1、Seven-star Crags Scenic Spot in ZhaoqingIntroduction-Age-old Poem Corridor-Shuiyue Palace-Yuping Crag and Langfeng Crag-Apo Crag-Wetland ParkIntroductionGood morning, distinguished guests. We are going to see lakes and mainly crags today. Allow me to give you a general introduction first.Seven-star

2、Crags scenic spot enjoys a sightseeing history of more than 1000 years. It lies to the north of Zhaoqing city about three kilometers away. In 1982, Seven-star Crags together with Dinghu Mountain were put under the same name of “Xinghu” Scenic Area. This scenic area enjoys many well recognized titles

3、 in the travel industry. Say, it was listed among the first designated State-level Key Tourist Attractions. In the years of 1999 and 2000, Xinghu Scenic Area was ranked as “State-level Key Tourist Attraction”, “Top Ten State Demonstration Site of Civilization” and “State-level 4A Resort” respectivel

4、y.The lake in front of us is composed of five lakes, hence the origin of its name, a star-shaped lake. Xinghu (let me put it into Chinese) occupies an area of 64.9 thousand square meters. This lake has a history of over 350 years. It was first documented in Ming Dynasty.Seven-star Crags are made up

5、of seven crags. It covers an area of 8.227 square kilometers.These seven crags line into two belts. The belt in the south includes five crags. These five are named after their shapes. If you look from west to east, you will see Shizhangyan (Palm Crag), Chanchuyan (Toad Crag), Tianzhuyan (Sky-pointin

6、g Crag), Shishiyan (Stone Chamber Crag) and Yuping Langfengyan (Jade Screen Langfeng Crag). The belt in the north includes other two crags. They are named as He Qiang and Apo. I will tell you the stories about their origin later.Now we are standing in front of Sky-pointing Crag. It rises up to 114 m

7、eters. Do you see a pavilion at its peak? It is the highest construction in Seven-star Crags. Shall we call it Star-reaching Pavilion (Zhaixingting)? Yes, great. Now will you look at Tianzhuge, a building half way down the mountain? It is a place which serves meals and provides beds.After giving you

8、 an overall introduction, I will lead you to see the details.Age-old Poem CorridorThis Age-old Poem Corridor is known for Moya Stone Inscription (Ma Ya Shi Ke). As you can see, carved and chiseled on the smooth surface of the natural crags are the drawings and writings, recording important events or

9、 achievements in history. These inscriptions are usually completed by the joined efforts of stonemasons and calligraphers. A Chinese late Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marshal Chen Yi visited here in February, 1962. He commented, “The lines inscribed on the crags here have made this place famous afte

10、r a thousand years”.The stone inscriptions in Seven-star Crags Scenic Spot are mainly situated in the Longyan Cave and the Lotus Cave of Stone Chamber Crag. After Tang and Song Dynasties, a flow of poets and calligraphers left their writings on the crags. Currently, there are more than 410 pieces of

11、 stone inscriptions. They are rendering you a unique tour in the museum of calligraphy.The one before us has the highest artistic value. It is called A Record of Stone Chamber in Duanzhou. It is the earliest in existence here with a history of over 1200 years, inscribed in Kaiyuan Period of Tang Dyn

12、asty (727 AD). This inscription is the masterpiece of Li Yi, who enjoys a good reputation in China as a calligrapher. Li Bai and Du Fu, the two renowned poets in Tang Dynasty, admired his talent. As is known, Li Yis fine style in calligraphy is marked as a transition from sureness of touch and clear

13、ness in earlier periods to richness and strength featuring as the glorious Tang Dynasty.Apart from Li Yi, other celebrities inscribed their works here. To name a few, Li Shen, a famous poet in Middle Tang Dynasty; Bao Zhen, an important official of Song Dynasty; Zhou Dunyi, a writer and philosopher;

14、 Yu Dayou, an eminent general who fought against Japanese invaders.Besides these, there is a large collection inscribed in Qing Dynasty. Please take your time to look around if you are interested in. I am not wasting your time to list them all.Given its special culture meaning, Age-old Poem Corridor

15、 was listed as one of the National Key Cultural Relics Conservation Units in 2001.Shuiyue PalaceShuiyue Palace was first built in Jiajing Period (1522 1566 AD) of Ming Dynasty, but deserted later. It was reconstructed in 1985 with financial support from the government. It covers an area of 6000 squa

16、re meters. As you can see, the palace is decorated by red walls and yellow tiles. It adopts the traditional Chinese courtyard style of spreading out on either side of an invisible axis.The main hall is especially dedicated to “Mo Li Zhi Tian”. This arrangement is rare in China. If you visit other te

17、mples elsewhere, you are most likely to see more than twenty God statues standing on both sides of the hall. “Tian” is the name Chinese used for God who sustains the power of the Buddha.Mo Li Zhi, a transliteration, originates from Sanskrit. Mo Li Zhi has a magic that she can make herself invisible

18、to the God of Sun. Because of this, Mo Li Zhi was worshipped by many warriors in ancient China. The bronze statue of Mo Li Zhi Tian we see here was remoulded in 1986. It is five meters in height and six tons in weight.Yuping Crag and Langfeng CragThe adjoined crags before us are grand and screen-lik

19、e, thus got the name of “Pingfeng Crag” or “Screen Crag” in ancient times. Since Ming Dynasty, people separated the two crags and called the one in the east “Langfeng Crag” and the one in the west “Yuping Crag”.Paths on the crag were built as early as in the period of Wanli, Ming Dynasty, and they w

20、ere rebuilt during the period of Qianlong, Qing Dynasty. As a result, we can see along the paths the stone inscriptions on the cliffs from Ming and Qing dynasties.Here we come to the “Shi You Ting”, or “Pavilion for Friends Gathering” in other words. From the pavilion we can get a bird-view of the g

21、reen lakes and tranquil villages.The palace in front of us is called “Yu Huang Dian”, or “Palace of the Emperor of Heaven”, put it in other words. It was first constructed in 1598, in the period of Wanli, Ming Dynasty, and rebuilt with bricks and wood in 1681 in the period of Kangxi, Qing Dynasty. T

22、he roof of the palace is exquisite. The overlapping eaves and the delicate arches are worth your while to have a close look.Apo CragThe crag we see here is called Apo Crag. It was named after a legendary fairy. She taught the local fishermen to grow a kind of grain which would grow taller when flood

23、s came. Thus this area was enriched with both fish and grain. In order to express their thanks, the local people called the fairy “Queen of Grain”, or “Grandmother of Grain”, which are similar to the pronunciation of Apo in local dialect. If you look at the north-east side of the crag, you can see “

24、He Hou Yan”, the three Chinese characters chiseled on the crag. The inscriptions in memory of her were left from Ming Dynasty, believe it not.Cliffs below the Apo Crag exhibit valuable Mo Ya Stone Inscriptions left by contemporary celebrities. They are of high calligraphic value. Shall we go and hav

25、e a look?The water cave below the crag is over 300 meters long. It is the longest of the eight water cavities in Seven-star Crags. If you go into the cave in summer, you will feel cool and comfortable. If you enter it on a boat, the stalactites of different shapes will render you a feast for the eye

26、s. You can find no other better choice of the same kind in this scenic area.Wetland ParkThe water before us is a part of the East Lake, called Fairy Lake. This lake is a must when you visit the Wetland Park. The wetland area for sightseeing accounts for two square kilometers, about 2 meters deep on

27、average.My dear guests, shall I give you a brief introduction to the concept of wetland? “Yes”, OK. A wetland is an area of swampland or turf land. It is a water area that is naturally or artificially covered, for a short or long period time, with fresh water, or salt water, or a mixture of fresh an

28、d salt water; a wetland is also a small part of the sea area. Its depth of water does not exceed six meters at low tide.As you know, wetland is considered “the Cradle of Life” and “the Kidney of the Earth”. Being one of the three ecosystems in the world (the other two are forest and ocean), wetland

29、is a paradise for birds, reptiles and mammals and it is also the gene bank of species. In 1971, USA and other 36 countries signed the Ramsar Convention in Iran. China started to carry out items of the Convention in an all-round way after 1994. On Dec. 12th 2004, Xinghu Wetland Park, the first wetlan

30、d park in China, was officially verified in the Convention.Now may I draw your attention to both sides of the lake? On the lake are more than 20 islands. The Birds Island and the Moon Island are two of them.This island before us is the biggest eco-park for red-crowned cranes in South China. As you k

31、now, red-crowned cranes are considered “the Guardian Angels in Wetland”. There are more than 2000 red-crowned cranes in the world, of which China accounts for more than 1000. This park, with 50 red-crowned cranes, ranks the 4th of this kind in China.This park is also a pleasant habitat for other rar

32、e birds.Ladies and Gentlemen, we now come to the end of our trip today. And it was my pleasure to be your tour guide. Welcome to Seven-star Crags again and show you more magnificent places that you havent had the chance to see in this trip.肇慶七星巖【天柱巖】【千年詩廊】【水月宮】【玉屏閬鳳巖】【阿坡巖】【濕地公園】七星巖位于肇慶城北約3公里處，游覽的歷史可

33、上溯到一千多年前。1982年，七星巖和鼎湖山，合稱為“星湖風景名勝區”，被國務院列為首批國家級重點風景名勝區之一。1999年、2000年星湖風景名勝區先后被評為“國家重點風景名勝區”、“全國十大文明風景區示范點”、“國家4A級景區”。我們面前的這個湖，是“星湖”。“星湖”最早文字記載是在明代崇禎年間，已有350多年的歷史，由五個湖組成。總面積約為6.49萬平方米。【天柱巖】七星巖共七巖，呈兩列長條狀，南列自西至東為石掌，蟾蜍、天柱、石室、玉屏閬鳳，北列為禾槍、阿坡。七星巖景區面積共8.227平方公里，面前這座山就是天柱巖，高約114米。峰頂上的摘星亭，是七星巖最高的建筑物。半山上的天柱閣可用膳

34、住宿。【千年詩廊】1962年2月，外交部長陳毅元帥曾這樣贊美詩廊“壁上題詞句，千年成詩廊”。什么叫“摩崖石刻”？鑿刻在天然較平坦的巖石上的圖文（包銘功和記事等）稱為“摩崖石刻”。通常是有文采的書法家和石匠共同完成。七星巖的摩崖石刻主要集中在石室巖的龍巖洞內外及蓮花洞。自唐宋以來，歷代詩人墨客在此賦詩題字者，絡繹不絕，現存有摩崖石刻410余件。使人恍如置身于碑刻書法藝術的宮殿，在這些石刻中，最有藝術價值的，就是我們眼前的這幅李邕的端州石室記。端州石室記，是七星巖現存摩崖石刻中年代最早的一篇，刻于唐代開元十五年（727年），距今已有1200多年。作者名滿天下，連李白和杜甫都崇拜和頌揚他。他書法藝術精湛，開一代書風，表現出從痩勁疏朗的風格朝盛唐時期的豐厚磅礴書法風格的轉變。另有中唐時期有名詩人李紳、宋代的名臣清官包公、元代哲學家周敦頤、明代抗倭名將俞大猷都在此留下了摩崖石刻作品，至于清代的石刻就更不勝枚舉了。2001年“千年詩廊”被列為全國重點文物保護單位。【水月宮】水