Seventeen-Arch Bridge and Kuoru Pavilion
Connecting the eastern shore of Kunming Lake to the east (left, above) and Nanhu Island to the west (right, above), the Seventeen-Arch Bridge was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799); with a length of 150m and a width of 8m it is the longest bridge in the Summer Palace.
The unique scenery is but one of the stunning landscapes in the Summer Palace. The bridge is intended to look like a rainbow arching over the water. On the column of the parapets are 544 distinctive carved white marble lions. On each end of the bridge is a carved bizarre beast. With the biggest arch in the midst of the bridge flanked by 16 others, visitors can count nine arches in different sizes from the middle to each end of the bridge. According to ancient thought, the number nine symbolises good fortune and safety; and the meticulous design of the bridge embodies it perfectly.
There is an interesting legend connected to the beauty of this bridge: One day during the construction of the bridge, an old man in shabby clothes came to the busy building site and shouted "Who wants Longmen (Dragon Gate) Stone?" He got no reply as the others took him as a crazy man on seeing his poor appearance. The poor man left with the stone in great disappointment. He stayed under a big tree, and every day, he chiselled the stone as early as when cocks started to crow. One night, it rained heavily and the poor man had to shelter from the rain under the tree when another elderly man saw him and asked him to live at his home. After a year went by, the old man said goodbye to the kind master and left the stone to him as a reward in return.
At the same time, the project of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge was almost finished except for a proper stone to fit the gap in the middle of the bridge. Someone advised the project director to find the man who once sold Longmen Stone. The director found out where the old man once lived. Out of extreme happiness, he found the right stone and gave the master some money to move it away. To everyone's excitement, the stone was exactly the right one to fit the gap. Suddenly someone realised, "The old man must be the incarnation of Luban (the earliest ancestor of carpenter) who came to help us to build the bridge!" - from arts.cultural-china.com.
The Kuoru Pavilion (or Great Pavilion) is structure is considered to be the most prominent of the 40 pavilions in the Summer Palace's grounds. It is also the China's largest pavilion. It consists of two layers of eaves forming an octagon-shaped roof, supported by a total of 42 pillars. An open walkway passes it.
Located at the eastern end of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, the Kuoru Pavilion is a wooden structure of unusual size, some 300 square metres. During the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong and his scholars often drank wine and composed poetry here. Tablets with Emperor Qianlong’s poems, and couplets written by the scholars in response, are still hung in this pavilion.
This 1984 image, scanned from a negative, was taken from aboard a large tourist boat circumnavigating Kunming Lake, shows a more typical rowboat. The lake also featured sailboats and numerous swimmers.
Seventeen-Arch Bridge and Kuoru Pavilion
Connecting the eastern shore of Kunming Lake to the east (left, above) and Nanhu Island to the west (right, above), the Seventeen-Arch Bridge was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799); with a length of 150m and a width of 8m it is the longest bridge in the Summer Palace.
The unique scenery is but one of the stunning landscapes in the Summer Palace. The bridge is intended to look like a rainbow arching over the water. On the column of the parapets are 544 distinctive carved white marble lions. On each end of the bridge is a carved bizarre beast. With the biggest arch in the midst of the bridge flanked by 16 others, visitors can count nine arches in different sizes from the middle to each end of the bridge. According to ancient thought, the number nine symbolises good fortune and safety; and the meticulous design of the bridge embodies it perfectly.
There is an interesting legend connected to the beauty of this bridge: One day during the construction of the bridge, an old man in shabby clothes came to the busy building site and shouted "Who wants Longmen (Dragon Gate) Stone?" He got no reply as the others took him as a crazy man on seeing his poor appearance. The poor man left with the stone in great disappointment. He stayed under a big tree, and every day, he chiselled the stone as early as when cocks started to crow. One night, it rained heavily and the poor man had to shelter from the rain under the tree when another elderly man saw him and asked him to live at his home. After a year went by, the old man said goodbye to the kind master and left the stone to him as a reward in return.
At the same time, the project of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge was almost finished except for a proper stone to fit the gap in the middle of the bridge. Someone advised the project director to find the man who once sold Longmen Stone. The director found out where the old man once lived. Out of extreme happiness, he found the right stone and gave the master some money to move it away. To everyone's excitement, the stone was exactly the right one to fit the gap. Suddenly someone realised, "The old man must be the incarnation of Luban (the earliest ancestor of carpenter) who came to help us to build the bridge!" - from arts.cultural-china.com.
The Kuoru Pavilion (or Great Pavilion) is structure is considered to be the most prominent of the 40 pavilions in the Summer Palace's grounds. It is also the China's largest pavilion. It consists of two layers of eaves forming an octagon-shaped roof, supported by a total of 42 pillars. An open walkway passes it.
Located at the eastern end of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, the Kuoru Pavilion is a wooden structure of unusual size, some 300 square metres. During the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong and his scholars often drank wine and composed poetry here. Tablets with Emperor Qianlong’s poems, and couplets written by the scholars in response, are still hung in this pavilion.
This 1984 image, scanned from a negative, was taken from aboard a large tourist boat circumnavigating Kunming Lake, shows a more typical rowboat. The lake also featured sailboats and numerous swimmers.