Yuexiu
Park,
covering an area of 860,000 square meters, is the largest park in downtown
Guangzhou. The park is made up of three artificial lakes and seven hills
of Yuexiu Mountain, hence the name. It
is a perfect combination of cultural relics and ecological tourism, reputed
for its pretty water and hills as well as cultural relics.
Yuexiu Park is famous for its Zhenhai Tower and the Sculpture of the Five
Rams. Zhenhai
Tower, also known as the Five-Story Tower, is one of the landmarks of
Guangzhou city. The
tower is 28-meter-high, 6
meters wide and
was built with the order of Zhu Liangzu, the Yongjia Marquis of the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644), to flaunt his power that was able to 'shake the seas
and mountains'. The tower now houses the City Museum, with exhibits which describe the
history of Guangzhou from Neolithic times till the early part of this
century.
The
Five-Ram Sculpture is one of the most famous structures in Guangzhou.
Legend has it that more than 2,000 years ago, Guangzhou was a barren land
with people who despite hard work were suffering from famine. One day
five immortals came riding on five rams, which held sheaves of rice in
their mouths. The immortals left the sheaves of rice for the Guangzhou
people, gave blessings to the city. After that the hermits flew up to
the sky. And the five rams turned into the fossils. For this Guangzhou
is sometimes referred to as "Goat Castle" or "Rice Castle".
The stone sculptures of five rams were carved on the granite in 1959.
Addition
to the historical traces, Yuexiu Park has a vigor and natural beauty.
It also has a stadium for soccer matches and other sports, a Journey to
the West theme park, and a children's playground with fairground rides.
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