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6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, August 28, 2020 CHINA DAILY The statues of maids in Sense of the Hall of the Sacred Mother are community sculpted in a vivid and natural amid style. QIU PING / beautiful FOR CHINA DAILY landscape By NATALIA KRAVCHENKO I came to Shanxi province three years ago. My husband and I were coming from Beijing by car and the first thing I noticed was the magnifi­ cent land­ scape around us as we drove through the m o u n t a i n s and forests. Natalia Since then I Kravchenko have visited three cities in Shanxi: Taiyuan, Jinzhong and Xiangfen. Taiyuan is a large city and the Jinci visitors take a walk through time capital of Shanxi, which is sur­ prising in its scale and beauty. The huge zoo made an impres­ ed in the Western Zhou Dynasty. sion on me — it is a place where “The age of the trees is not a leg­ you can look at different ani­ end. Carbon­14 dating proved that mals, interact with them and they are 2,600 to 2,990 years old,” even feed some of them. A large Wu said, adding that the trees still area of the zoo provides animals show great vitality with lush, ever­ with the space to move around green leaves. and conditions which are simi­ For calligraphy enthusiasts, a lar to nature. It was evident that Ancestral temple’s stone stele with inscriptions written the staff takes good care of ani­ influence spans by Tang Dynasty emperor Li Shimin mals and treats them with love. is another highlight. As a biologist, I can say it is millennia, multiple Li was the second emperor of the important to take care of ani­ Chinese dynasties Tang Dynasty and was a native of mals because they always feel Taiyuan. humans’ kindness and affection. Before rising to fame, he and his I like to walk along the city’s By YUAN SHENGGAO father Li Yuan — the first emperor of manicured river embankment the Tang Dynasty — always visited where you can take countless When famed Tang Dynasty (618­ the temple and asked the deities to beautiful photos, especially in 907) poet Li Bai visited Jinci, one of help unite the nation and build a the evening when the coolness the top attractions in Taiyuan, he prosperous dynasty. and smell of the river fill the air. wrote a poem with one line going Li Shimin visited the temple 28 Xiangfen is a small and cozy city like this: “The flowing water of Jinci years after he became the second by the Fenhe River. It is full of is like blue jade.” The Hall of the Sacred Mother and the bridge over the Yuzhao Pond are among the top sites in Jinci. emperor of the Tang Dynasty. serenity and its residents are hard­ The immortal line has helped HU XUGUANG / FOR CHINA DAILY When recalling his promise made working and kind. There are very Jinci win a perpetual reputation at the temple and the decades of war few tall buildings in Xiangfen and among tourists, who regard it as a state that was called Tang at that temple remains a museum of She added the bridge over the and peace, Li wrote an 1,000­word I felt comfortable and easy there must­see attraction in Taiyuan, the time. ancient Chinese architecture. Yuzhao Pond is the only cross­ essay. As Li himself was one of the because I like small houses. capital city of today’s Shanxi prov­ Shuyu made a great contribution The temple is an ideal place for shaped bridge in China. top calligraphers of his times, the In the evening I liked to walk ince, for many centuries. to the development of the fiefdom, tourists to explore the millennia­ When showing tourists the Hall of essay inscribed on the stone has along the embankment. On week­ Jinci used to be the ancestral tem­ by leading locals to improve agricul­ long history of the region and study Sacred Mother, the main hall of the become a treasure for many calligra­ ends, the locals arranged cos­ ple of kings of the Jin state during ture through building irrigation ancient Chinese architecture. temple, she reminded them of the phy enthusiasts in the centuries to tumed performances on the the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th projects. Wu Huijuan is an experienced vivid statues and exquisite decora­ follow. square near the fountain and it century­771 BC) and the Spring and When Xiefu, the son of Shuyu, local tour guide who can show the tions. Wu Ran, a calligrapher from was very interesting to watch Autumn Period (770­476 BC). succeeded his father to become the many historical and cultural values “The statues of maids in the hall Northeast China’s Jilin province, them. Legend has it that Ji Song became second king, he changed the fief­ of the site to tourists. deserve careful study. visited Jinci recently. He said the As a foreigner, I really like this the second monarch of the Western dom’s name to Jin. When guiding a tourist group “As the hall was built in the Song trip was a worthwhile experience as Chinese tradition when people Zhou Dynasty when he was young. Xiefu built the Jinci — which from Guangdong province on Aug Dynasty, we can have a glimpse of it offered him an opportunity to see of different ages go to parks, He once played with his younger means the ancestral temple of the 22, Wu mentioned the “three top the lifestyle of the period judging the works of this renowned calligra­ squares and other recreational brother, Shuyu, sending him a piece Jin state — to memorialize his father. treasures” of the temple — the Hall from the maids’ garments and uten­ pher and one of the greatest emper­ areas to sing, dance and spend of soil as a gift. The ancestral temple was reno­ of Sacrifice, the bridge over the sils they hold,” Wu said. ors in Chinese history. their leisure time. The playful game was recorded vated and expanded during the fol­ Yuzhao Pond and the Hall of Sacred Wu said the maid statues are “Li was a fan of Wang Xizhi, the Jinzhong is the place where I by his ministers, who required the lowing millennia, becoming the Mother. among the “three additional won­ greatest calligrapher of China. Li’s am living now. It is a small, beau­ monarch to give his brother a cer­ largest ancient building complex in “The Hall of Sacrifice, a Song ders” of Jinci, together with the calligraphic works, with the similar tiful and green city with hard­ tain territory as a fiefdom, appoint­ Taiyuan. Dynasty building, is epitome of Zhou Dynasty cypress trees and the charm of Wang’s, are inspirational working people. ing him the king of it because the With structures built in the Song ancient Chinese architecture. The Never Aging Spring. for calligraphy lovers in China,” Wu Jinzhong has many parks soil represented the land of a state. (960­1279), Yuan (1271­1368), Ming wooden structure was put together She said the two cypress trees said. where people can walk and relax Ji Song honored his promise and (1368­1644) and Qing (1644­1911) with mortise and tenon joints, with­ standing beside the Hall of Sacred but it also has an amazing his­ Shuyu became the first king of the dynasties still kept intact, the Jinci out using a single nail,” Wu said. Mother are said to have been plant­ Guo Yanjie contributed to this story. torical heritage. One of the attractions is Yuci Old City — a town of stunningly “We have received positive feed­ beautiful Chinese architecture Xinzhou authority helps sapphire manufacturer shine back from the clients and we are and monuments. Every time I vis­ confident we will have similar recog­ it, I discover something new. For nition from the certification organi­ example, during the Chinese New By YUAN SHENGGAO “Construction on our production ing 2.4 million pieces of PSS annual­ zation,” Peng said, adding that the Year celebrations we got there at facility started on April 15, 2019 and ly, according to Peng. reply from the certification organi­ night and were amazed how the It is well­known that sapphire is a a plant of 3,600 square meters was The company began installing zation will come in the near future. familiar landscape and architec­ precious gem used in the jewelry completed on March 30 this year,” equipment on April 1, one day after “Mass production will begin in ture had changed as they were industry. However patterned sap­ Peng said. plant construction was completed. September and we estimate the decorated with lights. phire substrate — a kind of artificial The executive said the local gov­ The first PSS product rolled off the sales revenue in the following four I would like to mention the sapphire — is less known and not ernment’s “beyond expectation” ser­ production line on June 25. months can reach 200 million friendly Chinese people who used for jewelry. vice was the major reason for the The first product was a 4­inch yuan,” the executive said. were always ready to help me in The material, also known as PSS, unexpected speed of construction. round chip inscribed with 850 million Huajing Hengji is one of only a any place I visited in Shanxi. I is widely used in the semiconductor, “A local government­funded com­ pyramid­shaped patterns designed few providers of PSS chips with a was also fascinated by the sin­ LED display and lighting industries pany was responsible for building for the LED display industry.

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