(黄鹤楼)

Yellow-Crane Tower(黄鹤楼)

Ladies and gentlemen，

We'll now begin our tour of the Yellow-Crane Tower.

Hubei Province's Yellow-Crane Tower of Wuhan is one of the three most famous towers in southern China.Along with Dongting Lake's Yueyang Tower and Tengwang Pavilion alongside the Ganjiang River in Nanchang city，it is world-renowned for its grand scale，complex architectural structure，and peculiar roof style.However，the Yellow Crane has the longest history and most majestic appearance of all these ancient towers.

Do you know what Yellow-Crane Tower was at first made out of? Initially it was not used for viewing scenery.During the Three Kingdoms Period(223 A.D.)，Sun Quan sought the“prosperity of the country by force”and thus built a tower on the edge of the Yangtze River for military observation.Later when the war was over，the Yellow-Crane Tower became a good place for people to enjoy the beauty of nature.Many famous writers went there to be inspired and left many essays，poems and the like here.In particular，several Tang Dynasty writers and poets had a very peculiar relationship with the Yellow-Crane Tower.You can guess who they are? Yeah，they are Li Bai and Cui Hao.It is said that the two poets competed to write poems here.Cui Hao's best known lines are“the immortal person departed from Yellow Crane long ago，only the Tower is left here.”It was said that after LiBaientered this tower，he was excited with versification，but when he found Cui Hao's poem，he said it is perfect and did not believe that he could write better than Cui Hao.Thus in order to protect his reputation，he refrained from writing a poem during this visit to the Yellow-Crane Tower.He instead wrote a doggerel consisting of four lines:“a hammer breaks the Yellow-Crane Tower，a foot kicks over Parrots Islet，beautiful scenery are not expressed，for Cui Hao wrote poem first.”Afterwards，a person drew upon this legend to build a“pavilion of signing off”in the east of the Yellow Crane-Tower.There was still a wall on which Cui Hao ever wrote in Yellow-Crane Tower Park.However，sometime later，the poet，Li Bai，bid farewell to the poet，Meng Haoran，by writing in the Yellow-Crane Tower a poem entitled，“Farewell Meng Haoran.”Several lines read，“My friend has left the Yellow Crane Tower，to go to Yangzhou in March.The only boat has disappeared in the blue sky; however see the Yangtze River flow from the sky line.”

The Yellow-Crane Tower has become a major tourist spot not only due to its magnificent appearance，but because of its location on the summit of She Mountain alongside the mighty Yangtze River.Many notable figures such as Bai Juyi，Jia Dao，Lu You，Yang Shen，and Zhang Juzheng have visited this place and written many outstanding poems here.One such masterpiece is Cui Hao's poem“Yellow-Crane Tower”.In fact，this poem is such a famous and old masterpiece that many Chinese people can recite it from memory.And because of this poem，many people have a yearn to visit the Yellow-Crane Tower.In February of 1927，the great Chinese leader Mao Zedong came to Wuchang after inspecting the Peasant Movement in Hunan，and wrote the famous poem，Pu Sa Man-Climb Yellow Crane-Tower.

Do you know the origin of the name about Yellow-Crane Tower? There are two stories about this.One concerns the immortal person，or“Shen Xian”in China while the other concerns a mountain.

Regarding the first story，a long time ago，a person surnamed Xin sold wine in an inn at Huanghu Hill.One day，an old man stumbled to his place and asked for wine to drink.Xin pitied on him and generously agreed and continued to give him wine for an entire year.One day，after seeing the old man go to the inn，Xin quickly prepared food and wine.The old man refused and said:“I don't want to drink，I'm just coming to say goodbye to you”.Then he painted a picture of yellow crane on the wall.The old man said，“If you clap your hands，the Yellow Crane will be down to dance for the guest.”The next day the guests came to the hotel and he thought of the old man's words.After clapping hands for a test，the crane really catapulted down，singing loudly and dancing before then going back into the wall.Guests found this performance to be very interesting.The news spread widely，and the people from three towns of Wuhan and the visitors from far and near were attracted to the hotel to see the crane dancing.With all this new business，Xin quickly made a fortune.A decade later，one day，the old man appeared again in the hotel，Xin desired to appreciate him，but the old man refused and then played his flute，causing the Yellow Crane to come down.After that，he sat on the Yellow Crane and flew away on it.To commemorate the old man and his yellow crane，Xin built a high tower on the inn and named it the Yellow-Crane Tower.This story about the immortal person，Shen Xian，has spread widely across China for thousands of years and is a very influential legend explaining the origins of the Yellow Crane Tower.Another similar legend is that a person called Fei Wei successfully attained immortality on the Yellow Crane Hill and，like Shen Xian，used the crane to go to heaven.Later to commemorate Fei Wei，people constructed Yellow-Crane Tower on top of the Yellow Crane Hill.

But modern research tells a different story regarding the origins of Yellow-Crane Tower's name.This explanation points to the place the Tower was built on top of，namely Yellow-Crane Hill.So，it is named Yellow-Crane Tower.

My dear friends，we have arrived at Yellow-Crane Tower.In fact，Yellow-Crane Tower we see now is rebuilt after the founding of New China.Due to wars and other events，Yellow-Crane Tower has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt.The last Qing tower was built in 7^th year of the Qing Tongzhi Emperor's reign(1868) and then was destroyed again during the 10^th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign(1884).Nearly a century passed before further rebuilding work was done on the Tower.The latest reconstruction of the tower began in October of 1981 and was finished in June of1985.The main building took the Qing Dynasty tower as its blueprint，but the use of modern technology and construction techniques has given the Yellow-Crane Tower a more unique shape and enhanced its ancient magnificence.

The original ancient Yellow-Crane Tower was three-storey structures and 33 meters high，which in traditional Chinese measure system was 9 zhang and 2 chi high，plus a 7-chi copper roof，thus there were 2 nines(The number“9”was an auspicious one in traditional Chinese).We are now viewing the new 5 storey Yellow-Crane Tower and its gourd shaped roof.The roof is5meters high and the entire tower is altogether 51.4 meters high，making it nearly 20 meters higher than the old Yellow Crane Tower.The base of the new Tower is also twice as wide-30 meters vs.15 meters-as that of the old Tower.Thus the Yellow Crane Tower has been reconstructed，rather than restored.While some features of the old design have been preserved，it has been rebuilt to better fit people's needs and modern aesthetic perspectives.

It was also necessary to move the Yellow-Crane Tower during its reconstruction to make way for new Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge.Fortunately，the structure has been made even more majestic than the former tower.The present Yellow-Crane Tower consists of main buildings，matched pavilions，corridors and memorial archways，all spreading over a three story terrace along a central axis that becomes higher and higher.The west entrance of the Yellow-Crane Tower Park is located on the first terrace.The second terrace has a memorial archway flanked by pavilions and a bending corridor.The newly built Yellow-Crane Tower stands on the third and central terrace.

We can see the new complex is an attractive mix of different and unique architectural styles.This is particularly true of the Yellow-Crane Tower，which consists of several different layers.The bottom layer is a tall spacious hall，whose kelp well is as high as 10 meters.On frontispiece wall there are huge ceramic murals named“Cloud Yellow Cranes”.There are seven meter long poetic couplets along both sides of the columns.On the marble wall of the hall on the second floor is engraved in the Yan Bojin's“Yellow-Crane Tower”，recording the tower's history and all of the major figures who visited here and drew inspiration from this place.There are two murals on both sides of these inscriptions.One mural is of the“Sun Quan Fortification”and concretely illustrates the Tower's original purpose and its first setting，Wuchang City.The other mural depicts“Zhou Yu's Banquet”，which celebrates the famous historical figures who visited the Tower and their activities in it during the Three Kingdom's period.The murals in the hall of third floor are“Embroidered Portrait Painting”of Tang and Song Dynasty poets such as Cui Hao，Li Bai and Bai Juyi and also contains famous lines from the celebrated poems they wrote in the Yellow-Crane Tower.The fourth floor's hall is divided into several rooms by screens，displaying the photos of many contemporary famous Chinese people for visitors to enjoy and purchase.The top hall has scrolls and wall paintings，such as the“Yangtze WanliMap”.

Well，you can visit freely.Two hours later we will gather here.I hope all of you have a good time.

My friends，our journey is about to end.And I should say goodbye to you all.Anyway I am very glad to have spent such a happy and unforgettable day with you.Thank you very much for your support and cooperation.I hope today's visit will leave you with many pleasant memories.Thank you!

各位朋友，

大家好!现在我们要开始向今天游览的目的地--黄鹤楼出发了。

大家都知道黄鹤楼是江南三大名楼之一，它位于湖北武汉市。它和洞庭湖边的岳阳楼、南昌赣江之滨的滕王阁，都因为宏伟的规模、复杂的建筑结构和奇特的屋顶造型而著称于世。那么黄鹤楼在其中又排列第几呢?对!黄鹤楼又以其历史之悠久，楼姿雄伟而居三楼之首。大家知道最初修建黄鹤楼是做什么用的吗?当初并不是为了观赏风光用的。三国时期的吴黄武二年，也就是公元223年，孙权为了实现“以武治国而昌”，就在长江边上的蛇山上建了一座楼用来瞭望军情，这是黄鹤楼的前身。后来战争过去了，黄鹤楼也逐渐成为了人们游山玩水的好地方，也为历代文人骚客登临吟咏之地。留传至今的诗词过千，文赋逾百。尤其是唐朝时的几位文人，更是在黄鹤楼的历史留下了非常特别的痕迹。大家可以猜猜是哪几个人?对，是李白和崔颢。相传李白和崔颢曾在此斗诗。其中以崔颢的“昔人已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼”诗句为最。据说李白登临此楼后，也是诗兴盎然，当他发现崔颢的这首诗后，连称“绝妙”，怕自己写的没崔颢好，毁了一世英名，便搁笔不写。于是写了四句打油诗:一拳捶碎黄鹤楼，一脚踢翻鹦鹉洲，眼前有景道不得，崔颢题诗在上头。后来有好事之人据此在黄鹤楼东侧修建了一座李白“搁笔亭”。现在黄鹤楼公园内有崔颢的题诗壁，对面就是李白的搁笔亭了。不过，后来李白在黄鹤楼送别友人孟浩然时，写下了一首《送孟浩然之广陵》:“故人西辞黄鹤楼，烟花三月下扬州。孤帆远影碧空尽，唯见长江天际流。”这首诗也成为咏诵黄鹤楼的绝句。

黄鹤楼因濒临万里长江，雄踞蛇山(又称“黄鹄山”)之巅，挺拔独秀，辉煌瑰丽而成为名传四海的游览胜地。历代名士如白居易、贾岛、陆游、杨慎、张居正等，都先后到这里游乐，吟诗作赋。尤其是崔颢的《黄鹤楼》诗，一直被认为是千古佳作，很多人都能背诵。因这首诗，使很多人产生了对黄鹤楼的向往。1927年2月，毛泽东考察完湖南农民运动后来到武昌，曾在此写下了著名的《菩萨蛮·登黄鹤楼》。

大家有谁知道黄鹤楼名字的由来吗?

很久以前，有位姓辛的人在黄鹄山头卖酒度日。有一天，有位衣衫破烂的老道蹒跚而来，向他讨酒喝。辛氏看见老道很可怜，就慷慨地答应了。这样的情况持续了一年。有一天，老道又来到酒店，辛氏一见，急忙准备酒菜款待老道，老道拦住说:今天我不喝酒，我是来向你告别的。并在客栈的墙壁上画了一只黄鹤。老道对辛氏说:只要你拍手相招，黄鹤便会下来，为酒客跳舞助兴。第二天酒店来了客人，他想起了老道的话，拍手一试，黄鹤竟然真的一跃而下，引颈高鸣，翩翩起舞，舞毕又跳回到墙上。客人看了非常惊讶。消息传开后，吸引了武汉三镇的老百姓和远近的游人，都来店中看黄鹤起舞。从此酒店生意兴隆。辛氏因此而发了财。十年后的一天，老道又出现在酒店，辛氏想感谢老道。老道拒绝了，用铁笛吹了一首曲子，引下黄鹤，跨上黄鹤飞走了。辛氏为了纪念老道和他的黄鹤，在酒店旁盖起了一座高楼，起名黄鹤楼。千百年来，这个故事在我国广为传播，成为黄鹤楼因仙得名最有影响的传说。另一个传说是有一位名叫费伟的人，在黄鹤山中修炼成仙，然后乘黄鹤升天。后来人们为怀念费伟，便在这黄鹤山上建造了一座黄鹤楼。

但是经过考证，黄鹤楼因山得名的真实性是最大的。黄鹤楼建在黄鹄山山顶。古汉语中，鹄和鹤两个字是通用的，所以又叫黄鹤山，黄鹤山上的楼阁，当然就取名为黄鹤楼。

各位游客，我们已经来到黄鹤楼。我们现在看到的黄鹤楼其实是新中国成立后重修的。之前，由于战乱等原因，黄鹤楼屡建屡废。最后一座“清楼”修建于同治七年(公元1868年)，毁于光绪十年(公元1884年)，在这之后近百年没有再重修过。一直到1981年10月，黄鹤楼重修工程才破土开工，1985年6月落成。主楼以清同治楼为蓝本，但是运用了现代的建筑技术施工，既不失黄鹤楼的独特造型，又比历代的旧楼更加雄伟。

古黄鹤楼高三层，高9丈2尺，加铜顶7尺，共成九九之数(总高约合33米)。我们现在所看到的是新建的黄鹤楼，高5层，加5米高的葫芦形宝顶，共高51.4米，比古楼高出将近20米。古楼底层各宽15米，而新楼底层则是各宽30米。因此，黄鹤楼不是修复，而是重建。它保留了古楼的某些特色，但更多的是根据现在的需要和人们审美观点的变化来设计的。

重建的黄鹤楼因为修建武汉长江大桥所以离开了故址，气势上更胜于旧楼。黄鹤楼建筑群由主楼、配亭、轩廊、牌坊等组成，分布在三层平台上，沿中心轴线逐层升高。第一层平台是黄鹤楼公园的西大门。第二层平台上有牌坊，两侧是曲廊和南北配亭。第三层平台的中央耸立着黄鹤楼。

我们可以看到整个建筑具有独特的民族风格。尤其是黄鹤楼内部，层层风格不相同。底层为一高大宽敞的大厅，其正中藻井高达10多米，正面壁上为一幅巨大的“白云黄鹤”陶瓷壁画，两旁立柱上悬挂着长达7米的楹联:爽气西来，云雾扫开天地撼;大江东去，波涛洗净古今愁。二楼大厅正面墙上，有用大理石镌刻的唐代阎伯瑾撰写的《黄鹤楼记》，它记述了黄鹤楼兴废沿革和名人轶事。楼记两侧为两幅壁画，一幅是“孙权筑城”，形象地说明黄鹤楼和武昌城相继诞生的历史;另一幅是“周瑜设宴”，反映三国名人去黄鹤楼的活动。三楼大厅的壁画为唐宋名人的“绣像画”，如崔颢、李白、白居易等，也摘录了他们吟咏黄鹤楼的名句。四楼大厅用屏风分割几个小厅，内置当代名人字画，供游客欣赏、选购。顶层大厅有《长江万里图》等长卷、壁画。

好了，现在大家可以自由参观，去感受一下古人的情怀。两个小时后还在这里集合。希望大家玩得开心。谢谢!