Live Your Best Lives
I remember that on the evening of June 6th, I boarded a train from Wuhan to Kaifeng. Having read many books about the Song Dynasty at the time, I wanted to visit those places in person. The transition from Bianjing (now Kaifeng) to Lin'an (now Hangzhou) marked the transition of dynasties, a glorious moment in the Song Dynasty that remains in people's memories.
The navigation system brought us to the site of the Suzaku Gate in the former Northern Song Dynasty's Tokyo City. It was deserted and had only a newly erected stone tablet.
The road next to it is Zhongshan Road, the north-south central axis that has remained unchanged for thousands of years. It was called Imperial Street in the Northern Song Dynasty.
According to historical records: Bianjing was the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, where Zhao Kuangyin established the Northern Song Dynasty. It was one of the six ancient capitals of China and the richest and most prosperous city in the world. It was Kaifeng's most glorious period, and one of the most important streets was the Imperial Street.
The Imperial Street is a thoroughfare on the north-south central axis of Tokyo City. It starts from the Xuande Gate of the Imperial Palace, goes south through the Suzaku Gate of the Inner City, and ends at the Nanxun Gate of the Outer City, stretching for more than ten miles.
Tips:
Name: Ruins of Zhuque Gate of Dongjing City in the Northern Song Dynasty
Fee: Open area, no entrance fee
Address: No. 33, South Section of Zhongshan Road, Gulou District, Kaifeng City
After leaving the ruins, I cycled to Kaifeng Prefecture. At nine o'clock, drums began beating outside the city gates, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. The gates slowly opened, and the government office opened to welcome guests. Wang Chao and Ma Han followed the renowned Bao Zheng out, showcasing the majesty of the Song Dynasty government and praising Bao's achievements during his reign.
Entering the city gate, the first thing we see is the "Kaifeng Prefecture Inscription Stele," a treasure of Kaifeng Prefecture. The stele records the names, official titles, and dates of appointment and departure of 183 prefects from 960 to 1105 AD.
Among them is Bao Zheng. This is the stele in my country that records the most celebrities, has the most detailed time periods, and involves the most official positions.
The tour guide told me that Bao Zheng and Ouyang Xiu were their predecessors and successors respectively. History also left behind the historical story of Bao Yan and Ouyang Kuan. Their governing methods were different, but they created the prosperous historical landscape of the Northern Song Dynasty.
The inscriptions on the stele are still deeply imprinted, which is the evidence of the people's nostalgia for Bao Zheng's rule. Like a mirror to correct oneself, like a ruler to measure morality, like a star to shine forever.
Following Mingjing Lake, we came to Qianlongjing, where three emperors, Emperor Taizong of Song, Emperor Zhenzong of Song, and Emperor Qinzong of Song, were enshrined. Looking at their statues, I felt a sense of helplessness brought by history, no, it was the mockery brought by history.
The hidden dragon is a metaphor for a saint in a lower position, hidden and not visible. However, in the late Northern Song Dynasty, it could not escape the tide of the times and was crushed until it turned into a pile of mudflats. Those days in Kaifeng Prefecture were covered up forever.
He, Emperor Qinzong Zhao Huan, is portrayed in history as a cowardly, incompetent, and incompetent ruler. But what? But what? He was merely a pawn cast aside by Emperor Huizong. Not everyone can rise to the challenge and achieve great things.
It is said that his literary talent is not enough to help the country, but what dynasty is this? This is the Tokyo that Meng Yuanlao missed all his life. It is the dynasty with the most brilliant culture of the Chinese nation!
This was the Song Dynasty, a dynasty not overly powerful but open and peaceful, one that brought happiness to all. It was a dynasty that preferred to trade annual tribute for peace. How can one achieve both, to live up to the Tathagata and to be faithful to one's beloved? The passage of time always obscures history.
Continuing forward, Kaifeng Prefecture has the Plum Blossom Hall where Bao Zheng sat upside down in the southern court, and the Qingxin Tower with the deeds of successive prefects as its theme. The main hall was where the chief official of Kaifeng Prefecture in the Northern Song Dynasty issued decrees and publicly tried important cases.
Around its history, there was the most prosperous night market in the Northern Song Dynasty in the Zhouqiao area, with various tile houses, restaurants, eateries and shops distributed among them.
The Kaifeng Mansion's watchtower was equipped with various firefighting equipment and firefighters ready to go. They were to protect what Meng Yuanlao described in his "Dongjing Menghualu".
Zhang Zeduan painted the world's most prosperous city, Bianjing, in his Along the River During the Qingming Festival, which "encompasses the beauty of the world and hides the glory of the past and present."
Tips:
Name: Kaifeng Prefecture
Cost: 60 yuan
Address: East of the intersection of Baogonghu North Road and Yanqing Street, Gulou District, Kaifeng City
On today's Zhongshan Road, the former Zhou Bridge was excavated and a temporary exhibition hall was built on the site.
Fan Chengda once wrote a poem: "Looking south to the Vermillion Bird Gate and north to the Xuande Tower, both are the old imperial roads. The streets north and south of Zhou Bridge are like heavenly streets, where elders year after year await the emperor's return. Tears welling up in my eyes, I ask the messenger, when will the six armies truly arrive?"
He wrote about the Central Plains people's longing for the Northern Expedition, the former glory of Zhouqiao area, the tears of the survivors, the enslavement of the Jin people, the magnificence of the Central Plains, and the ruins of the old capital, all of which are vividly and exquisitely displayed in this poem.
Tips:
Name: Bianhe River and Zhouqiao Ruins Exhibition Hall
Cost: 98 yuan
Address: Middle section of Zhongshan Road, Gulou District, Kaifeng City
Traveling on the road of Bianjing, passing by the Bian River and Zhongshan Road, Bookstore Street suddenly appeared in front of me.
The bookstore street in front of you is one of the two ancient streets in the world, as famous as Kanda Book Street in Tokyo, Japan.
The rich charm of the bookstore can be appreciated as early as the Northern Song Dynasty. In the bookstore here, I bought a copy of "Dongjing Menghualu" that I had been longing for. After reading it, I finally entered the world at my feet.
The author Meng Yuanlao wrote everything he had ever seen in detail in this book. After reading it, I really felt like I was sleepwalking in Huaxu, as if I had a big dream.
Through the streets and alleys, I fell into the Eastern Capital. The young people of Wuling were singing and dancing along the streets. Such a grand scene will never be seen again.
Early the next morning, I rode my bike to the Ancient Horse Road Ruins Museum in Daliangmen. Daliangmen was also called "Changhemen" in the Northern Song Dynasty. After several wars and floods, the famous city was lost in the long river of history.
The museum now features a multi-layered ancient horse path, revealing its history through holographic projections. It also showcases Kaifeng's unique phenomenon of cities stacked on top of each other, horse paths stacked on top of each other, roads stacked on top of each other, and gates stacked on top of each other. Through the images displayed alongside the historical relics, I gained a more vivid understanding of Kaifeng's unique "city upon city" architecture.
After 20 years of archaeological excavations, Chinese archaeologists discovered that 3 to 12 meters underground in the ancient capital of Kaifeng, there are six cities stacked on top of each other: Kaifeng City in the Qing Dynasty, Kaifeng City in the Ming Dynasty, Bianjing City in the Jin Dynasty, Tokyo City, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Bianzhou City in the Tang Dynasty, and Daliang City in the Wei Dynasty. The central axis has never changed.
This is all due to the flooding of the Yellow River throughout history. To some extent, the city of Kaifeng is also a history of dynasties. "The superposition of cities is actually the superposition of civilizations."
To open is the beginning of a prosperous and peaceful era, and to seal is the sealing of a splendid and prosperous era.
History chose Kaifeng during the canal era, but abandoned it due to the Yellow River floods during the railway era. But we will remember it, just as we remember the successive dynasties that took place here.
Tips:
Name: Daliangmen Ancient Horse Road Ruins Museum
Cost: 35 yuan
Address: No. 198 Ximen Street, Longting District, Kaifeng City (10 meters north of Daliangmenli)
Just like that, with thoughts of the past in my mind, I walked into Longting, where the Northern Song Dynasty imperial palace was located.
According to historical records, the imperial city of the Northern Song Dynasty had a circumference of five miles and was built with towers and pavilions. The buildings had carved beams and painted rafters, flying eaves, curved towers, red railings and colorful thresholds. It was spectacular and imposing.
Walking on the main road of Longting Park, you feel like you are on a pilgrimage, entering a space where reality and history intersect.
Standing in front of the model of the imperial city of Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty, I seemed to see the Tokyo Bianliang City of more than a thousand years ago, the crowds of people at the Zhou Bridge, the prosperous suburbs depicted in the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", Kaifeng Prefecture, the Iron Tower, the Longting where I was, the Forbidden City of the Song Dynasty, and I wondered if Zhao Kuangyin had walked past where I was standing.
The Northern Song Dynasty established its capital here, experiencing prosperity, then decline and ultimately collapse. Nine emperors, Taizong, Zhenzong, Renzong, Yingzong, Shenzong, Zhezong, Huizong, and Qinzong, ruled for 168 years. Familiar historical stories are all related here: the "Giving Up Military Power with a Cup of Wine," the "Civet Cat Substituted for the Crown Prince," Wang Anshi's Reforms, Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian," and the Jingkang Incident.
Climbing up to the Longting Hall (this should have been the Chuigong Hall in the Song Dynasty), you can see the beautiful scenery of Panyang Lake and Longting Park, and the elegant style of the ancient capital, which makes people feel deeply moved.
Tips:
Name: Longting Scenic Area
Cost: 35 yuan
Address: Beixihou Street, Longting District, Kaifeng City
After leaving Longting, I came to the Iron Tower. The Kaifeng Iron Tower was built in the first year of Huangyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1049). This glazed tower has a history of nearly a thousand years and is known as the "No. 1 Tower in the World".
After thousands of years of man-made disasters and floods, it still stands here, being the only remaining piece of Kaifeng's most glorious Northern Song Dynasty splendor on the ground.
The first year of Huangyou, when the tower was built, was the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen. He created the best 40 years in ancient China. Compared with entrepreneurial monarchs like Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi, he could only be regarded as a king who defended the city. However, during his reign, the people enjoyed bumper harvests all year round and the border was peaceful. The 42 years seemed like a dream.
I suddenly remembered a book I read a while ago: One night, Emperor Renzong of Song heard the lively sounds of stringed instruments and singing outside. He asked his official where the music was going on. The official replied that it was the noisy sounds of the restaurant outside. It was very lively outside, unlike the quiet and deserted palace. Emperor Renzong was quite open-minded, saying that it was because the palace was quiet that the people outside were so happy.
He had a good personality and was often advised by Bao Zheng and other censors on state affairs. When the arguments became heated, he was even spitted at. The brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe also advised him against it during the palace examination, but Song Renzong was very relieved. The familiar saying "Now I have the talents of two prime ministers" came from here.
42 years of preservation brought a peaceful and prosperous Northern Song Dynasty, a flourishing culture and a wealth of talented people. How precious it is.
Today, the tower stands here, as if telling me about those past events. I climbed the tower with great effort and then slowly walked down. My legs ached and I hesitated, but I continued forward. The helplessness of history is engraved in my bones and also passed through my aching legs. But this is my full tribute to history!
Tips:
Name: Kaifeng Iron Tower Park
Cost: 30 yuan
Address: No. 210, Dongbeimen Street, Shunhe Hui Autonomous District, Kaifeng City
I came to the last attraction I visited in Kaifeng - Qingming Shanghe Park, which is a cultural theme park based on the painter Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" for tourists to participate in the experience.
It showcases live productions of Song Dynasty products such as restaurants, teahouses, pawnshops, Bian embroidery, official porcelain, and New Year paintings, and gathers folk entertainment, acrobatics, and drum performances, showcasing the bustling street life of the thousand-year-old Bianjing city.
Walking in the streets of this cultural theme park, I imagine the blueprint of the past: the hundred-meter-long Bian River, half of the park covered with blue waves, boats gathered, busy water transport, foot houses everywhere, and booming business. It is truly a long painting that will be passed down through the ages, and the name of a great master will be left behind.
Walking across the Rainbow Bridge, the night is about to darken, and the lights on the bridge and in the shops become brighter like stars. The Qingming Shanghe Park is even more wonderful at night. The magnificent "Dream of Tokyo in the Song Dynasty" and the glittering lights weave into a soft and long dream.
A fusion of sound, light and electricity with the culture of the Song Dynasty, a dream back thousands of years, and an in-depth experience of cruising the Bian River of the Song Dynasty.
The two days in Kaifeng passed by like a flash, and a thousand years of light and shadow flashed before my eyes. I walked through the ruins of Zhuque Gate in the Northern Song Dynasty's Tokyo City, the ruins of Daliang Gate's carriage and horse road, the ruins of Zhouqiao, Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhongshan Road which was the Imperial Street at that time, Longting which was the Northern Song Dynasty's imperial palace at that time, the iron tower built in the first year of Huangyou, and the theme park built based on Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". Although it was just a coincidence, during these two days I felt the thoughts that history brought to me.
The beauty of the Northern Song Dynasty, the beauty of Kaifeng, is the calmness that follows the splendor. I am reminded of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. As an artist, he incorporated a simple and elegant temperament into calligraphy, painting, crafts, and gardens, guiding the aesthetics of China and even neighboring countries for thousands of years.
But, why is there always this "but"? The many flaws in his humanity also left this country with a painful history known as "The Shame of Jingkang, Still Unavenged." For many years, people have had mixed feelings about him, hating him for the country's demise, but unable to ignore his pinnacle of aesthetic attainments.
The sharp edge of the Slender Gold style and the broken blue clouds of the Ru kiln style guided Wang Ximeng in painting A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains. The green and blue gave the mountains majesty, and the light colors gave them a distant aura, which was both majestic and exquisite.
Zhang Zeduan, who lived during the same period, captured the flourishing Northern Song Dynasty. His painting, "Mountains and Rivers During the Qingming Festival," has inspired countless dreams of returning to the Song capital. So, someone so sensitive and meticulous, pursuing the ultimate in beauty, surely an artist, could be considered an emperor?
I recall Jiang Xun's evaluation of him: "Song Huizong had an extreme pursuit of beauty, but he also found beauty helpless and hopeless."
I don’t know if he felt the despair brought by reality while discovering the despair of beauty. People who fly into the fire like moths, or those who experience the dullness after the splendor, can all prove that, at least, there was once the ultimate beauty!
Tips:
Name: Qingming Riverside Park
Cost: 120 yuan
Address: No. 5, Longting West Road, Daxing Street, Longting District, Kaifeng City
In the evening, I left the Qingming Shanghe Park and headed for Kaifeng Railway Station. Like Song Huizong's ninth son, Song Gaozong Zhao Gou, I would cross the river from Kaifeng to Lin'an.
After the Jingkang Incident, the Jin army captured Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong, along with members of the imperial family and civil officials, marking the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Gou, unable to protect himself, crossed the Yellow River and eventually established his temporary residence in Lin'an (Hangzhou). He established a strong foothold south of the Yangtze River, established his imperial court, and founded the Southern Song Dynasty, extending the reign of the Zhao Song Dynasty.
Lin'an also developed into a more prosperous metropolis than Bianjing. This journey is not only a journey through time and space, but also a journey of humanities and history.
After a long tour in the Hangzhou Local Chronicles Museum, the pointer of history pointed to Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, this place had been given the title of the first state in the southeast, as if it was expected that it would be rich and prosperous in the future.
Later, Emperor Gaozong of Song moved south to Hangzhou, making it his temporary residence. Large numbers of northerners subsequently migrated south, bringing with them the lifestyle of Bianjing. This promoted the integration of northern and southern Chinese cultures, particularly the influence of Central Plains civilization on the south.
They were in Lin'an, but it felt as if they were back in Kaifeng, creating the illusion that "Hangzhou was just Bianzhou." Even those in the Southern Song Dynasty who had never been to Kaifeng could imagine the prosperity of Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty through the "Bian Capital legacy" in Lin'an.
As time went by and history changed, the original city became the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. An idealistic emperor gradually became mediocre. As the world is unpredictable, he chose to endure or retreat to a corner. Later, he ushered in a period of highly rich material culture.
But this luxury is only superficial. During the 320 years shared by the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, the prosperity of commerce was also a very important reason for the demise of the two Song dynasties. The superficial prosperity devoured national strength and eroded morale, causing the entire country to swell into a large, beautiful yet fragile bubble that would burst at the slightest touch.
Tips:
Name: Hangzhou Local Chronicles Museum
Fee: Reservation required
Address: No. 266 Wangjiang Road (Wang's Residence) and No. 6-3, Xueerhexia
The ruins of Lin'an City, the scorching sun shining on the stone tablet, reminded me of the ruins of Dongjing City in Kaifeng. The two ruins are thousands of miles apart, but they represent the rotation of a dynasty, and have been lost in the long river of time. In a trance, I saw a dancing butterfly on this stone tablet, blooming its gorgeous wings in the struggle, exposing its delicacy and fragility to the iron cavalry of the Yi people from the very beginning.
While you lament the half-ruined walls, you can't help but surrender to their perfection and beauty.
Tips:
Name: Lin'an City Ruins
Fee: Open area, no entrance fee
Address: Southeast of the intersection of Chayuanqian Lane and Taimiao Lane, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou
With awe for history, I entered the Southern Song Dynasty Ruins Exhibition Hall. Inside, a section of the archaeologically excavated "Imperial Street" of the Southern Song Dynasty is enclosed by thick transparent glass. Standing on it, looking down at the fragrant cake bricks paved below, I vaguely glimpsed the prosperity of more than 800 years ago. The street in this exhibition hall is also called Zhongshan South Road, the same name as Zhongshan Road in Kaifeng. It seems that later generations also use this name to commemorate the past.
Every sliver of land, every brick and stone tells a story, unfolding before your eyes. I can still see Zhouqiao's essential role in Lin'an, transformed into the central commercial district stretching from Chaotianmen to Zhong'an Bridge. Shops and department stores line both sides, and the night market is as bustling as the daytime. Thousands of citizens visit here daily for fun and relaxation. At this moment, I suddenly understood the meaning of Fan Chengda's poem: "Suppressing tears and losing my voice, I ask the messenger, when will the six armies truly arrive?" It reflects a yearning for homeland and a sense of helplessness about finding a way out after a period of comfort.
Tips:
Name: Southern Song Dynasty Ruins Exhibition Hall
Fee: Reservation required
Address: No. 199, Zhongshan South Road, Hangzhou
Walking along the Su Causeway, I was reminded of his contributions to Hangzhou. During his second visit to Hangzhou, at the age of 52, Su Shi encountered a severe drought. He immediately reported this to the imperial court, providing relief to the civilian population, building medical facilities, and arranging for doctors to treat the sick, ultimately saving many Hangzhou residents from the disaster. He also cleared the silt from West Lake and constructed a 30-mile-long causeway running north and south for pedestrian use. This is the Su Causeway I am walking along.
Poplars, willows and lotus flowers are planted on both sides of the long causeway and in the West Lake. From a distance, it looks like a painting, as if explaining to tourists from all over the country and even the world the West Lake in his mind that "light makeup or heavy makeup always suits them all".
Walking on Su Causeway, I saw that he left us two beautiful scenes of the Ten Scenic Spots of West Lake, "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon" and "Su Causeway Spring Dawn", which reminded me of the Eight Scenic Spots of Bianjing again. Their scenery was so similar.
Fantai Spring Dawn corresponds to Su Causeway Spring Dawn, Zhouqiao Autumn Moon corresponds to Pinghu Autumn Moon and Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Iron Tower Moving Clouds corresponds to Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds, and Xiangguo Frost Bell corresponds to Nanping Evening Bell.
Eight Scenic Spots of Bianjing: "Spring Dawn over the Prosperous Terrace, Moving Clouds over the Iron Tower, Rain over the Golden Pond, Autumn Moon over the Zhou Bridge, Sound of the Great River, Autumn Breeze over the Bian River, Misty Willows on the Sui Dynasty Embankment, and Frosty Bell of the Prime Minister"
The Ten Scenic Spots of West Lake are: "Su Causeway in Spring Dawn, Winding Courtyard with Lotus in the Wind, Calm Lake in Autumn Moon, Broken Bridge in Snow, Orioles Singing in Willow Waves, Fish Watching at Flower Harbor, Leifeng Pagoda in Sunset, Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds, Evening Bells at Nanping, and Three Pools Mirroring the Moon."
Tips:
Name: Su Dongpo Memorial Hall
Fee: Reservation required
Address: Nanshan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou
The Southern Song Dynasty Official Kiln Museum consists of two parts: the exhibition hall and the Jiaotanxia Official Kiln Ruins Protection Building. It combines physical exhibits such as artifacts, porcelain fragments, kiln tools, ruins, etc. with restored scenes to fully display the charm and characteristics of the Southern Song Dynasty official kiln.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court set up a special imperial porcelain kiln in Bian Jing. After the Song royal family moved south, they gathered famous masters and skilled craftsmen in Lin'an and re-established the Southern Song Dynasty Official Kiln (which is also the location of this Southern Song Dynasty Official Kiln Museum) in the lush hilly area southwest of the imperial city. This kiln was dedicated to producing high-end daily-use porcelain and artistic display porcelain for the emperor and the royal family.
The five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty were: Jun Kiln, Ru Kiln, Guan Kiln, Ding Kiln, and Ge Kiln. It can be said that the advent of the five famous kilns marked the true dawn of the porcelain era.
Emperor Huizong of Song had a dream in which the sky appeared azure, prompting him to order the offering of celadon porcelain. As the saying goes, "After the rain, the sky becomes azure, and when the clouds part, this color will be the future." Song porcelain reached an unsurpassed height in the 2,000-year history of Chinese civilization. From its core ideology, craftsmanship, to artistic form, it reached a pinnacle of perfection, leaving behind this most glorious era.
Tips:
Name: Southern Song Dynasty Official Kiln Museum
Fee: Reservation required
Address: No. 60, Nanfu Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou
On my last day in Hangzhou, I came to the Hangzhou Museum near the Southern Song Imperial Street. The distance between the General History of the Northern Song Dynasty and the General History of the Southern Song Dynasty in the museum was less than 50 meters, but I wandered in between for a long time. It only took me four days to get from Kaifeng to Hangzhou, but from Bianjing to Lin'an, from Dongjing Menghua to the Battle of Yashan, it seemed to take me back to the Song Dynasty, which had been established for 320 years. Behind the "poverty and weakness" was a brilliant and glorious era of prosperity.
"Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is a flourishing work, while "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" is magnificent. Su Shi and Xin Qiji are full of passion, while the two Yan brothers are elegant and graceful. The Three Bians are characterized by their commonness, while Yi An excels at plain drawing. Zeng Gong was a leading figure in the literary world. Song Dynasty learning, emulating the Warring States and Han dynasties, reached new heights of thought: Confucianism was revived, while the New School, Luo School, Shu School, and Neo-Confucianism competed for prominence. Economically, commerce flourished, employment became commonplace, paper money emerged, and trade flourished. Ordinary life was rich and varied, and the various aspects of the market were fascinating and captivating.
The Song Dynasty resembled a schizophrenic intellectual: on the one hand, it suffered continuous political and military setbacks, its governance failing to achieve success; on the other, it reached dazzling heights of economic and cultural brilliance. Founded by military men, it was preserved by scholars. It was also like an elusive beauty, whose delicate exterior concealed an indomitable, courageous, and resolute heart. Have you seen the humiliation of Jingkang, followed by the poem "Man Jiang Hong," and the defeat at Yashan, followed by the poem "Song of Righteousness."
As I peruse the history of the Song Dynasty, the stereotype of its impoverished and weak past gradually fades from my mind. This fascinating and complex history draws me deeper into on-the-ground exploration. The unwavering resolve of refusing to surrender under the iron hoofs of foreign invaders, the vibrant spirit of freedom and vitality revealed in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. The sky, once again reflecting the azure blue of the first clearing after rain in the emperor's dream, is Ru porcelain, the color of the Song Dynasty. Sunny days begin with rainy days. Though prosperity remains to be seen, the elegance and resilience of the Song Dynasty remain forever etched in the very bones of the Chinese nation.
Tips:
Name: Hangzhou Museum
Fee: Reservation required
Address: No. 18 Liangdaoshan, Hangzhou
