Towns in Jiangsu Province China: WuZhen, Nanxun, Tongli, Nanjing: Wuxi: Yancheng.
A Trip to Wuzhen - Nanxun - Tongli : May26th/27th 2007
(These photos are additional to and larger than those in the photographic article at Magic City Morning Star News.
This is a photographic file only.)
The following 3 photos are taken up near the City Wall
at Shi Lu in SuZhou. It is a beautiful spot at night.
These photos of SuZhou were taken the night before the trip to WuZhen, Nanxun and Tongli.
Here are my fellow foreign teachers
A Group shot taken at the end of the tour at Tongli.
The Photo was taken by our Guide 'Scarlet'
using Sue's Camera.
(Lilly (Front Right) and Mr. Xue (left rear) are our Chinese co-ordinators)
Two different stages for theatrical performances both at WuZhen.
Two photos of two foreigners at Wuzhen.
Which one am I?
It was here that a Chinese Girl pointed her movie camera at me
and said in English: Look! A foreigner!
I told her in Chinese that I was from Xinjiang (Muslim Province)
Nice lunch in Wuzhen. Slim pickings for me though. I hate fish!
The Memorial Archway dedicated to Charity and Chastity.
Sue insisted Chiara take a photo of her standing there.
This is a left to right scene - just shown Top to Bottom
This used to be someone's home.
Chinglish can be such fun, but you get the message.
Taken from the top of the rockery. What a sight!
Style the old fashion way.
Come to think of it - it's not that old fashioned is it?
One sign at the entrance to the Jiaye library.
The text of the accompanying sign is found below.
Jiaye Library
A Brief Introduction to Jiaye Ancient Library
Jiaye Ancient Library is a famous private library with the largest collection of books in modern China. the construction of the library was started in 1920 and completed in 1924. It covers an area of 13,340 square meters, and expended the gold of 120,000 liang. After liberation in 1949, it has become part of Zhejiang Library that mainly houses ancient books. In June of 2001, Jiaye Ancient Library was deemed a National Preserved Cultural Relic Unit.
The stream runs around the building of Jiaye Ancient Library, and in the garden are trees, zigzag paths, rockery, stalagmitic stones, pavilions, bridges and lotus ponds. the garden and the building become an integral whole. It is a two-storied building of wooden and brick structure. the Jiaye Ancient Library is built in the shape of a square with corridors on all sides. In the middle is a square courtyard. there are 52 rooms in the two-storied building. "Shicui Room', "Songsishi Room", "Jiaye Hall" are upstairs and downstairs are "Xigu Building", "Qiushu Room", "Liguang Pavilion". Each room has its own characteristics in the collection of books and its layout, convenient to keep and to read the books.
The owenr of private library was named Liu Chenggan (1882-1963) who was born at an aristocratic family and had a strong love of collection. About the revolution of 1911, Liu took the opportunity of the large quantities of ancient books scattered to search and buy a great deal of books. According to his said he took twenty years and silver of 300,000 Liang to collect books of 6,000,000 volumes. In its prime times (1925-1932), the Jiaye Ancient Library housed 155 kinds of the editions of the Song (960-1279) and the Yuan Dynasty ( 1206-1368 ), 1000-odd kinds of chorography and many kinds of editions, hand-written copies of the MIng (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) in addition to some rare and precious editions. Most collections of Jiaye Ancient Library are collected works of the Qing Dynasty and all kinds of historical records. Jiaye Ancient Library was well known not only for the collection of ancient books, but also for block-printed books. Many of block-printed books are banned books by the Qing Dynasty Government and inscribed exquisitely, more than half were collated by Miao Quansun, a famous scholar of the end of the Qing Dynasty. These block-printed books of Liu Chenggan were also gained affirmative comments by Lu Xun.
In 1933, the family of Liu was in straitened circumstances and Liu began to sell its collections. There were only 110,000 copies left and almost no block-printed editions of the Song and the Yuan Dynasties when Liu Chenggan donated them to Zhejing Library in 1951. In 1949, when the Chinese People's Liberation Army liberated the south of the Yangtze river, Chinese communist appointed army to protect Jiaye Ancient Library lest it was damaged. In November 1951, Liu Chenggan donated his collections, the building of Jiaye Ancient Library and the Garden to Zhejing Library and it became a part of Zhejiang Ancient Library and put aside a lot of fund in the renovation of this former private library. It also gained attention and care from the Leaders of Hushou and Nanxun.
We believe, under together endeavor, the Jiaye Ancient Library must be refreshed with vigor and make a contribution to the prosperity of science culture with its own features and special collections.
It's really difficult if I made any typing mistakes.
No great traffic noise : Just lots of Mosquitos.
The Next five photos show the ornate beauty of Old China,
including carvings in the doors.
A more modern style of Chinese Decor.
More garden scenes at Nanxun.
Chinese opera 'al fresco' at Tongli
Other amusements at Tongli
Fisherwoman with her cormorants at Tongli
Tongli is certainly a scenic place.
I could spend hours watching people work here.
Workers watching foreigners on the bridge at Tongli
For Some Reason, Sue insisted that I pose beneath this sign.
R.P.BenDedek is from Brisbane Australia and is the author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran' at http://www.kingscalendar.com His academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
He writes photographic 'Stories from China' and social editorial commentaries, both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing newspaper columnist. He currently teaches Conversational English in China and in addition to his English Lessons at KingsCalendar, he has created specific sites for Students of English.
