(南岳衡山)

Mt.Hengshan(南岳衡山)

Ladies and Gentlemen，dear friends，

Good morning.Welcome to Mt.Hengshan，lying in the central south of Hunan Province; Mt.Hengshan is one of the five sacred mountains of China.It has been placed on the Official List of the First Key Chinese Scenic Areas and has also been designated a First 4A Chinese Sightseeing Destination.Finally，it is the only place in Hunan to be ranked among China's Pilot Civilized Scenic Areas-the only representative from Hunan in this regard.Picturesque in scenery，Mt.Hengshan abounds with cultural sites and tops the other four sacred mountains in scenic beauty，thereby earning itself a title of Chinese Mountain of Longevity.

Mt.Hengshan leads the rest of sacred mountains in fame.Its outstanding qualities are attributable to its enchanting scenes，varied species，and imposing appearance.

Billed as the leader of the five sacred mountains，Mt.Hengshan boasts charming and beautiful natural scenery.While exploring Mt.Hengshan，you will see wooded hills，vying with one another for beauty，hovering clouds and bubbling streams.No wonder it is popularly said of this mountain that“At every turn，a tourist comes in view of a different picture，experiencing a kaleidoscope of sights”.Mt.Hengshan has more beautiful views than the eye can take in.The most famous is the“Four Grand Sights of Mt.Hengshan”，consisting of the Hall of Scriptures，known for its beauty，the Fangguang Temple，known for its depth，Zhurong Peak，known for its height，and Water Beads Cavern，known for its quaintness.

Mt.Hengshan has a subtropical monsoon climate with high humidity.With a long frost-free season，a short freezing season and heavy precipitation，it has cool summers and cold winters.Usually foggy and windy，it features periodic changes in temperature.A green landscape of wooded hills is attributable to its ideal natural condition.Four-fifths of Mt.Hengshan is covered with forests and some 1，700 tree species can be found growing on its slopes.The mountain covers an area of 20，000 hectares 3，800 hectares of which are secondary virgin forests.It is a heavenly sanctuary for rare wild animals such as golden pheasants，bamboo partridges，and flat-breast turtles with big heads and pangolins.

Towering over the surrounding plains，Mt.Hengshan soars into the air straight from the South Hunan Basin，thereby forming a number of spectacular sights.Its scenery features four seas: a sea of flowers in spring，clouds in summer，sunrise in autumn and snow in winter.The clouds over Mt.Hengshan are especially worth mentioning.Like Mt.Huangshan's pines，the clouds over Mt.Hengshan have been viewed and talked about with great relish since ancient times.The mountain's enchanting clouds have the following characteristics.Firstly，they vary in shape from season to season: during spring the clouds are like quilts; during summer they resemble feathers，during the autumn they resemble waterfalls，and during the winter they are as dark as ink.Secondly，the gathering clouds sometimes spring up or hang low like mushrooms after the rain，taking on a peculiar look.Thirdly，the wind mixes with the scudding clouds，rising from mountains in early morning or at dusk，blowing through the pine forests over tourists' faces.A deep rumbling sound of pine trees sounds frightening in the distance.Coming nearer，it gets fainter and fainter，removing tourists' fears.No wonder ancient Chinese eulogized them，saying“a sea of clouds reverberates in our hearts”.

Mt.Hengshan not only has beautiful scenic sights but also abounds with cultural sites.It is the treasure house of Chinese culture，renowned as the“Civilized Museum of Great Learning”.Throughout all Chinese dynasties，emperor，princes，and celebrities paid their tributes to themountain; men of letters，poets，scholars paid their visits to it，leaving behind them steles，temples，and poems at Mt.Hengshan; they made great contributions to turning it into the priceless treasure house of Chinese culture and making it a famed mountain of Hunan culture.

In line with famous saying，“Monks take up their abode in most of famed mountains”，Mt.Hengshan is not only a mountain of scenic beauty，but also a sacred religious mountain.Unlike other famous religious mountains，it embraces both Buddhism and Taoism which exist side-by-side and complement each other here.

The Ancient Town of Nanyue

A little further from the Archway of Mount Hengshan and we arrive at the ancient town of Nanyue.No one knows for sure when the town came into existence.We do know that it was a boom town as early as the Tang Dynasty.The millennia-old flagstone road you are traveling on is well trodden，looking polished and glossy.Leather shoes clank on it as if a robed monk beats his wooden block chanting scriptures，striking a deep chord in pilgrims' hearts.

The streets in the town are all paved with stone slabs.They are lined with two-storied protruding houses of equal size.Whitewashed and glazed in red，the houses have upturned eaves，roofs carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes.The houses are kept as they were，lending a primitive simplicity to the town.A joss stick bought in a store or a cup of tea sipped in a roadhouse can provide tourists with either a new experience，such as imbibing a bit of profound Buddhism，or give them an aftertaste of traditional Chinese culture.More interestingly，there is an endless arcade on either side of a street.Therefore，you may roam along street without carrying an umbrella in rainy days.

Though small in size，Nanyue ancient town is self-sufficient with restaurants，hotels，incense and general stores，temples and studies smelling of ink.It is worth mentioning the restaurants here，offering local specialties such delicious wild mushrooms，the unique tasting Mt.Hengshan bean curd，and nutritious mountain bamboo shoots.The local specialties are mouth watering in taste.To make your trip here perfect，you should have a taste of the special dishes in Mt.Hengshan，which are as famous as Xi'an bread filled with lamb，Tianjin fried dough sticks，and Chongqing chafing dishes.

Walking past the flagstone streets of long duration，living quarters with a long history，and soul-purifying temples and incense altars，aren't you enlightened? After a visit here，don't you have a special feeling for Nanyue? Much more thought for life? Therein lies the beauty of this ancient town.

The Grand Temple of Nanyue

Beyond the North Street，the landscape opens up to a wide vista.In sight is a magnificent ancient building complex.Standing before us is the largest ancient palace complex in Southern China.The Grand Temple is an ancient building complex of pagan，Buddhist，and Taoist temples and residential palaces.It is the largest religious building complex in Southern China and the country's five sacred mountains.The present temple complex，which is nine sections deep，has four courtyards，eight Buddhist temples，and eight Taoist temples.It covers an area of 98，500 square meters，and is 375 meters deep，139 meters wide in the outer section，and 174 meters wide in the inner section.It is partitioned off in the Confucian style of architecture: eight Taoist temples on the eastern side and eight Buddhist temples on the western side.This is the only temple in the world，embracing Confucianism，Taoism and Buddhism in one place ofworship.

The Temple to Martyrs

Located at the foot of the Fragrant Incense Peak，the Nanyue Temple to Martyrs is billed as one of the earliest and largest historical sites in China commemorating the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.It is the only big mausoleum left behind on the mainland by the Guomindang Nationalist Government honoring revolutionary fighters during this conflict.Planning for the mausoleum's construction began in 1938 and it was completed in 1943.Modeled on Dr.Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum in Nanjing，it was built on a hillside，facing north with a symmetrical layout.It has five component parts: the archway，the monument，the memorial hall，the stone tablet of tributes and the tomb site.Some of commanders and soldiers of the Ninth and sixth Theaters of Operation are buried here.The site is now placed on the official list of Chinese National Heritage Sites.

The Temple to Martyrs' front gate is a marble archway of three arches and a single tier of eaves.A horizontal beam hangs over the archway，inscribed with the title，“The Nanyue Temple to Martyrs”.These glistening words were handwritten by Xue Yue，the then governor of Hunan Provincial Government of the Nationalist Party and commander in chief of the Ninth Theater of Operations.

Upon entering the archway，you find yourselves in a flat open square.Some of the tourists may ask out of curiosity why Mt.Hengshan was chosen for burying martyrs out of such a big country as China.We need to give some background information concerning the burial site.Soon after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out，northern China，eastern China and southern China mostly fell into enemy's hands.As a result，the central government of the Nation-alist Party moved to Chongqing and Mt.Hengshan became one of the fighting fronts against the Japanese imperialist forces.In November，1938，Jiang Kaishek，called a top-level military conference in Mt.Hengshan.Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying attended the conference as representatives of the Chinese Communist Party.After hearing the war reports given by military commanders of various theaters of operations，Jiang Kai shek，realizing so many officers and soldiers had died and were unburied in battlefields，ordered their immediate burial.After a discussion，it was agreed at the conference that the Temple to Martyrs and the Cemetery of Martyrs should be built in Nanyue.The central government contributed the largest sum of money for this project，with other funds coming from the Ninth and Sixth Theaters of Operations and contributions made by people from all walks of life.The remains of dead officers and soldiers，therefore，were buried and their bodies were laid to rest here.That is how the Temple to martyrs originated.

At the center of the square stands an odd looking statue.It is the Monument of Lugou Bridge Incident of July 7，1937.It is composed of five upside-down stone shells(four big shells and one small one).They stand for the five Chinese nationalities: the Hans，the Mans，the Mongolians，the Huis and the Tibetans.Inscribed on three sides of the marble statue(front，left and right)，were two bold words‘July 7'，symbolic of Lugou Bridge Incident which brought in united resistance against Japanese aggression.The shells in an upside-down position，pointing to the blue sky and the sun，symbolize Chinese resistance against Japanese aggression.

After a visit to the Monument in Commemoration of Lugou Bridge Incident，you are taken to the Memorial Hall，the third section of the Temple to Martyrs.The present horizontal board was inscribed with bold words handwr-itten by Qu Wu，exchairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Nationalist Party.In the center of the memorial hall stands a marble stele，6 meters high，inscribed with“the History of the Memorial Hall in the Nanyue Temple to Martyrs”，written by General Xue Yue，giving an account of the historical background and construction of the hall.Exhibition displays are on each side of the hall devoted to photographs，paintings，and historical literature regarding Nanyue and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

The back door of the hall leads to two rows of stone steps upward on the moun-tainside.Its 276 steps represent the 276 officers and soldiers who died in the War Resisting Japanese Aggression.A patch of wooded land between two rows of steps was set aside for displaying touching words，“Eternal Glory to National Martyrs”，“Nation，the Rights of People，the Livelihood of People”.There are nine flights of steps.

Walking up the steps，we arrive at the tomb site，the last but certainly not the least important building in the Temple to the Martyrs.Over the front door hangs a big horizontal board inscribed with bold words，“Temple to Martyrs”，handwritten by Jiang Kaishek.Please have a close examination of the words on the board.Have you found anything special about the words?

Walking out of the tomb site，you come in view of mounds on either side of the tomb site.This is a cemetery for the martyrs who died in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.Covering an area of over 13 hectares，the cemetery has seven group tombs burying the dead of the 60^th division of 37^th Army and 19^th division of 70^th Army，as well as ten personal tombs burying generals such as Hu Heyun and Zheng Zuomin.The tombs lie hidden from sight under pine and cypress trees，some stately，others standing tall and erect，still others arranged in lines and the rest looking up into the sky.Veiled in respectful silence for the dead，the cemetery looks solemn and grave.

The Zhurong Peak

The Zhurong Peak is the highest peak of the seventy two peaks in Mt.Hengshan，1，290 meters above sea level.The lofty Zhurong Peak is in marked contrast to the low-lying South Hunan Basin and seems to reach into the clouds.The peak commands a bird's eye view of South Hunan.The Zhurong Temple stands atop the Zhurong peak.Built on a giant rock，the temple is broken down into two component sections.The temple is roofed with tinplated tiles，each 0.6 meter long，0.3 meter wide and 15 kilograms in weight.Dozens of the tiles were cast in the Song Dynasty Imperial Foundry.The tiles are not rusty and look shiny after a thousand years of use.You may ask out of curiosity why were tinplated tiles used for roofing? The building architecture shows great originality and distinctive features of its own.Look around and you find only a few low trees growing sparsely at the peak.Category 4 and 5 storms blowing over the peak all year round are to blame for this.If the temple had not been roofed with tin-plated tiles，its roof would have been blown away by these typhoon force winds.

Walking out of a small stone door on the right side of the temple，one finds a stone terrace with such inscriptions as“A Skyline View of the World”and“Beating Anyone in Height”.This is the Moon viewing Terrace，the highest point in Mt.Hengshan.Looking over railings at the hanging moon，one may feel like standing high above clouds，getting closer to the moon，having entered the heavenly gate，being instantly relaxed and happy.

各位女士、各位先生，各位朋友，你们好!欢迎大家来到南岳衡山做客!衡山位于湖南省中南部，是我国著名的五岳之一，首批国家重点风景名胜区、首批国家4A级旅游区和湖南省唯一的“全国文明风景旅游区示范点”。衡山风光秀美，人文荟萃，素有“五岳独秀”、“中华寿岳”之称。

南岳衡山之所以能够在全国众多名山中脱颖而出，首先应归功于它那旖旎多姿的风光、丰富多样的物种和瑰丽无比的气象。

南岳号称“五岳独秀”，以“秀”为主要景观特色。这里群峦叠翠，万木争荣，云雾缭绕，溪泉叮咚，真是“五里不同景，十里两重天”呀!衡山的风景美不胜收、数不胜数，其中最著名的当属“衡山四绝”:藏经殿之秀，方广寺之深，祝融峰之高和水帘洞之奇。

衡山属中亚热带季风性湿润气候，无霜期长，冰冻期短，具有夏凉冬寒、雨量充沛、雾多风大、气温垂直变化明显等特点。良好的自然条件造就了衡山无山不树、无处不绿的特色景观。南岳衡山共拥有600多科、1700多种树木，风景林面积达2万公顷，原始次生林面积达3 800公顷，森林覆盖率高达80%以上，与之相伴的还有珍稀的野生动物锦鸡、竹鸡、大头平胸龟、穿山甲等，可以称得上是一座天然的生物资源宝库。

衡山自湘南盆地中拔地而起，突兀耸立，与周边地区形成了鲜明的反差，也促成了许多美妙奇特的气候景观。衡山风景有“四海”之称，即花海、林海、云海和雪海。春观花、夏看云、秋望日、冬赏雪是观赏衡山四季风光特色所在。在这其中，衡山的云尤其值得一提。“衡山云、黄山松”，自古就为人们所津津乐道。衡山的云一奇在四时变幻，春云同被，夏云如羽，秋云像瀑，冬云似墨;二奇在云啸，有时雨后，衡山的云聚集起来，拔地而起，在半空中扩展成蘑菇状，十分罕见;三奇在响云，清晨或傍晚山风吹过松林，挟着层层云块向游人扑来，其中隐隐带有松涛之声，令人胆战心惊，但一到身边便化作无数轻纱，飘然散去，使人顿觉心中郁闷一扫而光，难怪古人曾长叹“云海荡吾心胸”呀!

衡山之秀，外秀于林，内秀于文。南岳是中华文化的宝库，以“文明奥区”享誉天下。历朝历代的帝王天子、达官贵人来此祭拜的历史记载屡见不鲜，而文人骚客、鸿儒巨学的来访更是不计其数。他们立碑建祠、访古探幽、吟诗作赋，给衡山留下了宝贵的物质和精神财富，也使衡山成为湖湘文化名山。

常言道:“天下名山僧占多。”衡山不仅是风景名山，也是宗教圣山。但衡山与其他宗教名山相比，其独特之处是山上佛道并存，互彰互显，同尊共荣。

南岳古镇

经过南岳衡山牌坊，向前一拐，便踏入了南岳古镇。古镇的具体形成年代已不可考，但至少在唐代时，这里就已经形成了非常兴旺的香市。大家请看脚下这条青石路面，历经千年岁月，已经被磨得光可鉴人，鞋跟踩在上面发出清脆的响声，宛若禅钟木鱼，敲击着每一位香客的魂魄!

南岳古镇的街道都是用麻石板铺成的，两侧是高矮一致的两层挑楼，清一色朱瓦白墙、高高挑起的飞檐和雕龙画凤的屋脊，全部保持着旧时的风貌，处处体现出南岳古镇的古朴之美。在这里的摊铺里买一炷香，在茶楼上品一盏茶，都会感觉受益匪浅。古镇的街道还有一奇，那就是两侧房屋下都有一条长廊，连成一线。这样即使是在下雨天，不用打伞就可以悠然地漫步长街。

古镇虽小，但饭馆、客栈、香肆、商店、佛堂，甚至是墨香犹存的书屋应有尽有。尤其是这里的饭馆，供应的都是本地特色菜肴，像鲜嫩美味的野生蘑菇、口感独特的衡山豆腐和营养丰富的山中竹笋，无不令人垂涎三尺。到了衡山不尝尝当地的风味菜肴，就像去了西安不吃羊肉泡馍、去了天津不吃狗不理包子、去了重庆不吃麻辣火锅一样，总是有些美中不足!

走过了写满沧桑的青石板路，走过了印满历史的古栈民居，走过了荡涤心灵的佛堂香肆，大家的心中是否也点亮了一盏明灯呢?大家是否对南岳又产生了一种异样的情愫呢?大家是否对人生又多了一份思考呢?这就是古镇真正的美之所在!

南岳大庙

穿过北街，前面豁然开朗，一座巍峨宏大的古建筑群展现在我们面前，这就是我国南方最大的宫殿式古建筑群--南岳大庙。

南岳大庙是一组集民间祠庙、佛教寺院、道教宫观和皇宫殿宇于一体的古建筑群，也是我国南方及五岳之中规模最大的庙宇。大庙现存建筑共有九进、四院、八寺和八观，前后纵深375米，左右横宽前半段139米，后半段174米，总计占地98500平方米。它的中轴线上为儒家建筑风格，东边为八个道观，西边为八个佛寺，像这样儒、道、佛三教共存一庙，在全国乃至全世界都是绝无仅有的。

忠烈祠

南岳忠烈祠坐落在香炉峰下，是我国建筑时间最早、规模最大的抗日战争纪念地之一，也是国民政府在大陆唯一一处保留下来的纪念抗战烈士的大型陵园。忠烈祠筹建于1938年，1943年落成。陵园仿南京中山陵样式建造，坐南朝北，依山而筑，左右对称，层次分明。它沿中轴线共分为牌坊、纪念碑、纪念堂、致敬碑和享堂五部分。在这里，长眠着国民党第九战区和第六战区的部分抗日阵亡战士，是国家重点文物保护单位。

朋友们，眼前的这座三拱桥单檐牌坊就是忠烈祠的正门。它是由花岗岩石砌成的，正上方的汉白玉石匾上镶嵌着原国民党湖南省政府主席兼第九战区司令长官薛岳题写的“南岳忠烈祠”五个镏金大字。

步入牌坊，便来到一个平坦而又开阔的广场上。有的朋友也许会觉得奇怪:中国如此之大，为什么要选择在南岳衡山修建忠烈祠呢?要说明这个问题，就不得不谈一谈当时的时代背景了。抗日战争爆发后，华北、华东和华南大部分地区相继沦陷，国民党政府迁都重庆，衡山成了抗日前线大本营之一。1938年11月，蒋介石在衡山主持召开了高级军事会议，中共代表周恩来、叶剑英等也参加了这次会议。在会上，蒋介石听取了各战区指挥官的汇报后，鉴于“阵亡将士，多暴尸战场”，指示要尽快将烈士遗体设法掩埋。经过讨论，会议决定由中央下拨巨款，第九战区、第六战区和湖南省政府出资并接受社会各界捐款，在南岳名山修建忠烈祠和烈士公墓，安葬阵亡将士的遗骸，以告慰烈士在天英灵。这便是修建忠烈祠的由来。

来到广场的中心，大家肯定会被这个造型奇特的雕塑所吸引，这便是“七·七纪念塔”。它是由五颗倒立的石制炮弹组成，炮弹四大一小，代表着我国的五大民族--汉、满、蒙、回、藏。雕塑的正面和左右两侧，都嵌有汉白玉砌的“七七”两个字，象征着从1937年7月7日卢沟桥事变爆发后，中国人民同仇敌忾，共御外侮，掀起的全民抗日的民族怒潮。这些炮弹倒立在地上、直指蓝天、直指太阳，寓意着“抗日”。

参观了“七·七纪念塔”，便来到了忠烈祠的第三进建筑--纪念堂。匾额是前民革中央副主席屈武题写的。纪念堂的正中竖着一块高达6米的汉白玉石碑，上面刻有薛岳将军撰写的《南岳忠烈祠纪念堂碑记》，记述了建祠的历史背景和经过。堂的两侧现在开辟为展览室，陈列着关于南岳与抗战的一些图片文字资料。

从纪念堂的后门走出，大家可以看到两排石阶依山势而上。石阶共有276级，代表着抗战时期牺牲的276位将官。两排石阶的中间为精心设计的绿地，其中用大理石片镶嵌着“民族忠烈千古”和“民族、民权、民生”的大字。

拾级而上，就来到了忠烈祠最后也是最主要的建筑--享堂。在享堂正门上方悬挂着镏金巨匾“忠烈祠”，是蒋介石的手迹。

从享堂出来，大家请看两侧的山坡，这是抗日英烈的公墓区。整个墓区占地约13公顷，共有37军60师、70军19师等集体墓葬7座，胡鹤云、郑作民等将军个人墓葬10座。这些公墓，都掩映在苍松翠柏之间，有的华表相望，墓阙凌空;有的碑碣成行，塔尖插云。其气象肃穆，隐现英烈忠魂，令人景仰，让人钦佩!

祝融峰

祝融峰是衡山七十二峰的最高峰，海拔1290米。由于它独立于地势相对低洼的湘南盆地之中，更显得峻极天穹，因此登高一望，湘南风景尽收眼底。祝融峰顶建有祝融殿。殿宇完全修建在一座绝顶巨石之上，分为两进，在殿顶上盖有二尺长、一尺宽，重达30多斤的加锡铁瓦。在这些铁瓦中，有数十块由宋朝报国寺铸造，至今历经千年而不锈，光洁如新。有的朋友可能觉得奇怪，为什么这里要用铁瓦呢?其实这里也体现了建筑师的匠心独具。大家看一下祝融峰顶的四周，树木稀少而且低矮，这是由于这里终年不断的四五级大风造成的。要保持殿顶不被飓风掀起，非铁瓦不足以胜任。

从祝融殿右侧小石门走出，外面还有一个石台，上刻“乾坤胜览”和“唯我最高”。这是望月台，也是南岳衡山真正的最高点。站在这里凭栏望月，会觉得云低月近，如登天门一般，令登临者心旷神怡，魂游物外!