Jiangsu Province 江 苏 省 简 介 - Zhenjiang 镇江市 - Jinshan or Golden Hill 金山

The 60-meter-high Golden Hill, with its famous monastery, was an island in the center of the Yangtze River until it merged with the riverbank in the middle of 19th century. Tourists used to take a ferry from the Western Ferry Crossing, and then rode mules to the top. Jinshan Monastery was first built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) over 1,600 years ago. In its heyday, 3,000 Buddhist monks looked after the monastery. Tourists may be shown the most interesting of the several sights and relics on Jinshan. Jinshan Pagoda was first built over 1,400 years ago and rebuilt many times. Fa Hai lived here when he came to the monastery. Legend relates that when the monk discovered a pot of gold, he gave it to the local officials. The emperor ordered that the gold be returned to Fa Hai, to rebuild the monastery, hence the name of Golden Hill Monastery.

Jinshan was originally an islet in the Yangtze River. Through centuries of silting the riverbed rose higher and higher until the island became a peninsula, part of the land. At the summit of Jinshan stands the elegant Tower of Benevolence and Longevity. It is octagonally shaped with seven tiers and from the uppermost tier tourists will find themselves above the tree line, and, unfurling below them, a marvelous view of Zhenjiang and the Yangtze River. On the hillside is a temple more than 1,500 years old. In its prime, it was the home of 3,000 monks. The architecture is quite unique. Built according to the contour of the slope, the halls, towers and pavilions seem to be a natural part of the hill.

The romantic folk-tale of the White Snake is connected to Fa Hai. The story tells of a 1,000-year old white snake, Bai Suzhen, Who, longing for a life among mortals, changed herself into a beautiful maiden. She married a young herbalist, Xu Xian, whom she first met on the famous Broken Bridge on the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. The happy couple set up business dispensing medicines, but Suzhen’s magical cures aroused the anger of the powerful Buddhist monk, Fa Hai. His machinations put the couple through many trials and tribulations, including imprisonment of Xu Xian, before he was eventually defeated. At one point Xu Xian escaped through the White Dragon Cave on Jinshan, for though narrow it is said to lead to Hangzhou, where the herbalist and Bai Suzhen wew reunited.

In reality, the hill was the site of a famous battle, which occurred during the 13th century. Han Shizhong韩世忠 (1089-1151), a national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), led an army against an invading northern tribe, named Wushu兀术. While the battle raged, Han Shizhong’s wife, Liang Hongyu梁红玉 , a female general in the Southern Song Dynasty, stood on Jinshan and beat drums to boost the morale of the fighting soldiers. Eventually, the Wushu army soldiers were repulsed, Han Shizhong and his army emerged victorious. Liang Hongyu is honoured in Chinese history as a heroine and in the Temple of Jinshan there is a platform, which was regarded as the place, where she stood and beat the drums of victory.

Welcome to China2Go, the talking Chinese phrase book for Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Palm OS. Featuring crystal clear voice recorded by a real person, this product is a great travel companion and an ideal tool to learn Chinese! With our cutting edge voice compression technology, this product includes more than 1000 phrases, their Chinese translation, and the voice in only a few megabytes. Supports all Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. H&H China2Go Talking Phrase Book for Windows Mobile