The Provincial Museum to the south of the Spring with the Vertical Jet possesses a natural history and historical section.
On display are bronzes and cut stones from the Shang (16th11th c. B.C.), Zhou (11th c-221 B.C.) and Han (206 b.c.-a.d. 220) periods. The calendar which can be seen here dates back to c. 130 b.c. and lays claim to being the oldest in China.
Provincial Museum The Pool of the Five Dragons, which measures several hundred square Pool ofthe metres, is to be found 200m/220yd north of the Spring with the Vertical Jet Five Dragons and is fed by five springs. It was already famous at the time of the Tang (Wulong Tan) dynasty (618-907). In the north ofthe city lies the Lake ofthe Great Light, which extends over Lake ofthe 46ha/114 acres and receives water from several springs. Pavilions and Great Light covered walks have been erected around the lake. (Darning Hu) Many old buildings line the banks of the lake. The North Pavilion on the North Pavilion north shore was built in the Yang period (1271-1368). (Beji Ge) On the opposite shore stretches the Fantasy Garden (Xia Yuan), which was Fantasy Garden laid out in 1909. The Pearl Spring is to be found in a public park to the south ofthe Lake of Pearl Spring the Great Light. The visual effect of the water bubbling out of the ground (Zhenzhu Quan) resembles a chain of pearls. The regional government had its seat in the vicinity from the 15th to the 19th c. The Spring of the Black Tiger, which was discovered in the 12th cž lies Spring ofthe 1km t’h mile to the east ofthe Spring of the Vertical Jet. The water gushes Black Tiger out of fissures in three black rocks which form the shape of a tiger’s head. (Heihu Quan) The 285m/935ft high Thousand Buddha Mountain rises up about2.5km/1’/2 Thousand miles south of the city centre. According to tradition, the garden of the Buddha Emperor Shun lay at the foot of this mountain. He was one of the mythical Mountain rulers ofthe Chinese in prehistoric times. (Qianfoshan)
The slopes ofthe mountain, the grottoes at its foot and the 7th c. Monastery of the Prosperity of Life (Xingguo Si) conceal a wealth of Buddhist statues – hence its name – which are 1400 years old.
Only a few buildings remain ofthe old Shentong Monastery, 30km/19 miles Shentong south of Ji’nan on the Mountain of the Green Dragon (Qinglong Shan). Monastery
These include the square Four Gates Pagoda, the restoration of which in Four Gates 1972 led to the discovery in the upper part of a small stone tablet in which Pagoda was engraved the year in which the pagoda was built – a.d. 611. The (SimenTa) 15m/49ft high alabaster building is one of the oldest stone pagodas in China. The Dragon and Tiger Pagoda is the burial monument to a monk, who is Dragon and Tiger thought to have lived between the 10th and 14th c. The monument is Pagoda constructed out of four richly sculpted stone slabs and stands on a three- (LonghuTa) tiered base, which is also decorated with many bas-reliefs. The upper brick building has a double ledge.
Porcelain production in Jingdezhen On the edge ofthe city it is possible to visit the remains of old kilns, the most famous being those at Baihuwan (9km/5% miles east of the city centre), Liujiawan (22km/14 miles from the centre), Huangnitou (7.5km/472 miles east ofthe centre) and Hutian.
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