Cape Pavilion

At the southwest end of Lianzhou town of Hepu county, and with a history of nearly one thousand years, the Cape Pavilion, now in Lianzhou Middle School, was built during the year of Jing in North Song Dynasty (1004 A.D.-1007 A.D.). Later generations built the pavilion in order to commemorate the Hepu prefecture of Han Dynasty, who was honest in performing his official duties. The pavilion was named as Cape because it was close to sea at that time and it's the cape of the South sea. Through rebuilding, repairs and remove of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the pavilion had been moved here from the former site of one quarter of a kilometer away southwest of the county.

Thirty meters northeast of the pavilion is a baffle pavilion and more than ten meters off in the southeast stands a Chief Star building. Heaven Concubine Temple is at the west end of it. A Golden Wave Lake is at the south end and across which there's a Golden Wave bridge which links up Cape Pavilion with Chief Star building.

Cape Pavilion is divided into two maim parts. The gatehouseis the entry. In the middle of the gatehouse there is a great-circle arched door with two sikedoors on both sides. Four words “Sea Sky Great Mirror” is set over the front door. Some expressions like “Rinsed Moon” and “Clear Cloud” are carved on the sidedoors. The couplet on the front door says to the effect that only if you come to this pavilion can you know the mountains stretching far away like elephants groups and only if look from this pavilion can you see the sea waves and clouds extending several thousand miles. In the middle of the gatehouse there is a about 90-centimeter long, 50-centimeter wide stele on which a word “goose” written with one stoke by Taoye in Qing Dynasty was carved.

Futher inside is the main building of the pavilion with scarlet wall, lazurite and emerald green glazed tiles and beam full of sculpture and paintings. The pavilion is square with corridor all around. The front door is linked with the back door and widows and doors on both sides are symmetrical. On eaves board caved some designs of animals and plants and historical figures. A couplet inscribed by Chen Siquan during the years of Daoguang in Qing Dynasty was engraved on two old pillars in the front of the pavilion. At the back, there is a huge stele caved “Old Cape Pavilion”. Above the back door of the pavilion was hung a horizontal and inscribed board of “Looking up to the sky very far away”. It is Shu Dongpo who wielded his brush to write in Cape Pavilion as he reached Lian Zhou from Zhan county afer being remitted in the third year of Fuyuan (1100 A.D.). But the board has disappeared after several times of building and abolishing and now in the pavilion is hung another one imitated according to the written style of him.

Publishes at : 07-11-11 17:01

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