China Spring 2016 Part 11

Day 9 Yangtze River Cruise - Shibaozhai On our last day on the Yangtze River, we visited the Precious Stone Fortress, The Rock. 164 feet high, it is in a shape of an imperial seal. A vermilion 12-story pavilion has been built against the rock. A legend tells that when Nu Va patched up the sky, she left this large colored stone, regarded as precious stone and, later during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) an insurgent army settled and used it as their fortress. Hence the place got its name the Precious Stone Fortress.

Built in the Ming Dynasty, Shibaozhai consists of a gate, a pavilion and a temple. The gate is carved with some vivid reliefs. Within the gate is the 184 feet high 12-story wooden pavilion. It is the tallest specimen of ancient architecture with the most stories in China and reputed as one of the eight fantastic examples of architecture in the world. Originally it was nine stories high and was climbed with only footholds; later the stairs and in 1956 three more stories (called Kuixing Pavilion) were added.

Of course the path to the Shibaozhai was lined with stalls of every type of souvenir that you would not want to buy with owners working really hard to gain your attention and your money. The photos include our walk to the temple, the Pavilion, and Gods in the temple.

On the way to the pavilion

The Gate

The Pavilion on a hill beside the river, before the dam.

A dike/wall was built around the hill to keep the rising water away
from the hill and a bridge built to access what is now an island.

Walking on the bridge is surprisingly difficult because it
sways and shifts as all the people cross together.

The Pagoda rises behind us.

A beautiful doorway to enter the staircases.

Looking out one of the windows from the stairway

Inside the newer stairs to climb the hill to the Pagoda and Temple.

Marv was the only one of the four of us who went all the way to the
top "floor" of the Pagoda, which was a tiny room. The ornate yellow
doorway leads to the Temple.

Marv's view from the top of the Pagoda, looking at our cruise ship

Marv is up there in the window at the top

Some of the colorful Gods that greeted us in the Temple

A view from partway up the Pagoda of the bridge

Final dinner on the cruise ship with our guide, Geoff in the middle