Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongalia Autonomous1 Region, has an area of 6 thousand square kilometers and a population of 1.41 million. Hohot is a historical and cultural city. It has many ancient relics2, including Zhaojun Tomb, Five Pagoda3 Temple, and White Tower. It is also famous for barbecue and the production of mushrooms and hops4.
Zhaojun Tomb, which is called Green "Grave" of "Tmur Urhu" in Mongolian, is situated5 in the southern suburb6 of Hohhot, 9 kilometers away from the urban area. It is said that it is the tomb of Wang Zhaojun -- a maid in the imperial palace of the Emperor Yuan Di of the Han Dynasty -- volunteered to marry the chief Huhanye of Xiongnu Horde7 as a peace envoy8. The tomb is an artificial earthen mound9 with a height of 33 meters. According to the legend, the green grass on the huge mound never turned yellow even when late autumn came.
Five-Pagoda Temple is situated in the Wutasi-hou Street, Yuquan District, Hohhot. The construction of the temple began in the 5th year of the reign10 of the Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. The Pagoda is 16.5 meters high and looks like a Buddha11‘s Warrior12 Attendant‘s seat, with a base under it and five exquisite13 pagodas14 on the base. As more than 1560 relief sculptures of Buddha are engraved15 on the five pagodas, the temple enjoys the reputation of being "a 10000-Buddha Tower". In addition, there are images of Bodhisattva, the four Devarajas, Buddhist16 Saint, Heavenly Ladies, holy birds and animal, bodhi trees and the engraved scriptures18 in Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit on the wall of the pagodas. On the wall facing the temple there are 3 marble relief sculptures, including a planisphere marked with Mongolian inscriptions19. The pagodas are not only peculiar20 buildings, but also a huge exquisite carving21.
White Tower is located in the White Tower Village of the east suburb of Hohhot, 17 kilometers away from the urban area. It was originally a tower of Buddhist temple where the Buddhist scripture17 was collected and preserved. The octagonal tower, a brick-wood building painted with chalk, is characterized by the architectural style of the Liao Dynasty. The tower is 55 meters high, looking grand and magnificent. Its base is shaped like lotus flower petals22. On the surface of the tower are carved the exquisite relief sculptures of Buddha, Bodhisattva, heavenly kings and dragons, which are all true to life and pleasing in form. Six tablets of the Jin Dynasty and more than 200 scriptures written in quite a few languages are all well preserved on the walls inside the tower. All this records the history and customs of the ancient town called Fengzhou. As this tower is one of the most exquisite towers of the Liao Dynasty in China, it was appointed to be a unit under the key protection and preservation23 by the State Council in 1982.
1 autonomous [ɔ:ˈtɒnəməs] 第9级 | |
adj.自治的;独立的 | |
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2 relics ['reliks] 第8级 | |
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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3 pagoda [pəˈgəʊdə] 第11级 | |
n.宝塔(尤指印度和远东的多层宝塔),(印度教或佛教的)塔式庙宇 | |
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4 hops [hɒps] 第7级 | |
跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花 | |
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5 situated [ˈsɪtʃueɪtɪd] 第8级 | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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6 suburb [ˈsʌbɜ:b] 第7级 | |
n.郊区,郊外,近郊 | |
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7 horde [hɔ:d] 第10级 | |
n.群众,一大群 | |
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8 envoy [ˈenvɔɪ] 第10级 | |
n.使节,使者,代表,公使 | |
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9 mound [maʊnd] 第9级 | |
n.土墩,堤,小山;vt.筑堤,用土堆防卫;vi.积成堆 | |
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10 reign [reɪn] 第7级 | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;vi.占优势 | |
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11 Buddha [ˈbʊdə] 第9级 | |
n.佛;佛像;佛陀 | |
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12 warrior [ˈwɒriə(r)] 第7级 | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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13 exquisite [ɪkˈskwɪzɪt] 第7级 | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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14 pagodas [pə'ɡəʊdəz] 第11级 | |
塔,宝塔( pagoda的名词复数 ) | |
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15 engraved [inˈɡreivd] 第8级 | |
v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的过去式和过去分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中) | |
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16 Buddhist ['bʊdɪst] 第8级 | |
adj./n.佛教的,佛教徒 | |
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17 scripture [ˈskrɪptʃə(r)] 第7级 | |
n.经文,圣书,手稿;Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》,《圣经》中的一段 | |
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18 scriptures ['skrɪptʃəz] 第7级 | |
经文,圣典( scripture的名词复数 ); 经典 | |
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19 inscriptions [ɪnsk'rɪpʃnz] 第8级 | |
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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20 peculiar [pɪˈkju:liə(r)] 第7级 | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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21 carving [ˈkɑ:vɪŋ] 第8级 | |
n.雕刻品,雕花 | |
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22 petals [petlz] 第8级 | |
n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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23 preservation [ˌprezəˈveɪʃn] 第7级 | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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