| Yangtze River
Attractions |
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Shibaozhai
 On
the downstream journey of the Yangtze, Shibaozhai
represents the first gem of Chinese architecture
to be encountered. A distance view of a
protruding 220-meter hill resembles a jade
seal.
On the south bank of the Yangtze
River, it was firstly built in the Qing
dynasty in 1650. As one of the most spectacular
sites along the river, this 12-storied wooden
red pavilion with a height of 56 meters,
hugs a sheer rectangular cliff. It consists
of three parts: the entrance gate, a nine-storied
wooden pavilion and a small temple at the
top.
On its yellow glazed entrance
gate is an inscription inviting the visitor
to climb the ladder and ascend into a 'Little
Fairyland' (the top temple). The top temple
was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong.
Originally, the top temple is inaccessible
for its elevation and later an iron access
chain to it was attached to the cliff. In
1819, the nine-storied red wooden pavilion
was add so that monks and visitors to the
temple would not have to suffer the discomforts
of the chain ascent and designers also build
interior cockle stairs to make the climbing
more convenient.
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