上海旅游景点英语导游词
上海旅游景点英语导游词
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上海旅游景点英语导游词：东方明珠
Pudong New Area is located on the east of the Huangpu River, facing the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and bordering the Yangtze Delta. It is at the intersection of Chinese golden coast and golden waterway. It is a triangular area, with a size of 522 square kilometers and a population of more than 1.5 million.
In the early ‘90s, Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China’s reform and open-up policy, expected that there should be in Shanghai “a change every year and a big change every three years”. As a strategic decision, the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council declared the opening and development of Pudong on April 18th, 1990. it is another significant step in China’s policy of reform and opening to the outside world. Since then, Shanghai people have gone all out and worked numerous wonders on this promising piece of land. Up till now there have been set up Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, Jinqiao Export Processing Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park, Huaxia Culture & Tourism Development Zone, Sunqiao Moodern Agriculture Development Zone, etc. new municipal infrastructure projects, such as an international airport, a deep-water port and infrastructure for an information highway have been or are being carried out. The opening and development of Pudong Area is a brilliant example, which has become an icon of Shanghai’s sweeping advance to the modern cosmopolis and as economic center, trade center and financial center.
Compared with China’s other special economic zones and economic development zones, Pudong New Area has the following characteristics:
1. A free trade zone has been established in the area to promote the free entering and leaving of commodities, and capitals, which make Pudong a “free port”.
2. Foreign banks have been introduced to enliven the area’s banking services as well as related service industries.
3. Means and methods of attracting foreign and domestic investors and tourists are being improved.
4. Pudong boasts rich historical heritage and the abundance of cultural resources.
5. The whole Pudong New Area is taken as a highly-afforested urban area of the state level. It is a blending of leisure, recreation and entertainment, travel, and shopping, and has become an ideal place for international conferences and business tours.
Following its rapid development, the tourism industry of Pudong New Area is making a remarkable progress. Tourism is becoming a new point for economic growth. Besides places of historical interest, a group of new tourist attractions have been added and more tourism projects are under planning and construction. Places of interest in Pudong New Area include:
1. A forest of skyscrapers, including Jin Mao Building, Shanghai Stock Exchange Building, etc. the architects from China, Asia and all over the world are contributing their expertise to this area. More than 300 skyscrapers have sprung up, which makes you feel the beating pulse of the new century.
2. Places of tourism, entertainment and recreation, including the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Riverside Promenade, the Central Green, the Century Park, etc. Pudong New Area is where people can relax themselves and enjoy a really good time.
3. Historical sites including the Crane Tower in Chuansha Park, the former residence off Huang yanpei and Zhang Wentian, the Qingciyang Palace, etc. The scenic spots and historical sites embody the character of the seashore. An ancient coastline, a sea wall, castle blocks across the south to the north make people recall the evolution of the seacoast and the heroic people who fought against foreign invaders.
4. Hotels including some world famous ones such as Jin Mao Grand Hyatt, Pudong Holiday Inn, Shanghai International Convention Center Hotel, Shangri-la Hotel, etc. there are now in Pudong New Area more than 30 deluxe hotels, some of which are built by five-star standard. The excellent facilities can let the guests feel cozy and comfortable.
5. Shopper’s Eden: including Shanghai No. 1 Yao-han Nextage Department Store (the biggest in Asia), Pudong Mansion, Zhangyang Commercial Street, Dongfang Commercial Street etc. the comfortable and elegant shopping environment can help you choose freely from the famous brands and exquisite products.
6. Kingdom of delicacies, including New Meilongzhen Restaurant, Peninsula Shark’s Fin Chaozhou Restaurant, East Snack Kingdom, etc. The hotels, restaurants, and snack bars are found all over Pudong New Area, offering Chinese and Western food of different standards.
A Brief Introduction to Lujiazui
The Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone is located in the Lujiazui-Huamu Complex District. This zone is in the heart of Pudong and extends within the Inner Ring Road. This is a comparatively busy section where most of Pudong’s finance, trade, information, services, science and technology, education and cultural institutions and facilities are found.
Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone is full of charm and fascinating grace. There are found in this zone the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Jin Mao Building, the beautiful Central Green, the Riverside Promenade, the Century Park, and the Oriental Pearl Wharf.
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is unquestionably an icon of Pudong’s renaissance. Looming through the mist, like a reproduction of a classical Chinese ink painting of landscape, stands Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Its soaring height of 468 meters boldly characterizes the Lujiazui cityscape. The tower’s jagged reflection in the water mirrors Pudong’s modern development and people’s aspirations, while the new-classical edifices across the Huangpu River staunchly attest to Puxi’s old past. It should be noted that the Oriental Pearl TV Tower ranks the tallest in Asia and the third tallest in the world, only second to Toronto CN Tower (553.3m) and Moscow Ostankino Tower (533.3m).
The location of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower is very ideally chosen. It is at the tip of Lujiazui by the side of Huahngpu River, just opposite the world famous Bund of Shanghai.
The design scheme of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower was selected from 12 outstanding design schemes by nationwide well-known experts and approved by the Shanghai Municipal Government. The architects, inspired by rich imagination, arranged 13 spheres together with some ground facilities in the order of their sizes high up in the blue sky down to a carpet of green lawn like a string of pearls, while two dazzling ruby-like colossal spheres are propped high up. The harmonious entity of the tower presents at night when lights are on a picture of pearls, big and small, falling into a jade plate (quoted from “The Sontg of Pipa Girl” by Bei Juyi, a great Chinese poet in the Tang Dynasty), a scene full of poetic and artistic conception. It is not only a great attraction to visitors but also an important symbol of Shanghai.
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with a total floor space of 54,000 square meters, is mainly composed of the base, three gigantic columns (9 meters in diameter), the lower sphere (50 meters in diameter), the upper sphere (45 meters in diameter), and the spherical penthouse. The tower is outstanding and unique in configuration, and has good stability and aseismatic performance. It also represents the state-of-art in TV tower design, reflecting the progress of the modern science and technology. It is an exciting unity of arts and technology as well as architectural conception and structural design, and has contributed a significant effect to the world.
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is equipped with a double deck elevator which travels at 4 meters per second and two high speed elevators at 7 meters per second, which will reach the upper sphee from the ground within 40 seconds. People will get a wonderful thrill being flung from sea level to the zenith in the elevators.
The upper sphere (from 250 m to 295 m) covers 9,480 square meters with the maximum capacity of 1,400. It boasts an observation deck, a revolving restaurant, KTV rooms and a discotheque. The sightseeing deck is 263 meters in height, making it the best place to get a bird’s eye view of Waibaidu Bridge flanked by the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the gray Russian Consulate on the north; the famed Bund, together with views from nine main roads, including Beijing Road, Nanjing Road, Yan’an Road, etc, on the west; the Shanghai harbor, with ocean liners passing in and out on the south, and the Pudong New Area, with numerous skyscrapers on the east. Standing on the deck, one gets the feeling that the world is belittled.
The revolving restaurant (267m in height), which turns one revolution every one hour, is an ideal place for visitors. Experienced chefs prepare set menus as well as buffets.
The spherical penthouse is 350 meters from the ground with an area of 280 square meters. There is a sightseeing terrace and a beautifully decorated meeting hall. The tower ingeniously incorporated the image of the outer space, the space ship, the missile and the atom in its structure, unifying perfectly modern technology with oriental culture.
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower hosts 6,000 visitors on a daily average. Up till now, 118 state heads from different countries and regions have visited the tower.
Jin Mao Tower
Jin Mao Tower is situated at the heart of Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in Pudong New Area of Shanghai, boasting a height of 420 meters and a total floor space of around 290,000 square meters.
Jin Mao Tower, an 88-story skyscraper with 3 stories underground, is, up till now, the tallest building in the Mainland of China and the 3rd tallest in the world. It is an intelligent top-grade building, which combines efficiency of function with elegant aesthetic form. With world-famous architectural design, the structural profile of the building originated in the oriental ancient pagoda, a style which represents the oriental national form of design as well as the occidental modern style of building. Jin Mao Tower, therefore, may well be considered a representative work of post-modern architecture prevalent in recent years in the world.
Levels 3-50 of Jin Mao Tower are used for offices, Levels 51-52 for mechanical and electrical equipment, Levels 53-87 for the highest preeminent 5-star deluxe hotel in the world---Grand Hyatt Shanghai. The 6-story podium is a multi-functional building, while its Level 1 is used for a conference hall and an exhibition hall, its Level 2 for ballrooms and Levels 2-6 for shopping and recreation centers.
The Observation Deck of Jin Mao Tower is on Level 88, with a height of 340 meters above ground and an area of over 1,400 square meters, boasting its being the highest and the largest top-floor observation deck so far in China. Having a speed of 9.1 meters per second, tow express elevators will take visitors right up to the Observation Deck in 45 seconds. The Observation Deck, 8 meters in height, and surrounded by glass, aluminum and stainless steel walls, secures a bright and comfortable light. As it commands a panoramic view, visitors may look out of the window and see the Huangpu River winding through the city like a snake with shining waves resembling fish scales. When looking down below, they will get a birds’ eye view of the city: high-rise buildings of various styles stand like a forest, presenting a scene of boundless variety; streets busy with traffic crisscross the city, amidst the hustle and bustle of Shanghai; last but not least, there are the Nanpu Bridge and the Yangpu Bridge, with the Oriental Pearl TV Tower standing gracefully in between, offering a wonderful picture of “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl”.
Jin Mao Tower also boasts a Grand Hyatt Hotel from the 53rd to the 86th floors, which makes it the loftiest hotel in the world. All hotel rooms (555 in all) are located above the 58th floor, giving guests an unparalleled view of Shanghai. People staying at the hotel will have a unique experience, because the building is so high, they must call downstairs to see if it is raining.
Shanghai International Convention Center
Shanghai International Convention Center is located to the southwest of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. It was opened for business in August 1999, and the ’99 Fortune Global Forum was held here. Shanghai International Convention Center covers an area of 45,000 square meters with a total floor space of 110,000 square meters.
Shanghai International Convention Center consists of several modernized halls. The 45,000-square-meter multi-function hall, which can serve as an exhibition hall as well, is one of the largest in China. Without a single column, the grand hall embodies great momentum. Provided for the guests are the latest audio-visual equipment, satellite conferencing, simultaneous translation, etc.
The 800-seat meeting room is the key meeting room in Shanghai International Convention Center, which includes 800 representative seats in the main hall and a 150 seating press gallery in box. The meeting room is not only equipped with 10 plus 1 simultaneous translation system, speaking and voting systems for representatives and rostrum, and stereo amplifier, but also provided with systems such as video camera, computer interface and objects projection, which are necessary for international conferences.
Shanghai International Convention Center Hotel provides presidential and executive suites and standard rooms approaching 260 keys, and it offers restaurants of Chinese and Western cuisine together with a special tea house and café as well. As to the recreational facilities, the hotel is equipped with a night club, a gym, a singing and dancing hall, a health club, etc. the roof garden is the best spot to admire the Bund and to breathe the freshness of the garden flowers.
Lujiazui Central Green
Lujiazui Central Green is located at the Pudong entrance of the East Yan’an Road Tunnel. It was founded in 1997 with an area of 100,000 square meters. It is now the largest “Urban Green” in Shanghai.
At the entrance, eight steel “flowers” show a springing-up vitality. There are a 65,000-square-mete lawn and an 8,600-square-meter man-made lake in the shape of a diminutive Pudong Area in the heart of the green. There is in the green a combination of fountains, which spray water up to 50 meters high. The huge white tent, resembling a white conch, stands by the lake, extending an easy mood of relaxation to the tourists in the spreading green land. Winding orange concrete pavements make up a pattern of white magnolia, the city flower of Shanghai.
Dotting on the lawn weeping willows, white magnolias, gingkoes, cedars, pines, camphor trees, and maples. Two hundred-year-old Ju trees are planted just to the north of the green land. To the south of the green land, the graceful old buildings in Lujiazui Development Exhibition Hall surrounded by about 200 giant camphor trees add much to the vigor and liveliness of the green land.
The Riverside Promenade
The Riverside Promenade is 2,500 meters long. It starts from Taitongzhan Dock in the north, and ends up at Dongchang Road Dock in the south, nicely incorporating tourism, greenery, transportation and service facilities.
The Riverside Promenade is Shanghai’s East Bund in the 21st century, consisting of touching-water platforms, sloping green land, sightseeing routes, and Riverside Garden (former Pudong Park), which has been in existence for 50 years.
Standing by the riverside balustrades on the touching-water platform, visitors can enjoy a good view of the historic buildings on the West Bund. Turning to the other side of the platforms, visitors are greeted by a stretch of a gradually rising sloping field, where the flowers and the shrubs are shaded in the emerald green grass. In the park, lakes, kiosks, small bridges, rockeries, flower corridors, paths with giant arboreal and luxuriant flower shrubberies, offer visitors a sense of being away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Installed along the Riverside Promenade are 21 groups of spurting fountains, symbolizing the 21st century, the glass-wall panorama hall, the shipyard’s wharf of 70 years, a colossal iron anchor, a huge stone mushroom with the “Riverside Promenade” engraved on it, and the Oriental Pearl Wharf resembling a flying seagull. These man-made, natural, solemn, and delicate scenes are in harmony, complementing each other with their beauty.
The Century Park
The Century Park is situated in the Huamu Administrative and Cultural Center of Pudong Area. The park is 8 kilometers from the downtown area, and 24 kilometers from Hongqiao International Airport. Covering an area of 140.3 hectares, it is the largest ecological city park rich in natural features in Pudong Area as well as in Shanghai.
The overall plan is designed by the British LUC Company. The total investment is one billion RMB. The park highlights a large-area lawn, woods and lake, embodying the integration of oriental and occidental landscape art, and the concept of “human returning to nature”. There are seven scenic areas in the park, including a pastoral area, a scenic area, a beach area, a lawn area, a birds protection area, an international garden area and a small gold course. The park also includes an outdoor musical theater, a meeting plaza, a children’s recreation place, an angling place, with such landscaped spots as high post fountains, music pavilion fountains, a century clock of flowers, colossal relief sculptures, streams, a pebble and sand beach, a gingko road and a green pond. Inside the park, there are crisscrossed paths, undulating hills, evergreen trees and limpid water. Walking through the park, one feels in a land of peace and tranquility free from work and worry.
The Oriental Pearl Wharf
Taking shape on the Pudong side of the Huangpu River in 1998, the Oriental Pearl Wharf, a modern yacht wharf, is part of the Oriental Pearl Scenic Area. The wharf, in the shape of a seagull, is made of glass and steel. At night, the whole structure looks like a crystal pavilion. It has a floor space of 6,000 square meters, a waiting room, a VIP room, a restaurant and a bar.
The wharf is used for ferries and yachts. After it was put into service in 1998, people can take a yacht to the Riverside Promenade on the east side of the river and enjoy the splendid views of the city’s waterfront.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is an important social and cultural project funded and established by Shanghai Municipal Government in implementing China’s basic policy of “revitalizing the nation through science and education”. It is also a base for science popularizing and education with “Nature, Mankind and Technology” as its theme. It integrates exhibition and participation, education and scientific research, cooperation and exchange, collection and manufacture, leisure and tourism into one entity. With the aim off improving the scientific attainments of the public and promoting the scientific advancement of the entire society, it is expected to be the window to advocate scientific knowledge, scientific methods, scientific ideology and scientific spirit for the whole community, especially for youngsters.
The museum covers an area of 68,000 square meters with a floor space of 98,000 square meters, built with a total investment of 1.758 billion yuan.
The museum consists of seven exhibition areas: the Earth’s Crust Exploration, Wide Spectrum of Life, Light of Wisdom, Children’s Science and Technology Land, Audio Visual Paradise, Cradle of Designers and Museum of Natural Science. It has an IMAS 3-D large screen theater, an IMAX dome theater and an IWERKS theater. For back-up facilities, it has a conference hall, a multi-functional hall and a bank.
上海旅游景点英语导游词：玉佛寺
Ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to visit a famous Buddhist temple---the Jade Buddha Temple. Before visiting the temple, I’d like to say a few words about the religious situation in Shanghai. Our constitution stipulates that every Chinese citizen is ensured the freedom of religious belief. There are four major religions in practice in Shanghai, namely, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and Christianity, which is sub-divided into the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. When it comes to Buddhist temples in China, they are usually classified into three sects, i.e. temples for meditation, for preaching and for practicing Buddhist disciplines. The Jade Buddha Temple is a temple for meditation, and is well-known both at home and abroad.
The temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty, when a monk named Hui Gen went on a pilgrimage to Burma and brought back five jade statues of Sakyamuni. On his way back to Mount Putuo via Shanghai, he left two jade statues here, one in sitting posture and the other, reclining. He had a temple specially built as a shrine for these two statues in 1882. later the temple was partly destroyed by fire and in 1928 a new temple was completed on the present site.
Just opposite the temple gate, there stands a giant screen wall. Various designs, such as dragon, phoenix, elephant, crane and peony are carved on it. In Chinese legend, all these things are considered the symbols of fortune, wealth, longevity and auspiciousness. Chinese people used to set up a wall in front of the house so as to keep the evils away.
Now ladies and gentlemen, please turn around. Here we can see the temple gate. It is also called the Sanmen Gate, or say, the Gate of Three Extrications. The door in the middle is called the Door of Emptiness, to its right is the Door of Non-phenomenon, and to its left, the Door of Non-Action. Sanmen Gate is also called the Mountain Gate because most famous temples in China are found deep in mountains. But the Sanmen gate does not open except on the first and the fifteenth of every lunar month. Now this way to the entrance.
Ladies and gentlemen, the first hall is the Heavenly King Hall. We will use the rear door, please follow me.
(in the Heavenly King Hall next to the southern entrance)
Here we can find the statue of a fat and smiling monk with bared belly. He is Bodhisattva Maitreya. His smile is so contagious that you will smile with him and forget all your worries. So he is also called the Laughing Buddha. According to Buddhist scripture, he is now practicing Buddhism in the Tusita Heaven. After 4000 years, which is equal to 5.67 billion years on the earth, he will become successor to Sakyamuni under a Long Hua Tree in Hualin Garden. Hence another name the Future Buddha. But this statue we see here is not the real image of Bodhisattva Maitreya, it is just his incarnation.. it is said that During the Five Dynasties Period, 1000 years ago, there lived in Fenhua in Zhejiang Province a monk named Qi Ci, who always carried a wooden staff with a cloth sack on his shoulder. He often went around towns and in streets to beg alms. Therefore he became known as “the Cloth Sack Monk”. He always smiled and laughed, looking as happy as ever. When he was dying, he left the message saying that he was the incarnation of Bodhisattva Maitreya. So his image is enshrined in the Buddhist Temple as the incarnation of Bodhisattva Maitreya.
(on the eastern side of the Heavenly King Hall)
On the two sides of the hall are enshrined four statues. They are so-called Four Heavenly Kings. In the Buddhist legend, there is in the center of the world a highest mountain called Mount Sumeru. Halfway on it is a mountain called Mount Ghandara with four peaks. On each peak lives a Heavenly King protecting the Buddhist heaven. The first one is the Southern King---King of Developing Merits. His duty is to educate all living creatures and develop king-heartedness. He is holding a sword in his hand which can emit a ray to chop off the enemies’ heads. The one next to him is the Eastern King---King of Protection for Buddhism. He is holding in his hand a pipa, which is somewhat like a guitar. With this pipa, he offers music to the Buddha. Meanwhile this pipa is a magic weapon. It can send out a musical rhythm to defeat the enemy by tormenting brain and causing him to lose combatability. Now ladies and gentlemen, please come over to this side.
(on the western side of the Heavenly King Hall)
The first one on this side is the Northern King---King of Virtue. He is so called because of his virtue. He is holding a parasol-shaped stela in his hand. The parasol can be opened into a canopy in Buddhist processions. It is at the same time a magic umbrella. Once it is opened in the battle field, the sky turns dark and a wind-storm rises, defeating the enemy with a dizzy spell and then it closes up capturing all the enemies. Next to him is the Western King---King of Far Sight. He observes the world with his penetrating eyes. He is holding a dragon-shaped silk rope. The rope is actually a net, with which he converts people to Buddhism just like catching fish with a net. This dragon also has a magic power. It can spurt water from its mouth and drown the enemy in floods.
(in the Heavenly King Hall next to the rear door)
The Statue facing the rear door is Bodhisattva Skanda. He is always dressed in armour with a worrior’s club in his hand. Originally he was one of the eight heavenly generals under the Southern King of Developing Merits. Later he has been enshrined here because of his bravery. He is also a god of message, a fleet-foot runner, so when visitors come to the temple, he will immediately report to the Buddha in the Grand Hall.
Now ladies and gentlemen, that’s all for the Heavenly King Hall. Please follow me and look out the threshold and the steps.
Now we can see a giant tripod in the courtyard. It is actually a giant incense burner. It was donated by some Buddhist laymen who believed that by donating something the Buddha they can help purify the souls of their dead relatives from sins and relieve them from purgatory.
Now this is the main hall, known as the Grand Hall or Grand Hall of the Great Sage. It is the main structure in every Buddhist temple, where the statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism is enshrined.
(in the Grand Hall)
Ladies and gentlemen, in the middle of the hall is the statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. On his right is Medicine Buddha and on his left is Amitabha Buddha. Each is seated on a lotus blossom and has a back halo. Sakyamuni’s original name was Siddhartha Gautama. He was a contemporary of Confucius. He was born to a warrior’s family in the Himalayan foothill in ancient India, or say, in present-day Nepal. He spent his youth in great luxury. But he renounced the human world at the age of 29 in search of an ultimate solution to the problems of human sufferings. After six years of spiritual discipline he got enlightened at the age of 35. he spent the remaining 45 years of his life teaching his religion and establishing a community for monks to continue his work. He was entitled “Sakyamuni”, which means “the great sage of the Sakya Clan”. He died at the age of 80.
On his chest there is a sign that resembles a swastika but it has nothing to do with Hitler’s fascism because it is in an inverted order. It is actually a religious talisman used in ancient orient, symbolizing the concentration of happiness and auspiciousness.
The Medicine Buddha is responsible for the Eastern Bright World. Since he can relieve people of all pains and sufferings, he is called the Medicine Buddha. He is holding a wheel, which signifies the unremitting effort of converting people to Buddhism just like turning a wheel.
Amitabha Buddha is in charge of the Western Paradise. He is holding a golden lotus blossom stand with which he extradites Buddhist believers to the Western Pure Land, therefore he is also called the Buddha of Guidance.
In front of the Medicine Buddha is a hollow wooden fish. It is actually an instrument used by the monks to accompany the chanting of their prayers. But do you happen to know why it is in the pattern of a fish? Now let me tell you about it. The monks think that fish is the most diligent animal in the world because it never closes its eyes, therefore the image of the fish is used to advise people that they should practice Buddhism as diligently as the fish.
On both sides of the hall stand 20 Heavenly Gods, all protectors of Buddhist laws. They all bend slightly as if they are listening attentively to Sakyamuni’s preaching.
The first one on the right side is Brahma, the chief god of Brahmanism in ancient India. It was believed in ancient India that all living creatures in the world, including gods and men, were created by him and he was thus honored as the Great Creator. Next to him is Yamaraja, the God of Hell, who is in charge of the nether world.
The fourth one on this side is Goddess of Loving Children. There is an interesting story about her. It is said that before she became a goddess she was a wicked woman. She herself had many children, 500 in all, including 3 sons and 497 daughters. Her favorite child was her youngest son named Ai Nu, now standing by her side. As she always ate the children of other people, Buddha decided to convert her. One day, he hid Ai Nu in a jar. When the woman found her child missing she looked for him everywhere but could not find him. Then Buddha came up to her and said, “If you are worried when your child is missing, what about other mothers whose children you have eaten?” From then on she began to discipline herself and finally became a goddess.
This is the Emperor of the Solar Palace, or say the Chinese Apolo, opposite him is the Chinese Diana, the emperor of the Lunar Palace. The last statue on this side is the Dragon King.
(at the back of the Grand Hall)
Ladies and gentlemen, behind the statue of Sakyamuni there is a giant mural sculpture. In the middle is the statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin. Guanyin was originally named Guanshiyin but later abbreviated into Guanyin because the character “shi” was one of the characters in the Tang Emperor Li Shimin’s name and was considered a forbidden name. Guanyin often takes the image of a goddess in order to convert women to Buddhism. Actually he can incarnate into 32 images to convert people from all walks of life and relieve people from all kinds of sufferings. Any living creature in trouble needs only to recite his name and he will respond to the cry and readily come to help riding on the head of a huge turtle. That’s why he is described as a Bodhisattva of Great Mercy. By her two sides are her two disciples, San Cai the boy and Long Nu the girl. Above Guanyin is a statue of Sakyamuni when he was doing ascetic practices in a forest. A monkey on the right is offering preaches to him and a deer on the left is giving him milk to drink.
Now a few words about San Cai, the boy and Long Nu, the girl. It is said that when San Cai was born, a number of treasures came with him, hence his name. By the way, “Can” in Chinese means “wealth”. He was later converted by Bodhisattva Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom, and went on a pilgrimage to the south in search of teaching. He was going to call on 53 teachers and then met Guanyin, hoping to obtain the guidance to buddhahood. There are altogether 53 statues on the mural sculpture, excluding the 18 arhats. They were all supposed to be San Cai’s teachers. He came to them one after the other. Guanyin was his 27th teacher. Long Nu, the daughter of Dragon King, was a genius. At the age of 8 she often attended lectures by Manjusri. Later she met the Buddha and attained buddhahood.
Below are 18 arhats, all disciples of Sakyamuni. According to Buddhist scripture, Sakyamuni asked them to stay permanently on the earth to help convert people to Buddhism. Arhats have three characteristics, namely, they can rid of all worries, they should be supported and offered by all people, and they enter nirvana once for all and never incarnate again.
(in the Hall of the Reclining Buddha)
Ladies and Gentlemen: in the middle of the hall we can see a jade statue of the reclining Buddha. This is Sakyamuni in his deathbed, or say, entering nirvana. We can see him looking slightly upward and reclining on his right arm. Some may ask why he looks so calm and carefree. It is said that in his entire life-time he had taught 500 disciples, therefore, he felt no worry because he firmly believed that his disciples would carry forward his principles and preach his doctrines to emancipate mankind. This statue, 96 cm long, is carved out of a single piece of jade. It was brought from Burma together with the other statue in sitting posture. The carving was exquisitely done with delicate features and a slender figure, it is considered a rare Buddhist relic, which contributes to Jade Buddha Temple’s reputation. Now ladies and gentlemen, over here we can see four pictures on the wall of the hall which describe the life story of Sakyamuni. The first one, “Tonsure”, describes Sakyamuni having his head tonsured and clothes changed into a monk’s robe when he came a monk at the age of 29; the second, “Enlightenment”, after six years ascetic practice he became enlightened and attained buddhahood at the age of 35; the third, “Preaching”, Sakyamuni is preaching to his first five disciples; and the fourth, “Nirvana”, Sakyamuni entered nirvana at the age of 80.
(before entering the Jade Buddha Chamber)
Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to visit the last main structure on the axis---the Jade Buddha Chamber. It is located on the second floor. Please do not take pictures or video tape-recording in the chamber.
(in the Jade Buddha Chamber)
Ladies and Gentlemen, the statue in front of us is the Jade Buddha in sitting posture. Since Buddhism is a leading religion in China, there are a great number of statues of Sakyamuni all over the country, and most of them are made out of stone, clay, or wood, but a jade statue of the Buddha of this size is rare. It is 1.92 meter in height and 1.34 meter in width. The jewels on his head, arms and feet are all genuine ones. They were donated by Buddhist believers. The statue was carved out of a single piece of jade. It is soft in luster, even in color, pure and flawless in texture and exquisite in workmanship. This statue reflects Sakyamuni’s getting enlightened. We can see that his left hand rests on his left knee showing his great determination of deep meditation while his right hand stretches out onto the ground indicating that he had devoted himself to the emancipation of all mankind and this could only be witnessed by the great earth. When monk Hui Gen found the jade in Burma, he had it excavated under the permission of the Burmese King and had the an artisans carve it into a Buddha Statue, so it is a crystallization of the friendship of different nations. This statue looks life-like, with gentle and soft features and is considered a precious relic of Buddhist art. This is the reason why the temple enjoys a high reputation.
In the cabinets on both sides are kept a complete set of Buddhist scripture, Da Zang Sutra, which was block-printed in 1870. this set of scripture covers Sakyamuni’s teachings by moth, Buddhist doctrines, and Buddhist theories.
(in the courtyard in front of the Abbot’s Room)
This is the Abbot’s Room, where the abbot priest lives. It is also a sermon hall where the monks attend lectures by the abbot priest. On the middle wall is hung the portrait of Priest Dharma, honored as the founder of the Chan Sect in Chinese Buddhism.