Yellow Crane Tower

Yellow Crane Tower Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to Wuhan. My name is .... I am from Wuhan travel service. I will be your local guide during your stay in Wuhan. This is our driver, Mr .... His bus number is WH12345.On behalf of my travel agency, we hope you have a nice journey here. If you have any special interest, please tell your tour leader, and he will let us know. My job is to smooth your way, care for your welfare, try my best to answer your question, and be your guide and interpreter. I will try to do my level best to “warm the cockles of your heart”. We highly appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Now we are on the way to Yellow Crane Tower. At first, I would like to outline the general picture of Wuhan for you.Wuhan is in the southeast of China and covers a total area of 8046 square kilometers. In geographic, it locates at 113 degrees 41minutes east longitude and 25degrees 58minutes north latitude on the earth. If you pay attention to the map of Wuhan, you will notice that its shape in the map looks like a butterfly, Can you guess how many people does Wuhan have?7000000, oh, no but near it, try again. Yah, right, 8310000. Wuhan has a population of around 8310000 in the city.

According to the history, the yellow crane tower was first built in 223AD during the three-kingdom period.At the beginning , the tower was originally used for military to observe the enemy’s activity. When the war finished, the tower gradually became a scenic attraction where people can appreciate the view of the city as well as the lake. In ancient time, many literati visited this place, and sometimes even put down poems for it . Such as Cuihao in Tang Dynasty, he wrote a famous poem which was name YELLO CRANE TOWER, and another famous poet LiBai, whose poems affected the whole dynasty in his time, also visited this beautiful place many times. In this place he once saw off his friend, another poet MengHaoran, and wrote a famous poem for it to show his emotion. From then on, the yellow crane tower was well know throughout China.

Over the centuries the tower had been destroyed by wars for many times, but its popularity with Chinese ensured that it was always rebuilt. The current tower was completed in 1985 and its design derived from a picture of Qing dynasty. It stands 51.4meters high and has 5 floors .The appearance of the tower is the same regardless of the direction it is viewed from. The tower has 60 upturned eaves layer upon layer,covered with yellow glazed tiles and supported with 72 huge pillars.The exports comment that it is an authentic reproduction of both the exterior and interior design, with the exception of the addition of air-conditioner and an elevator. Since ancient time, the yellow crane tower has been regarded as the symbol of Wuhan.

Now we are standing in front of the tower. With yellow upturned eaves, each floor seems to have been designed to resemble a yellow crane spreading its wings to fly. Let’s enter the hall on the first floor. On the wall, there is a nine-meter (about 30 feet) long and six-meter (about 20 feet) wide painted porcelain picture which depicts clouds, rivers and cranes to represent a romantic mood in the heaven. What do you think of the picture? It is very beautiful, isn’t it?Do you know why we call the tower YELLOW CRANE TOWER?The answer lies in the picture. Have you noticed that ,in the picture there is a Taoist who played an flute and rode an crane gliding through the sky?It is a story about kindness and rewarding. Long long ago, there was a warm-hearted old man. He was very poor and ran a small wine tavern to earn a living. One day in the summer, the weather was very hot and the sun was very strong, a Taoist dressed in tattered clothes entered the alehouse. He begged the shopkeeper for wine:” Excuse me, I am very thirsty but I haven’t any money. For god’s sake, could you give me a bowl of wine?” “sure” the shopkeeper smiled: “just help yourself” and gave him a bowl of wine. After that, the Taoist often patronized the tavern and enjoyed the wine without paying money. One year later, the Taoist wanted to reward the poor man. He picked up an orange peel from the ground and drew a magic crane on the wall. When he clapped his hands, the crane can dance with the rhythem. Many people came to watch this miracle. From then on, the tavern was always full of guests. During the ten years, the old man got out of the involvement of poverty and ran a large restaurant. Ten years later, the Taoist revisited the old place. When he met Xin, Xin thanked him. He said: it is your kindness that makes you wealthy. After saying goodbye, the Taoist played the flute and then rode the crane to the sky. In honor of the yellow crane and Taoist, the old man, Xin , built a tower and named it yellow crane tower.