A Bit of Sightseeing...

Tim is traveling in China for the next few weeks on business and today he was able to get a little sightseeing done. He is currently in Wuhan, known as one of the six large ancient cites in China. As the capital city of Hubei Province, it is the biggest hub city and industrial, agricultural, financial, educational and cultural center in Central China. . He has been there before but I guess he was not able to get out and have a look around the area.

One the sights of interest was a local memorial garden and while there Tim made a snowman! According to Tim, the amount of snow they currently have is unusual but he says it makes everything look very pretty and great for photos. I don't know if he was making the snowman just for fun or to show his local host a tradition from home in the US. I will have to ask him when he phones later today.

Next stop, Yellow Crane Tower, located on Snake Hill. Enjoying the fame of 'The First Scenery under Heaven', it is one of the most renowned towers south of the Yangtze River. Its cultural significance led to its being made the symbol of Wuhan City.

According to legend, Yellow Crane Tower was built by the family of an old pot house owner living in Wuhan City, named Old Xin. One day, a shabbily dressed Taoist priest came to the pot house and asked for some wine. Old Xin paid no attention to him, but his son was very kind and gave the Taoist some wine without asking for money. The Taoist priest visited the pot house regularly for half a year when one day the Taoist said to the son that in order to repay his kindness, he would like to draw a crane on the wall of the pot house, which would dance at his request. When people in the city heard of this, they flocked to the pot house to see the dancing crane. The Xin family soon became rich and they built the Yellow Crane Tower as a symbol of gratitude to the Taoist priest.

Originally built in 223, it was destroyed and rebuilt many times including its complete destruction in 1884. It was not rebuilt until 1981 where it can be seen in its current state. Today, the tower which stands today is based on the one designed during the Qing Dynasty (1664-1911). It stands about 168 feet high and has five floors. The appearance of the tower is the same regardless of the direction it is viewed from. The roof is covered by 100,000 yellow glazed tiles. With yellow upturned eaves, each floor seems to have been designed to resemble a yellow crane spreading its wings to fly.