Yugui Hall is the main hall of He Garden and the formal place for the owner to communicate with the outside world. According to ︾7ding︾7dian︾7xiao︾7, Yugui Hall is the largest and most complete Qing Dynasty nanmu hall preserved in Yangzhou. The He family has crisscross marriages with several famous families in modern Chinese history. In the past, this was the place where "banquets and tours were held in the pavilion of nobles".

Here, banana trees are swaying green, peonies are blooming red, and the rocks are rugged. The magnificent and rich nanmu hall is located in the western part of the front yard. The name of the hall is "Yugui", which is derived from the "Yueyang Tower" by Fan Zhongyan, which quoted "Without this man, who would I go home with?" from "The Analects" and Tao Yuanming's "Return home".

The hall is named "Yugui", which reflects He's thoughts and values ​​of taking the hermits of his ancestors as models, being proud of the act of retreat, gladly joining the hermits, and not being involved in the corruption of the government and officialdom. The style is plain, elegant, ancient and profound, which is consistent with the temperament and cultivation of the owner.

The entire Nanmu Hall is divided into the main hall and the side hall. On both sides of the main hall door, the western architectural techniques are integrated, and a 4-square-meter, 9-mm-thick glass is used, which has excellent lighting effects! On the south-facing corridor, there are 13 western-style wooden crescent doors, which are carved with broken branches, peony flowers and peony baskets, symbolizing the owner's yearning for a happy, beautiful, auspicious and wealthy life.

The hall of a house is the face of the family. To a certain extent, it represents the family's strength and social status. The He family has a complex marriage relationship with several famous families in modern Chinese history, so the He Garden is naturally full of people coming and going from the "Guiren Pavilion".

Yugui Hall is currently the largest and best-preserved nanmu hall in Yangzhou. It incorporates Western architectural concepts and expression techniques into the form of traditional Chinese hall structures. The tall and solemn beam-column structure, coupled with the transparent and gorgeously decorated glass walls all around, sweeps away the closed, old-fashioned and dull atmosphere of Chinese-style halls, exuding an open, bright and lively atmosphere.

After touring the various houses in the courtyard area, I found that they all had a common feature, which was that they all had Western architectural features. This was because the owner had studied in Europe since childhood and was influenced by foreign culture.

There has been a saying that He Garden is divided into big garden and small garden since ancient times. If He Garden is compared to a big garden, then the small garden is a garden within a garden. The Stone House is located in this small blue brick gatehouse on the east side of the south gate of He Garden. It contains a long history and a unique scenery.

The Stone House is a garden within the He Garden. The rockery structure is unique. The main peak is stacked on two stone houses. Two east-west mountain roads lead to the stone houses. The west road crosses the stream, and the east road goes through the cave into the stone house. The main peak of the rockery is steep and vigorous, and the mountain surrounds the pool, giving a sense of running and leaping momentum.

The original name of Pianshi Shanfang was "Shuangkui Garden". It is a stone stacking work by Shi Tao, a great painter in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is unique and can be called the only copy in the world. Pianshi Shanfang is the only relic of Shi Tao's stone stacking garden. After years of abandonment, only the broken stones of the main peak of the rockery are leaning against the wall. After restoration, the beautiful scenery can be reproduced.

Monk Shi Tao, whose secular name was Zhu Ruoji, was a descendant of the Ming Dynasty royal family. When he was just 10 years old, he suffered the pain of the destruction of his country and his family. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he fled to avoid disaster. He hid his identity and became a monk. He loved mountains and rivers. He learned from nature and engaged in painting and sketching. He visited famous mountains and rivers throughout his life, "searching for strange peaks to make drafts", and understood all the vivid states of nature. He created a new generation of painting style in the Chinese painting world. He opened up the Yangzhou School of Painting. He was the pioneer of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.

Monk Shi Tao was not only a master of Chinese painting, but also a master of stone stacking and gardening. At the age of 41, he ended his wandering life and lived in Yangzhou, where he created a masterpiece of stone stacking, Pianshi Shanfang, and was buried in Yangzhou Shugang after his death. It is also the only stone stacking work left by Master Shi Tao in the world. Therefore, it is called a solitary copy.

In the ninth year of Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty, He Zhifu bought the Pianshi Shanfang from a family surnamed Wu and turned it into a part of the He Garden. When you enter the courtyard, the "Pianshi Shanfang" on the lintel is made with Shi Tao's ink. The design of this garden is based on Shi Tao's drawings, following the principles of nature and the interest of nature, expressing the artistic conception of Shi Tao's poem "The waters on all sides are boundless, and there is something else to think about, not the fish; don't say that the world in the pond is small, the table is like a hut when you roll it up and down."

The ancients said: "Yangzhou is famous for its gardens, and its gardens are famous for their stacked stones." There are no mountains in Yangzhou, so the gardens often use the method of stacking stones on flat ground. Stacking stones to create mountains is very particular and requires high skills.

The overlapping of peaks and rocks is a major feature of Yangzhou gardens, and the existing rockery in He Garden has maintained its basic original appearance. Today, Yunluo and Koala have the opportunity to appreciate its charm. The strange and towering stone peak in the western section of the lake is the master's only work in the world. It is not natural but transcends nature, and is artificial but ingenious.

The peak is 9.5 meters high, towering over the others. It is unprecedented in Jiangnan gardens, so it is praised as the "No. 1 Mountain in the World" that crowns the stacked stones in gardens. There are two stone chambers hidden in the belly of this unique rockery, with a suspended plank road above and a waterfall pool below. People can feel and appreciate the profound artistic attainments and landscape feelings of Master Shitao from this unique rockery that has stood for 400 years.

Although Pianshi Mountain House occupies a small area, it achieves an organic unity of corridors, halls, pavilions, rockery and water, giving people a sense of stillness in movement and movement in stillness, and giving people infinite reverie in a limited world.

There is an interesting landscape in the garden - "Mirror Flowers and Water Moon". The so-called "Mirror Flowers" is a huge mirror embedded on the wall of the corridor beside the pool, which just reflects the flowers blooming in the garden.

At the same time, the mirror looks like a transparent window. If you don't look carefully, you can easily mistake the mirror for the scenery outside the window wall. The entire garden can be reflected in it from different angles, allowing you to embrace the scenery in the garden.

The so-called "water moon" is a wonder of the "artificial moon" in the rockery and hills in the garden. During the day, you can see a bright moon in the pool. This is because the light cleverly passes through the holes in the rockery and is reflected in the water, just like the reflection of the bright moon. Therefore, the moon can be seen here during the day. The pool water is full and interesting.

Opposite to the mirror, in the pool at the foot of the Northeast Lake and Mountain, there is a bright moon in the daytime. It changes from full moon to crescent moon as the viewers move around. It has a unique flavor and scenery.

Yangzhou has been known as the Moon City since ancient times. There is a poem that says, "One third of the world is brightly moonlit, and two thirds of the scoundrels are in Yangzhou." This is the best place to enjoy the moon in Yangzhou during the day. A new inscription was carved on the wall of the west corridor, selecting nine poems and essays by Shi Tao. There is a spring at the entrance hall of Pianshishan House, forming a scene of "watching the waterfall while watching the rain pouring".

There is a half-walled study in the west room, where you can read by the window. Shi Tao once wrote a poem: "White clouds fascinate the ancient cave. Flowing water makes my heart feel like an eaves. A good study with half a wall, I know it is a hidden immortal."

There are three waterside pavilions lying quietly on the waves to the south of the rockery pond, facing the main peak of the rockery from afar. Here, there are four mysterious scenes of zither, chess, books and paintings, which are very intriguing. There is a spring well in the waterside pavilion, and there is a zither table beside the well, and the spring water is gurgling. The sound of the zither is faint, and it makes a sound when the wind blows, which is called "zither".

There is a locust tree stump in the east room next to the spring. A chessboard is carved on the stump with an ancient shape. When the owner has nothing to do, he drinks tea and plays chess with his friends here. It is a happy time. This is "chess".

A study was built on half of the wall, which is for "books". A window was opened on the other side of the wall. The window frame was engraved with bamboo patterns. Outside the window was a rockery, and bamboos were also planted around the rockery. This complemented each other, adding a beautiful picture of bamboo and rocks to the wall. Ancient literati all liked bamboo and rocks, which is for "painting".

Pianshi Mountain House is known as "the first mountain in the world". It is located in the belly of the only stone stacking work of Master Shitao. There is a stone house. The stone house has two rooms, with cave doors in the east and west. In the hot summer, this place has become a perfect place to nourish the heart and cool off.

If you come to He Garden when the moon is bright, you will hear the melodious song of the Water Center Pavilion, and the girl in long-sleeved dancing clothes on the Lake Center Pavilion plays the strings of the zither, and her beautiful figure is reflected in the lake. The fish in the lake swim freely, and you will never think that this is He Garden, but a fairyland.

The late famous Chinese garden expert Professor Chen Congzhou wrote a poem after visiting the garden: The gardens in the south of the Yangtze River are the best in the world, and one-third of the bright moon is in Yangzhou. The spring waves are green under the pavilion in the middle of the water. Climb a series of towers to see the beautiful scenery.

As night fell and the lights came on, the ancient city of Yangzhou was shrouded in a mysterious veil. After visiting He Garden, Koala and Yunluo followed the instructions on the garden ticket and walked two stops to the South Gate Ruins Matou to prepare for the 60-yuan-per-person ancient canal water sightseeing tour.

Nanmen Matou is a pier for sightseeing on the ancient canal. Emperor Yang of Sui excavated the canal, which earned him eternal infamy. Emperor Qianlong traveled along the canal to the south of the Yangtze River, and was praised by later generations.

According to legend, when Emperor Qianlong visited Yangzhou during his trip to the south of the Yangtze River, the Imperial Horse Head had just been completed and had no name, so Emperor Qianlong inscribed the three characters "Imperial Horse Head". Emperor Qianlong believed that the stone next to the character "Ma" would trip people and hinder the way forward, which was unlucky. So this great emperor who created the prosperous Kangxi and Qianlong eras removed the stone from the character "Ma", and it became "Imperial Horse Head".

The wharf of the South Gate is also written as "Nanmen Horse Head", I don't know if it was done by Emperor Qianlong. The huge stone of Nanmen Horse Head is close to Longtou Pass by the canal, south of Yongle Theme Hotel. Nanmen Horse Head is in this bay.

On the shore are people who live facing the canal. In the past, this place was "a thousand sails passed by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of trees bloomed in front of the dead tree". This place, which witnessed the prosperity of salt and canal transportation, is now home to ordinary people. The dragon boats and flower boats parked on the pier are bright and eye-catching.

Not far away, a cruise ship carrying tourists was sailing in the canal. From west to east, it passed Kangshan Cultural Park, He Garden, Wu Daotai Residence, Puhadin Cemetery, Dongguan Ancient Ferry, and Dawang Temple; this is a canal tour line with great cultural value.

While waiting for the boat, I was told that the cruise ship had changed its route for some reason and stopped at the South Pier. I had no choice but to walk back to the Tang and Song Dynasty East Gate Ruins on Dongguan Street in Yangzhou along the ancient canal. Yangzhou was originally named Wuzhou, and was renamed Yangzhou in the ninth year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty. In the seventh century, the Grand Canal connecting the north and the south was built. Yangzhou was located at the strategic point of land and water, and became one of the centers for material transportation at that time.

After the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, the national economic center moved southward, and Yangzhou's status became increasingly important. It was once the seat of the Grand Marshal's Office, the Huainan Jiedushi, the Huainan Dao Interviewer, and the Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner, and it was also one of the important ports for transportation between China and foreign countries at that time.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

The Tang and Song Dynasty East Gate of Yangzhou City was first built in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. The city gates and walls were repaired here during the Five Dynasties, the Two Song Dynasties, the Ming Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty. The area is about 16 square kilometers.

In the three archaeological excavations since then, it was found that the remains of the city gates from the Tang, Five Dynasties, Northern Song and Southern Song dynasties were clearly superimposed, and the city wall was about 15 to 20 meters thick.

The gate is 6.07 meters wide. According to the relevant records in the Song Dynasty's "Construction Methods" and previous archaeological drilling discoveries, it is estimated that the city wall is about 10 meters high. Yangzhou built the East Gate Ruins Park, referring to the Song Dynasty's "Construction Methods", and rebuilt the city wall and the mountaintop gatehouse to reproduce the majestic appearance of Yangzhou in the Song Dynasty, which was "magnificent over the Yangtze River and unparalleled in the southeast."

In the East Gate Ruins Square, the city wall was covered with small yellow flowers. Cao Qihui was seen waving his fists and promoting revolutionary ideas to the masses. His eyes were bright like a burning fire.

Letting the martyrs stand in a quiet square and letting them see the happy life they once exchanged for their bloody struggle is a comfort to the martyrs, and it also allows future generations to follow in their footsteps and create a better life.

Marco Polo was an Italian Venetian merchant, traveler and explorer. During the Yuan Dynasty, he came to China via the Silk Road with his father and uncle and served as an official of the Yuan Dynasty.

After returning to Venice, Marco Polo was captured in a naval battle between Venice and Genoa. He dictated his travel experiences in prison, and Rusticiano wrote The Travels of Marco Polo. His travel notes enabled many Europeans to understand China.

When people in Yangzhou talk about Marco Polo, the thing they are most proud of is that this foreigner once served as the governor of Yangzhou for three years. Therefore, there is a Yangzhou Marco Polo Memorial Hall here on Dongguan Street! I found this Yang Baguai on Dongguan Street, which is very unique. I bought several varieties of Euryale ferox cakes from this shop, and I feel that the osmanthus cake, walnut cake, and sesame cake are the most delicious.

The earliest cake made and handed down till now is a crispy and delicious Han nationality specialty cake. It evolved from Bazhen Cake (Bazhen Cake has a 150-year history in Xitang), which is made of eight kinds of Chinese medicinal materials.

The boss of this old shop is very good at doing business and is very sweet. As long as you come in, you can taste it for free. It would be embarrassing if you don't buy it. There are many time-honored brands in Yangzhou. If you don't go to Yangzhou, you really don't know that Yang Baguai's Euryale ferox cake is so unforgettable.

Yangzhou is one of the first 24 historical and cultural cities announced by the country, and is also a city with a comprehensive history. The nearly 2,500-year history of the city and its prosperity throughout history have created a splendid urban civilization and left behind a rich cultural heritage, especially the ancient city of Ming and Qing Dynasties, which still retains a relatively complete historical style.

Yunluo and Koala saw that it was almost time for the boat to depart, so they rushed to the Dongmen Wharf, but were told that they needed to go to the Bianyimen Wharf to take the boat. The Yangzhou section of the ancient canal is the oldest section of the entire canal. The canal in Yangzhou now mostly matches the route of the ancient Han Canal more than 2,000 years ago, and is completely consistent with the canal dug by Emperor Yang of Sui. It is 125 kilometers long from Guazhou to Baoying.

The Yangzhou section of the ancient canal from Guazhou to Wantou is about 30 kilometers long, forming the famous "Yangzhou Three Bays". This section of the canal is the oldest, with numerous historical relics and cultural landscapes.

The Grand Canal is the longest artificial river in the world, starting from Tongzhou in the north and ending at Xihu City in the south. It was started in the Spring and Autumn Period, completed in the Sui Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, straightened in the Yuan Dynasty, and dredged in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It connects six provinces and cities and five major water systems, with a total length of more than 1,700 kilometers. The Yangzhou Ancient Grand Canal is a section of the North-South Grand Canal dug by Emperor Yang of Sui.

Koala held Yunluo's hand and watched with great interest. She liked delicious food and beautiful scenery. (To be continued...)

!!