The Yellow River Temple

The Yellow River Temple, a spectacular new landmark 1 beside the Yellow River, China's mother river has made its debut 2 at the "Thanksgiving Mother River" event of the Third China Ningxia International Culture, Art and Tourism Fair. After 11 months of construction, the Temple provides an opportunity to showcase the history and dynamic cultural traditions of Ningxia in Northwest China.

Wei Tong has more.

 

Located 80 kilometers away from Yinchuan, the capital city of Ningxia, the Yellow River Temple stands on the Jinsha Bay, namely the Golden Sand Bay at the upper reaches of Qingtong Gorge 3. Covering an area of over 65,000 square meters, the complex comprises three main groups of constructions displaying ancient archways, temple halls and over 108 pieces of ingenuous 4 bronze wares 5.

Feng Qinduo, the Chief Designer of the Yellow River Temple, says the idea is to unmask the history and cultural aspects of the Yellow River.

"The design of the Temple complex was based on five concepts: the ancient culture of sacrifice, Chinese culture, bronze art traditions, the royal temple gardens and traditional cultures."

The Yellow River Temple Archway is a prominent landmark, rising 15.8 meters above ground and spanning 45 meters in width. It stands at the entrance of the complex.

In ancient times, archways such as this were generally made out of wood and stone. This represents the first attempt to construct archways by using bronze and the Yellow River Temple Archway is regarded as the largest of its kind in the country.

Three other archways engraved 6 with the cliff paintings of the ancient Western Xia Dynasty or adorned 7 with domes 8 typical of the Hui minority group, stand beside the Yellow River Temple Archway.

Feng Qinduo says these archways symbolize 9 the cultural spirits of Hui group, the ethnic 10 group where majority of the population are Muslims.

"The Temple is based in Ningxia, which is an autonomous 11 region of the Hui group, so Islamic symbols are used in the architecture. If the Temple was in Xinjiang, then I would use the cultural elements of the Uyghur."

As the main structure of the complex, the Yellow River Temple sits on a circular platform and carries a roof with four square corners.

The architectural style follows the ancient Chinese philosophy that views heaven as a circle while the earth is a square. The lower two levels of the circular platforms are made of marble stones, each decorated by intricately carved 12 animal zodiacs.

A giant Ding, which is an ancient Chinese container with three legs, is placed on the top level of the Temple, referring to the legend that Yu the Great had cast nine dings during his reign 12 which symbolized 13 the nine states of ancient China. Weighing 8.9 tonnes, the Ding named after the Yellow River is regarded as the biggest Ding in the Yellow River Basin.

Apart from the Temple and the Ding, another unique structure in the complex is the Pavilion Bestowed 14 by Heaven and Earth.

Feng Qinduo explains where this name comes from.

"It is called the Pavilion Bestowed by Heaven and Earth. The inscribed 15 board on the front door reads Bestowed by Heaven and that on the rear door reads Bestowed by Earth. As the old saying goes, the Yellow River flows from the heaven. If it had not been for the Yellow River, Ningxia would not have been named as the prosperous land of the

Rising 38 meters above ground and spanning 32 meters in diameter, the Pavilion is a wood and brick structure, resembling the style of the 'Hall of Prayers for Good Harvest' in Beijing and the 'Yellow Crane Tower' in Central China's Wuhan City.

The Pavilion has three levels with each level painted in different colors: blue, representing the sky; yellow, standing 16 for the Yellow River and green, symbolizing 17 the earth.

In Feng Qinduo's design, the Pavilion also reflects the idea of harmony.

"A seismograph and a globe are situated 18 on the sides of the Pavilion. What lies between the heaven and the earth are Yin and Yang, which bring harmony to the earth."

Standing at the top of the Yellow River Temple and looking beyond, the Yellow River and the Jinsha Bay stretch out to the far distance in the shape of a Tai Chi diagram.

The Yellow River, which flows through a vast area of Ningxia, brings some best agricultural lands to the region. Zhang Yi, an official from Ningxia thinks the Yellow River brings life to the region and therefore residents in Ningxia will show respects to their mother river.

For CRI, This is Wei Tong.