Historic sites in Guiyang
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Jiaxiu Tower
Jiaxiu Tower is a magnificent 3-level pavilion about 20 meters high. Its turn-up eaves and white stone pillars are well carved and preserved. Located in water, connected by the Fuyu Bridge (Floating Bridge) at two banks, the tower has green tiles, red pillars, engraved windows and white stone parapets, which make it superb and striking. Ascending the tower, visitors can get a good view of the surrounding scenery.
The tower has a long history. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the local majesty, Jiang Dongzhi, ordered to build a causeway at where the tower locates today, linking to the southern bank of the Nanming River. Later a pavilion was built to honor the first scholar of the time and hoped that would encourage more scholars to follow the example. Thus the tower was named "Jiaxiu tower", which means "First Scholar's Tower". In 1689, it was destroyed again, and then, Majesty Tianwen rebuilt it again. So far, the tower has been reconstructed 6 times. For 400 years, it has become the symbol of the city, witnessing the history as well as the future of the development of the Guiyang city.
Inside Jiaxiu Tower, there is a good collection of authentic works and paintings from ancient calligraphers. Of them, the most famous one is the couplet written by Liu Yushang in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). This couplet consists of 206 words as a whole, with 87 words in the first and the second line respectively, which are 26 words more than the "longest couplet" preserved in the Big Guan Tower in Kunming. This couplet is notable not only for its length, but also for its literature value. Its choice of words is so delicate and magnificent that it looks into not only the history of the tower but also the universal life of human being.
Under the Jiaxiu Tower, is the Fuyu Bridge (Jade Floating Bridge). It is made of white stone and the parapets are well engraved. From distance, the bridge looks like a dragon floating in the river.
The night scene of the tower is the most impressive. Colorfully decorated with lanterns, reflected in water, the tower looks so beautiful that people may feel as if they had been back to the ancient times.
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