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Boating on Ancient Canal(From Ferry-seeking Bridge to Xumen City Gate)CommentaryLadies and gentlemen：Welcome to our Pleasure Boat Wharf at the Ferry-seeking Bridge, Suzhou. During the tour, if you need any help and service, please let us know. Both the boatmen and I are willing to serve you whole-heartedly. Thank you for your cooperation in advance and wish you a pleasant sailing.The wharf is located in the southeast corner of the ancient city proper of Suzhou where the east city moat and the Grand Canal meet. Covering an area of 14.2 sq.km, the ancient city proper is surrounded with the moat.It is clear that the west moat and south moat used to be part of the Grand Canal, which turns south under the Ferry-seeking Bridge and flows southward to its terminus—the city of the Hangzhou.On the way passengers appreciate scenery such as bridges of many kinds, old towns and various crops along the centuries-old Grand Canal.Ferry-seeking BridgeAs to the Ferry-seeking Bridge, locals cherish a good memory of this Yuan Dynasty bridge, a bridge constructed by a Buddhist monk. It was erected in 1298, before which there was not any bridge nearby across the Grand Canal. Passers-by crossed it by ferry. Sometimes they were blackmailed by the boatman at the ferry. Among them was a monk whose name was Jingxiu. He loved to build a bridge here at ferry with his own money for the benefit of the ordinary people after the boatman extorted mony from him and others time and again.Being a Buddhist monk, he begged alms everywhere, raised enough funds and at last succeeded in constructing a stone arch bridge here that flew over the Grand Canal.From then on , the function of the ferry disappeared or was exterminated so that the bridge was named the Ferry-exterminated Bridge. In Suzhou dialect that sounds soft and musical “look for” or “seek”. Therefore local people call it the Ferry—seeking Bridge, which is protected by the provincial government.The top part of the bridge’s arch is only 30 cm in thickness, which is seldom seen. Its thickness is the thinnest of all the old stone arch bridges in Suzhou.When we walk to the wharf we can see a group of three life-sized bronze statues. One is the boatman with an oar in his hand, who stands at the water side, and the other is Monk Jingxiu who sits at the roadside and begs alms for building a bridge. He is really a devout Buddhist.Between the two statues is another bronze figure, a lady in ancient time who seems to be walking in a hurry and waving to the boatman. She carries a bundle wrapped in cloth, seeming to cry: “Wait for me please, I’ll cross the canal.” Howvivid and life-like the statues are!Chimen City Gate and Ecological IsletThis is part of the round-the-moat scenic strip, which was laid out before 2004 when the 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee was held in our city. The attractive scenery of this strip is close to water and based on its sound environment and a fine prospect.Opposite to the wharf across the Grand Canal, which is also the city moat, stands a magnificent city gate tower. In front of it the south moat and the east moat join. We can enjoy a green background behind the gate tower. That is the Sweet Osmanthus Park. On its west side along the moat is the ruins of the city wall on which countless trees are growing well with paths alongside the water.The two-storied city gate is named the Chimen Gate, which was originally built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The city wall witnesses the 2500-year-old history of Suzhou and is the symbol of its long culture.An island lies on the south bank of the moat. It is surrounded by a zigzag little brook and the moat. Various aquatic plants such as water-bamboo shoots and cattail are growing luxuriantly in summer and autumn. Some of them float on water, some grow above water, some are semi-aquatic and still some like the damp soil. It’s rare to see such a nice ecological wetland scene.Towpath and Bronze StatuesWhen the boat passes the Nanyuan Bridge, we can command a nice view of more canal scenes one after another.What catches our eyes even more is a towpath on the south bank. The towpath is about 150 meters long and paved with long stone slabs. Placed on the towpath are three statues in bronze. They are boat trackers, life-sized. Each hao his own postures, and each is doing such a back-breaking job with his whole body leaning forward at a some 45 degrees angle to the ground. And they are all bare-footed. To the wesy of the towpath lies a large rectangular pavilion, in which we can see a group of four statues in bronze. The main figure is a girl singer in ancient times who is standing and singing to the accompaniment of erhu, a two-string bowed instrument. The player is an aged man who sits under the roof of the pavilion. You may imagine he might be the girl singer’s father. Beside them there are tow listeners wearing long robes, one is standing and the other is sitting near the erhu player.North of the pavilion and beyond the canal lies Suzhou Boat Station for passenger transport between Suzhou and Hangzhou. South of the pavilion and across the road is Suzhou No.1 Silk Spinning Mill.Sixteen Relief SculpturesNow our boat is near the People’s Bridge, which is the south terminus of the People’s Road.When the boat sails the bridge we can see 16 stone carving in relief, each havinga name, which reflect the history of Suzhou in brief.BridgesLocated southwest of the People’s Bridge are a lot of old-style factory buildings, which are the site of the former Sulun Textile Mill. The mill was put into operation in 1897.The Panlong Bridge was originally called the Jujube Market Bridge that used to be on the Xujiang Canal. It was dismantled some ten years ago. All the stone materials were stored for years. Then all the stone slabs were moved here and used to build up this Panlong Bridge in early 2004.Three Attractions of Panmen City GateThe scenic area known as the Three Attractions of Panmen City Gate includes the Auspicious Light Pagoda, Wumen Bridge and Panmen Gate, covering an area of 14.86 hectares.The pagoda is 53.57 meters high with seven stories and eight sides. The construction of it began in1004 and was finished in 1017 in the Northern Song. Since 1988 it has been the historical monument for national preservation. Legend has it that when it was completed, the pagoda did emit beautiful light at night. Hence the name. April 1978 a number of very valuable relics were discovered in a brick shrine on its third floor. One of them, a pearl pagoda 1.22 metres high, is an extremely rare object. And a Buddhist sutra, which was written on blue paper, was also unearthed. Many other relics were found, too. All these relics are sometimes on display in Suzhou Museum.The city gate is composed of two layers of water gates and two layers of land gates. Between the two land gates is an open space that in old days was used to trap invaders. Such an open space is called the jar-style city, or the ambush area. The construction of this gate dates back to 514 BC in the Zhou Dynasty, but the walls we see today were rebuilt in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The gate and walls have been well preserved and are in good condition. The gate tower was repaired in 1986 when the people of Suzhou warmly celebrated the 2500th birthday of the founding of the city of the Suzhou.Now something about the Wumen Bridge. It is the highest stone arch bridge in all the old stone bridges in the city. It is 66.3 meters long, has 49 stone steps on its northern slope and 50 steps on its southern slope. The span of its arch is 16 metres while the highest of its arch is 9.5 meters. It is under this bridge that the Grand Canal flows from west to the Ferry-seeking Bridge, and then turns southward.Since the 1980’s there has been a saying in China’s tourism industry, which goes: “See the Great Wall in the north and view the Panmen Gate in the south.”Staying on the boat, visitors may appreciate the unique scene of the bridges, the city gate and the pagoda.North of Xinshi BridgeSailing along the city wall on the north bank, the boat turns to right, i.e. to north and passes the Xinshi Bridge, which crosses the west moat.At that time, we can command a clear view of the scenes along both banks: On the east bank is a section of the city wall, which is newly restored, and behind whick is the newly-built Canglang Children’s Palace.North of the Children’s Palace lies a dear-to-wear park. It is named the Hundred Flowers Islet Park. Neighbouring the very park is Jiguanting Hall which is an ancient name and means the official-receiving department. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, officials or other VIPs traveling along the Grand Canal, passed through Suzhou and might intend to pay a visit or have a stay. In such a case the local officials from the protocol department of Suzhou Prefecture would welcome them here. Hence the name.In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) this place used to be the well-known Gusu Courier Station.Match Co. and Emperor’s PavilionNow, please look at the scenes on the west bank. Along the greenbelt parallel to the moat, there stands an old warehouse made of gray bricks and red bricks. It is the site of the former Suzhou Hongsheng Match Company, which was set up in 1920.Further north on the west bank, we can see three stone stelae. That is the landmark of Huangting Jie or the Emperor’s Pavilion Street. Carved on these stone tablets is the warning given by Emperor Kangxi during his inspection tour in 1684. he required the local officials and officers to love the people.Actually the three stone tablets are erected at the southern foot of the Tairang Bridge, under which flows the Xujiang Canal. The Tairang Bridge was named in memory of Tai Bo, the first ruler of State Wu.Siteated at the northern foot of the Tairang Baidge is the newly-built Suzhou City Planning Display Hall, which lies opposite to the Xumen City Gate across the west moat.Ladies and gentlemen, ahead of our boat are two high bridges flying over the moat. The modern one is named the Guxu Bridge, and the stone bridge with three arches is the Wannian Bridge which was first built in the Ming Dynasty some 500 years ago and renovated in 2004.The Xumen City Gate was named after Wu Zixu, the designer of our city. It faced the west moat and Wannian Bridge. In front of the gate is Wu Zixu’s Memorial Park, where stands the statue of Wu Zixu. And there is also a stone wall sculpted with stories describing his historical merits and how the city of Suzhou was built. Catching our eyes are eight enormous Chinese characters, which read, “Inspecting the water and soil conditions, surveying the terrains and making astrological tellings.” This is what Wu Zixu did. So it is the typical place that represents the history and culture of Suzhou.Now that’s the end of our boat trip. Thank you.。