda (Liuhe Pagoda) and today it is one of Hangzhou's top tourist attractions.
The 60-meter octagonal pagoda towers over the Qiantang River and was classified as a national cultural site by the Chinese government in 1961. According to historical records, the pagoda was constructed by the king of Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (AD 907-979) to calm the river's tidal bores, which are a rare natural phenomenon.
Its name "Six Harmonies" was to signify the harmony of heaven, earth and the four directions of north, south, east and west. Facing the river from Yuelun Hill, the pagoda was lit at night with lanterns to serve as a lighthouse and navigation point for ships and boats on the Qiantang River.
Over the centuries, the Six Harmonies Pagoda has shared the same fate as several other historical monuments, having gone through much destruction and restoration. It stood nine stories high in the time of the Kingdom of Wuyue but was completely destroyed by war in 1121.
Majestic design
It was rebuilt to seven stories during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) with a brick foundation. A wooden facade was added during the Emperor Guangxu's reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), thus giving the pagoda an impression of having 13 levels when it only had seven on the inside.
Like its majestic exterior, the pagoda's interior designs have also braved the tides of time. Paintings such as motifs of animals, flowers and characters adorn the niches and ceilings in colors of green, blue, red, guiding visitors on their spiral ascent to the highest floor.
When visitors stop at the top to catch their breath, they are overawed by a spectacular view of Qiantangjiang Bridge (also known as Qianjiang No. 1 Bridge), and the Qiantang River.
The river is reputed to be the world's largest tidal bore at a height of 9 meters and travelling up to 40 kilometers per hour. The bridge and river are the highlight scenes from the Six Harmonies Pagoda.
Only a few rivers around the world demonstrate a natural tidal bore phenomenon, which has never been fully understood. Throughout history, tidal bores have been known to cause shipping dangers and complicate the task of building bridges across such rivers since waves are fast, sudden and powerful.
The mouth of Qiantang River fans out to the sea like the shape of a trumpet with a long narrow body. On normal days, water flows from the river into the sea. During high tide and low tide as a result of gravity, the huge volume of water from the sea rises so fast that it forces the normal flow of currents to surge backward into the narrow body of the river, thus producing the tidal bore phenomenon.
However, the reason why this only happens at few places worldwide cannot be fully explained.
At Qiantang River, tidal bores occur monthly on the first to fourth and 15th to 20th days of the lunar calendar and waves are especially strong on the 18th day of the eighth lunar month. From the Six Harmonies Pagoda, visitors can get a clear view of the tidal bores and watch the huge crowd gathering to see it.
Accessed by cars on the first level and by trains on the second, Qiantangjiang Bridge was the first in China to be built by a Chinese engineer named Mao Yisheng (1896-1989). At that time, the possibility of building such a bridge seemed impossible due to the tidal phenomenon. Construction of the double-decked steel bridge began in 1934 and took more than two and a half years to complete.
When Shanghai fell to the invading Japanese troops during World War II, Mao received orders from the Nanjing government to destroy the bridge if Hangzhou falls. That same night, he had the bridge rigged with explosives. The next day however, the Zhejiang government ordered him to open the bridge as refugees were coming into Hangzhou and there were insufficient ships to meet the demand.
Mao opened the bridge, keeping information of the bombs top secret. During the time that the bridge was opened, more than 100,000 refugees fled across and it made history with its unique story of saving lives while rigged with bombs.
Finally, on December 23, 1937, Mao received an order for destruction of his beloved bridge just as the Japanese troops were closing in. It was completely wiped out by explosives and the aftermath was photographed by a Japanese soldier named Tomonaga, who decades later visited China and gave the picture to Mao. In 1953, Mao began reconstruction of the bridge which, to this day, remains the pride of Hangzhou and China.
Six Harmonies Pagoda
Address: 16 Zhijiang Rd
Opening hours: 6am-6:30pm
Admission: 20 yuan to enter the area; 10 yuan to climb the pagoda.
Tel: (0571) 8659-1364
Transport: Buses No. 4, 514, 808
The 60-meter octagonal pagoda towers over the Qiantang River and was classified as a national cultural site by the Chinese government in 1961. According to historical records, the pagoda was constructed by the king of Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (AD 907-979) to calm the river's tidal bores, which are a rare natural phenomenon.
Its name "Six Harmonies" was to signify the harmony of heaven, earth and the four directions of north, south, east and west. Facing the river from Yuelun Hill, the pagoda was lit at night with lanterns to serve as a lighthouse and navigation point for ships and boats on the Qiantang River.
Over the centuries, the Six Harmonies Pagoda has shared the same fate as several other historical monuments, having gone through much destruction and restoration. It stood nine stories high in the time of the Kingdom of Wuyue but was completely destroyed by war in 1121.
Majestic design
It was rebuilt to seven stories during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) with a brick foundation. A wooden facade was added during the Emperor Guangxu's reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), thus giving the pagoda an impression of having 13 levels when it only had seven on the inside.
Like its majestic exterior, the pagoda's interior designs have also braved the tides of time. Paintings such as motifs of animals, flowers and characters adorn the niches and ceilings in colors of green, blue, red, guiding visitors on their spiral ascent to the highest floor.
When visitors stop at the top to catch their breath, they are overawed by a spectacular view of Qiantangjiang Bridge (also known as Qianjiang No. 1 Bridge), and the Qiantang River.
The river is reputed to be the world's largest tidal bore at a height of 9 meters and travelling up to 40 kilometers per hour. The bridge and river are the highlight scenes from the Six Harmonies Pagoda.
Only a few rivers around the world demonstrate a natural tidal bore phenomenon, which has never been fully understood. Throughout history, tidal bores have been known to cause shipping dangers and complicate the task of building bridges across such rivers since waves are fast, sudden and powerful.
The mouth of Qiantang River fans out to the sea like the shape of a trumpet with a long narrow body. On normal days, water flows from the river into the sea. During high tide and low tide as a result of gravity, the huge volume of water from the sea rises so fast that it forces the normal flow of currents to surge backward into the narrow body of the river, thus producing the tidal bore phenomenon.
However, the reason why this only happens at few places worldwide cannot be fully explained.
At Qiantang River, tidal bores occur monthly on the first to fourth and 15th to 20th days of the lunar calendar and waves are especially strong on the 18th day of the eighth lunar month. From the Six Harmonies Pagoda, visitors can get a clear view of the tidal bores and watch the huge crowd gathering to see it.
Accessed by cars on the first level and by trains on the second, Qiantangjiang Bridge was the first in China to be built by a Chinese engineer named Mao Yisheng (1896-1989). At that time, the possibility of building such a bridge seemed impossible due to the tidal phenomenon. Construction of the double-decked steel bridge began in 1934 and took more than two and a half years to complete.
When Shanghai fell to the invading Japanese troops during World War II, Mao received orders from the Nanjing government to destroy the bridge if Hangzhou falls. That same night, he had the bridge rigged with explosives. The next day however, the Zhejiang government ordered him to open the bridge as refugees were coming into Hangzhou and there were insufficient ships to meet the demand.
Mao opened the bridge, keeping information of the bombs top secret. During the time that the bridge was opened, more than 100,000 refugees fled across and it made history with its unique story of saving lives while rigged with bombs.
Finally, on December 23, 1937, Mao received an order for destruction of his beloved bridge just as the Japanese troops were closing in. It was completely wiped out by explosives and the aftermath was photographed by a Japanese soldier named Tomonaga, who decades later visited China and gave the picture to Mao. In 1953, Mao began reconstruction of the bridge which, to this day, remains the pride of Hangzhou and China.
Six Harmonies Pagoda
Address: 16 Zhijiang Rd
Opening hours: 6am-6:30pm
Admission: 20 yuan to enter the area; 10 yuan to climb the pagoda.
Tel: (0571) 8659-1364
Transport: Buses No. 4, 514, 808
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