|
The first sight of entering the King Xiang’s Hometown catches a towering tall stone arch, with the words of “King Xiang’s Hometown”.As the arch is built on the ancient Yellow River embankment and the main buildings are at the root, on the arch tourists can have a panoramic view of the entire buildings. The buildings are characterized by both architectural style of the Han Dynasty and palace architecture style. All the rooms, cabinets and pavilions are built with brick tiles, cornices and stone bases, appearing solemn and majestic. Pillars and windows are beautifully decorated with carvings and paintings. With small cyan tiles, the surrounding pale yellow walls are antique, graceful and elegant. The main building includes three courtyards. The front is a tall Chinese-style stone gate tower, representing the high specification of King Xiang’s Hometown. In Yingfeng Cabinet, the main body of the middle part, there is a tall sculpture of King Xiang, surrounded by four walls with twelve reliefs reflecting heroic stories in the life of Xiang Yu, such as lifting Ding (a
bronze cauldron), raising an army in Wuzhong, breaking caldrons and sinking boats, rescuing the State of Zhao in Julu, feasting at Hong Gate and breaking through the encirclement in Gaixia and etc. In the front of the cabinet, a quaint, spectacular and impressive Bawang Ding, with the height of 2.6 meters, the diameter of 1.9 meters and the weight of 8 tons, is towering, with inscription of Xiang Yu’s immortal achievements. In the east and west of the cabinet, stele corridors are built. The east is the huge stone inscription of Sima Qian’s Shih-Chi handwritten by Qi Qinglong, a famous calligrapher. The west are poems praising Xiang Yu written by historical figures and handwritten by contemporary famous calligraphers. The third part is a garden courtyard. The front is the memorial hall of the former residence with a statue of Yu Ji inside and a pavilion outside. In the pavilion, there is a stone carving of Wuzhui Horse (Xiangyu’s horse), and outside there is the horse’s manger. In the courtyard, pines, sycamores and flowers are planted. The ancient sophora japonica, which is said to have been planted by Xiang Yu, is still flourishing, vigorous and graceful through two thousand years of ups and downs, named as “the best sophora japonica in the world” by an American botanist.
|
