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Kaifeng |
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Kaifeng |
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　　 Eighty km east of Zhengzhou is Kaifeng, one of seven ancient Chinese capitals. Serving for 168 years as capital of the Northern Song some 900 years ago, Kaifeng (called "East Capital" then) was the most prosperous city in the world with a population of 1.5 million. The East Capital's thriving street scenes are faithfully portrayed in the famous Song painting Festival of Pure Brightness on the River. This is why Kaifeng's tourist resources are pivoted on its Northern Song legacy, which includes lron Pagoda, Grand Chancellor's Temple, Imperial street of the Song Capital, Dragon Pavilion, Lord Bao's Temple, and the Garden of Festival of Pure Brightness on the River. Built in 1049, the Karfeng lron Pagoda is a 55.08-metre-tall glazed brick structure whose facade, panelled with brown glazed bricks, gives it a cast-iron look. Soaring to the sky like a gigantic pillar, it is a masterpiece of glazed brick carving in Song tradition and an emblem of Kaifeng. Enshrined in Grand Chancellor's Temple built in 555 AD (but the structures on the premises were all built during the Qing) is a sculpture of Avalokitesvara with 4 faces and 1,000 hands and 1,000 eyes, carved out of the trunk of a 1,000-year-old gingko tree. When tolled, the gigantic bronze bell in the temple's bell pavilion can be heard throughout the city. The Imperial Street of the Song Capital was for the exclusive use of Song emperors' family members and aristocrats; today, lined on both sides with ancient-looking stores, it has become a shopping paradise. Dragon Pavilion used to be part of the Song and Jin imperial palaces. Some of the ancient structures are still there, including the major hall, their massive forms echo the Imperial Street in such harmony.
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