Visitors get 2 millennia of history when taking in sights of Danyang
By Wing Tan |
May 28, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DANYANG is proud of a history dating back more than 2,000 years. It was the birthplace of the founding emperors of the Qi (479-502 AD) and Liang (502-557 AD) dynasties.
On a casual walk around the city, there are footnotes of the past - stone lions, old wooden houses and ancient tombs.
Of special interest to visitors is the Jizi Taoism Temple. Jizi, a noble prince during the Wu Kingdom, was a man of righteousness and integrity. He was said to have been a teacher of Confucius.
The temple is located in the somewhat remote village of Jiuli, and the drive there is a tranquil break from Danyang's busy urban environment.
A winding river flows around a complex of old buildings at the site. A cobblestone path dotted with daisies leads to the old temple on the other side of the river.
The temple is hidden behind a row of dilapidated houses, but a renovation project is under way to remove the blight. It's expected to be completed this year.
Jizi Temple stands imposing and magnificent.
A gray stone called "yin-yang stele" sits at the site with its own interesting tale to tell.
Legend says it was set at the gate of the temple hundreds of years ago to link the "yang" living world with the "yin" nether world.
In its original form, the stone was said to be so smoothly polished that people could see the images of deceased relatives on the its mirror-like surface.
One night, somehow, the stone was split asunder during an electrical storm and fell into the river. It was rediscovered in the muddy river bottom during a sewage project in the late 1990s. When the stone was heaved to land once again, its surface turned rough and lost its luster.
"It's just a legend," said Zhao Yongsheng, the temple's abbot since 2000. "But we do believe this temple is a psychic place and a dragon lived in the nearby hills."
Six old wells lie in front of the temple. It is said the water in the wells has been "boiling" for more than 1,600 years. If you look carefully, you can see bubbles in the water. In three wells, the water looks clean and in the other three, it is turbid.
"Taste it. The water is drinkable," said 62-year-old Auntie Zhou, who has been looking after the wells for many years.
The water in each well has its own distinctive taste. Some have a sort of beer or lemony taste; others a somewhat spicy, bittersweet taste.
Zhou happily provides plastic cups for visitors to do their own taste tests.
In 2008, experts from the Zhenjiang City Environment Inspection and Monitoring Center did a survey of the wells and found that all met drinking standards.
Experts from Nanjing Normal University who visited the site said the temple is situated in a geological depression that is full of mineral salts that aerate the water. The different tastes, the experts said, come from varying combinations of minerals.
Local villagers have a more imaginative way of explaining it all.
They say the water in the wells is the dragon's sweat and the bubbles are caused by its fiery breath. The dragon is said to be the protector of the village.
In the Jizi Temple itself, one of the biggest attractions is a 10-character stele written by Confucius.
It is said to be the only example of the sage's original calligraphy.
It reads: "The tomb of a noble man of the Wu Kingdom." On the backside of the stele is an inscription carved by calligrapher Zhang Congshen in 779 AD.
Tiandi Ancient Chinese Stone Carvings and Inscriptions Park
Located in the northeast of Danyang astride Lake Phoenix, this newly opened park features a stone-themed museum, a cultural center and a recreational park.
Covering 150,000 square meters, the park features more than 8,000 stone carvings, including lions, tigers, wells, steles, Buddhist statues and ancient musical instruments – some dating back 2,000 years. Most of the artifacts were collected from various regions of China and donated by private collectors.
A parade of stone lions greets visitors to the park.
Among the marvels inside are 580 stone posts used to hitch horses in ancient times, and a hall featuring aspects of the Buddha, smiling, sleeping and meditating.
For children, there is a 15-minute four-dimentional cartoon movie in the park's mini-cinema, which gives a vivid brief introduction to Chinese mythological animals.
On a casual walk around the city, there are footnotes of the past - stone lions, old wooden houses and ancient tombs.
Of special interest to visitors is the Jizi Taoism Temple. Jizi, a noble prince during the Wu Kingdom, was a man of righteousness and integrity. He was said to have been a teacher of Confucius.
The temple is located in the somewhat remote village of Jiuli, and the drive there is a tranquil break from Danyang's busy urban environment.
A winding river flows around a complex of old buildings at the site. A cobblestone path dotted with daisies leads to the old temple on the other side of the river.
The temple is hidden behind a row of dilapidated houses, but a renovation project is under way to remove the blight. It's expected to be completed this year.
Jizi Temple stands imposing and magnificent.
A gray stone called "yin-yang stele" sits at the site with its own interesting tale to tell.
Legend says it was set at the gate of the temple hundreds of years ago to link the "yang" living world with the "yin" nether world.
In its original form, the stone was said to be so smoothly polished that people could see the images of deceased relatives on the its mirror-like surface.
One night, somehow, the stone was split asunder during an electrical storm and fell into the river. It was rediscovered in the muddy river bottom during a sewage project in the late 1990s. When the stone was heaved to land once again, its surface turned rough and lost its luster.
"It's just a legend," said Zhao Yongsheng, the temple's abbot since 2000. "But we do believe this temple is a psychic place and a dragon lived in the nearby hills."
Six old wells lie in front of the temple. It is said the water in the wells has been "boiling" for more than 1,600 years. If you look carefully, you can see bubbles in the water. In three wells, the water looks clean and in the other three, it is turbid.
"Taste it. The water is drinkable," said 62-year-old Auntie Zhou, who has been looking after the wells for many years.
The water in each well has its own distinctive taste. Some have a sort of beer or lemony taste; others a somewhat spicy, bittersweet taste.
Zhou happily provides plastic cups for visitors to do their own taste tests.
In 2008, experts from the Zhenjiang City Environment Inspection and Monitoring Center did a survey of the wells and found that all met drinking standards.
Experts from Nanjing Normal University who visited the site said the temple is situated in a geological depression that is full of mineral salts that aerate the water. The different tastes, the experts said, come from varying combinations of minerals.
Local villagers have a more imaginative way of explaining it all.
They say the water in the wells is the dragon's sweat and the bubbles are caused by its fiery breath. The dragon is said to be the protector of the village.
In the Jizi Temple itself, one of the biggest attractions is a 10-character stele written by Confucius.
It is said to be the only example of the sage's original calligraphy.
It reads: "The tomb of a noble man of the Wu Kingdom." On the backside of the stele is an inscription carved by calligrapher Zhang Congshen in 779 AD.
Tiandi Ancient Chinese Stone Carvings and Inscriptions Park
Located in the northeast of Danyang astride Lake Phoenix, this newly opened park features a stone-themed museum, a cultural center and a recreational park.
Covering 150,000 square meters, the park features more than 8,000 stone carvings, including lions, tigers, wells, steles, Buddhist statues and ancient musical instruments – some dating back 2,000 years. Most of the artifacts were collected from various regions of China and donated by private collectors.
A parade of stone lions greets visitors to the park.
Among the marvels inside are 580 stone posts used to hitch horses in ancient times, and a hall featuring aspects of the Buddha, smiling, sleeping and meditating.
For children, there is a 15-minute four-dimentional cartoon movie in the park's mini-cinema, which gives a vivid brief introduction to Chinese mythological animals.
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