Guiyang is rich in places of historic interest and cultural relics, which are mainly the buildings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Guiyang is rich in places of historic interest and cultural relics, which are mainly the buildings of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (1368-1911). Almost 100 of them have been listed as of the state, provincial and municipal class.

Jiaxiu Pavilion

Jiaxiu Pavilion sits on a huge rock in the Nanming River in the southern part of Guiyang, which is first built in the 26th year in the reign of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1598). It is a magnificent three-storied building 20-meter-high with three eaves and a pointed top, containing carved windows and red lattices and upturned eaves on all sides. Downstairs is the Floating Jade Bridge which spans both north and south banks. Under the bridge, the clear blue swirling water forms a pool named Hanbi. When night falls with all the lights on, the outline of the pavilion and the bridge are reflected in the river as if it were a fairy land.

The pavilion was built by Jiang Dongzhi, an imperial inspector, who named it Jiaxiu Pavilion meaning the people in Guiyang are the finest and most talented under heaven.

In this pavilion, tourists can have a look at the rich collection of stone engravings, calligraphy works, paintings and woodworks by ancient artists. Among them, there is a long antithetical couplet with 206 characters written by Liu Yushan, a member of the Imperial Academy from Guiyang, in the Qing Dynasty, which has 26 more characters than that one in Daguan Pavilion in Kunming, which claims to be the longest one in the world.

Cuiwei Garden

Adjacent to Jiaxiu Pavilion is Cuiwei Garden. The garden is composed of a group of ancient buildings covering about 4,000 square metres, which were first built in the reign of Hong Zhi (1488-1505) in the Ming Dynasty. The South Nunnery stood where the Cuiwei Garden lies. Later it was named the Wuhou Temple, and later the Guanyin Temple. In 1993, it was renovated and it is now called Cuiwei Garden.  The Gongnan Pavilion in the garden shows simplicity and liveliness in layout and Cuiwei Pavilion displays beauty and dignity. Bamboo groves dance in breeze in Qinghuakong Garden and verdant trees cast their thick shades over the Longmen Academy of Classical Learning. The whole garden embraces quietness, elegance, magnificence and simplicity as a popular tourist spot.

Wenchang Pavilion

Wenchang Pavilion, located in the east of Guiyang, was first built in the 24th year in the reign of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty(1596), covering 1,200 square metres.  It is ranked as one of the key provincial class historic relics.

Wenchang Pavilion, 20 metres high, with its gate facing the west.  It indicates a notable construction style in the Ming Dynasty with windows and doors decorated by delicate carvings, colorful drawings, eaves raised gently and everything in a grey tone.

Wenchang Pavilion has a unique design and wonderful structure which is the only example of this style existing in China. It consists of a three-storied and a pointed-up tower with three eaves and nine angles,4 arrises for the ground storey,  9 arrises for the first and second storeys, 9 angles on the roof.  The 4 points of the eaves come from the equal division of the circumference into 4 quaters, the 9 points of the first and second storeys, which are of similar form, come from the equal division of the front arc into 3 parts and of the other 3 arcs into 2 parts respectively.  The building of the pavilion deals with the number nine which suggests the supreme power in China: 9 ridges and 9 points of the eaves of the first and the second storeys respectively, 54 pillars,  81 beams , all are multiples of 9.

Qingyan Town

Qingyan Town, a well-known historical and cultural town of Guiyang with a history of over 600 years, was first built in the 11th year in the reign of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.  It is located in the southern suburb of Huaxi Distrct, Guiyang, 29 kilometres from the downtown area. Qingyan Town received its name because of the green rocks and peaks around it. During the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, it was very prosperous with merchants gathering and a number of temples.

There were city walls around the old site of Qingyan Town, which was built with huge stones on the overhanging cliff, with the characteristics of a castle. In the antique streets, there are wooden houses with roofs of black tiles, which keep the charm of the antique local-style dwelling houses in the South of China. Most of the things such as yards, counters, mills are made of stone. Thus the town has another name of Qing Stone Town. Besides, there are nearly 30 temples in the town, which are delicately constructed.

Qingyan Town was the birthplace of quite a few famous persons in the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. Zhou Yuhuang, the scholar of the Imperial Academy, was an editor of Kangxi Dictionary. Zhao Yijiong once was the Number One Scholar.

(Source: Guiyang.gov.cn         Photos: Baidu.com)