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The Terra Cotta Warriors
Suzhou
is located in the south of Jiangsu province, about 50
miles west of Shanghai, on the old Grand Canal. The
city has been famous for its scenic beauty for many
centuries. A Chinese proverb says: "In heaven there
is paradise: on earth Suzhou and Hangzhou". The
city has also long been noted for its beautiful women.
Suzhou
is best-known for its landscaped gardens, over 150 in
number. These are not large, but are fascinating in
their delicate design, containing hills and ponds, terraces,
corridors, towers, and almost everything that is needed
in an "imperial garden". Of them, Liu Garden,
which covers about 10 acres, is the largest in Suzhou,
and certainly one of the most attractive. It was one
of the few gardens that escaped destruction during the
Taping rebellion in the middle of the 19th century,
and this is symbolized in its name, the Chinese character
for which means "to keep".
The
garden was first laid out during the Ming Dynasty by
a civil servant who also had the West Garden, or Xi
Yuan, constructed. You will find a series of small lakes
linked by bridges and numerous buildings, of which the
most interesting is the Hall of the Mandarin Ducks (symbols
of love). Others have windows offering good views of
the landscape. You should also take time to visit the
section of the garden planted with fruit trees. Ask
your guide to take you to the section devoted to the
cultivation of miniature trees. There are hundreds of
them; one pomegranate trees is more than 300 years old.
In this section you will also see numerous trays containing
miniature landscapes and rockeries. The owners and residents
of the private gardens in ancient China preferred not
to leave their beautiful surroundings, and therefore
had miniature landscapes made no remind them of other
beauty spots.
Tiger
Hill, or Hu Qiu, a few miles north-west of the town,
is very popular among visitors. It is supposedly the
town, is very popular among visitors. It is supposedly
the burial place of the King of Wu.
Two
different reasons are given for the name of the hill.
One is that the entrance gate resembles the mouth of
a tiger, and the pagoda on the top of the hill its tail.
The others is that when the King of Wu was buried on
top of the hill, a tiger is said to have appeared there.
Cold
Mountain Temple, or Hanshan Si, is located on the outskirts
of town on a small canal crossed by an old humpbacked
bridge. Green foliage hangs down over the saffron walls.
When you visit this place you will understand why many
poets have been inspired by the scenery there.
The temple's name comes from the hermit Han Shan, a
Buddhist poet, sometime during the Tang Dynasty. And
the temple owes its fame to the poem "Overnight
Stay at Feng Qiao", by Zhang Ji, a Tang Dynasty
poet
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