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: Longmen (Dragon Gate) is a certain gorge on
a river flanked by precipices and with a natural
dam. If carps swimming upstream could jump over
the dam, they would become dragons. The houses
of powerful dignitaries were often compared to
dragon gates; if a man could manage to be a guest
in these houses, his future would be ensured.
Longmen is the general name for "Three Purity
Tower and Longmen Cave". Three Purity Tower
is a cluster of buildings made up of 11 pavilions
laid out in nine tiers, including Sanqing Realm,
Lingguan Hall and Zhenwu Hall. The Longmen Cave
includes Lake Viewing Platform, Ciyun Cave, Yunhua
Cave and Datian Pavilion. It is the biggest and
most exquisitely built stone cave of Taoism. Work
started in the 46th year of the reign of Emperor
Qian Long or in 1781 and it did not complete until
1853 or in the third year of the reign of Emperor
Xian Feng of the Qing Dynasty, taking 72 years
to a day. It is in the list of relics for top
priority protection in Yunnan Province.
The precipitous
Arhat Cliff links with the sky above and faces
the Dianchi Lake below. Viewed from afar, the
protruding rock is like the face of an Arhat,
hence its name. There is a couplet posted on both
sides of the main entrance, reading: "It
is like a divine path leading from the clouds
down to the ground; when night falls, it is resounded
with booming bells." It depicts the sight
of a fairyland by presenting the scene in the
morning and in the evening and by looking and
hearing. It also serves as a guide to tourists.
: In the center of Guilin proper
is a famous park in which the lake is separated
into two parts by the Yangqiao Bridge: the east
is called the Fir Lake,and the west the Banyan
Lake |
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