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The Precious Stone Hill, or Baoshi Shan in
Chinese pronunciation, and the adjacent Ge Hill are bold enough to
present their rhyolite and tuff, kinds of the eruptive rocks. These
rocks reflect sunshine in a uniquely splendid way. Hence the name.
The dizzying cliffs are steep while the ridges are quite flat. The
hills are picturesque with the merging tints of rocks and trees. During
dawns and early evenings, the sun, while blurred, enlarged and reddened
by the atmosphere, often paints the rocks rosy, the vapor and mist
rises out of the woody slopes and rocks, and the undulating hills
and the pagoda are enveloped within the ethereal colors. The Precious
Stone Hill is one of the ten major tourist attractions of the West
Lake, named in 1985.
The Baochu Pagoda stands on the top of the hill, looking like a slim
beauty. The hill is full of ancient legends and historical relics.
One of the most famed sites probably is the mooring stone. The First
Emperor of the Qin Dynasty anchored his royal ship by the stone over
2000 years ago when he traveled to Hangzhou, a small town on the sea,
for the purpose of looking into the East China Sea for fairy islands.
Tourists come to experience the moment of history and sigh for all
the years condensed into the irretrievable past.
Embraced by wooded slopes of the Ge Hill is the Baopu Temple in the
middle of the valley. It is the only Taoist sanctuary in Hangzhou
open to the public. A flagstone-paved path passes the Taoist temple
and leads up to the top of the Ge Hill where the Chuyang Pavilion
stands. The pavilion, where the first sunshine can been seen touching
the hill in the morning, is the very place where, according to legends,
an alchemist by the name of Ge Hong explored his ways for elixir.
Looking afar from the top of the Baoshi Hill or from the First Sunshine
Pavilion, you can see the Qiantang River in the distant east, and
look down at the picturesque West Lake. When it is fine in the early
morning, sightseers can watch the sunrise out of the horizon, radiating
out its thousands and thousands of rays, dying the sky rosy and pinkish.
The sunrise makes the green lake and surrounding hills look magnificent
and splendid in a different appearance. |
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