珠江夜游Evening Boat Ride on th

[About the Pearl River] Welcome aboard for an evening cruise on the Pearl River! The Pearl River is the third longest inland river in China. The name, Pear River, is a general designation of the Xijiang, the Beijing and the Dongjiang rivers. Its mainstream ,the 2214-kilometer –long Xijiang River, rises in the mountain in the eastern part of Yunnan Province, flows through Guizhuo and Guangxi province, joins the Beijiang River in Guangzhou Province and empties into the South China Sea. The river is so named because there used to be a huge reef in the river through the city of Guangzhou and, after being washed by the water for thousands of years, this reef became very round and smooth and looked just like a pearl glittering under the sunshine. [The Haiyin Bridge the Ersha Island] The bridge in front is the Haiyin Bridge. Built in 1988, it spans 2214 meters across the river. The wire slings stretching over it look just like strings of a harp and the tops of the towers resemble the heads of goats, implying the City of Goat, which is another name of Guangzhou On the left of our ship is an islet called Ersha Island .It has always been a sport training base of the state since the founding of New China and China’s first world champion of table tennis men’ singles, Mr. Rong Guotuan, and the world’s gold medalist of weightlifting ,Mr. Chen Jingkai, were all trained here. In recent years, many other structures have been erected in the islet, such as the Xinghai Concert Hall, the Guangdong Institute of Fine Arts, the Guangdong Overseas Chinese Museum and several hundred luxury residential houses. [The Zhujiang New City & the Sun Yet-sen University] On the north bank of the river here is the Zhujiang New City, which is a new city quarter within the jurisdiction and Tianhe District .Twenty years ago, the place was a stretch of farmland and remains of an airport built by the Japanese invaders in the early years of the 1940s. But now it has become a new financial, cultural and recreational center of the city, with all kind of modern conveniences and facilities, such as gymnasium, shopping centers, office building and subways. On the south bank of the river is the Haizhu District, in which the well-known Sun Yat-sen University is located. The university, established in 1924, was formerly called National Guangdong University and was renamed Sun Yat-sen University in 1926 in honor of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen was born in Xiangshan County of Guangdong Province. He successfully started the 1911 revolution to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, thus putting an end to the feudal monarchy that had been practiced in China for several thousand years, and he became the first president of the Republic of China. [The Jiangwan Bridge the Marshal’s Office Mansion] Coming up to us is another bridge called Jiangwan Bridge, which was built in 1998, at the south end of the bridge, there is a historic building .It was first built in 1895 as an office building of the Guangzhou Cement Factory. In 1912, when the fruit of the 1911 Revolution was usurped by the Northern Warlord, Sun Yat-sen was forced to resign from the post of president .He came back to Guangzhou in 1917 to establish the South Military Government and was elected generalissimo of the military government .The generalissimo’s office was set up in this building and now it has been converted into a museum. [The Tianzi Pier] On the right of our ship is a pier called Tianzi Pier. It is the oldest pier along the river section in the city of Guangzhou .It was first built during the Qing Dynasty specially for use by government officials and is the very place where, in 1838, the Qing Dynasty imperial envoy, Lin Zexu, landed from ship when he arrived in Guangzhou to ban the narcotic opium brought into China by the British merchants. About 100 meters to the north of the pier is the well-known Beijing Road Shopping Street. [The Haizhu Bridge the Haizhu Square] The bridge coming up to us is the Haizhu Bridge, 356 meters long .It is the first bridge spanning the river in the city and was a bascule bridge when it was first built in 1933 by the Japanese invaders in 1938, In 1949, the bridge was bombed and damaged again by the Kuomintang troops before they fled the mainland across the Straits to exile in Taiwan and was restored in 1950. In 1975, it was widened by 7.8 meters on either side. On the north end of the Haizhu Bridge is a garden-like square called Haizhu Square. At the liberation of Guangzhou .To the north of the square is the Guangzhou Hotel and, to its east, the Huaxia Hotel. [The Famous Building along the Bund] From here we can see two more bridge ahead of us. The one nearer to us, the Jiefang Bridge, was built in the 1990s last century and the one in the distance is the Renmin Bridge built in the 1960s. The Changdi Road on the north bank of the river between the two bridge and its surrounding area have always been one of the busiest districts in Guangzhou since the early part of last century and many of the modern buildings here date back to that period of time. They are hotels, restaurants, theaters, cinemas, department stores, hospital and church. The building on the right is the Aiqun Hotel It was built in 1937 by Overseas Chinese and was then the highest building in South China and the most luxury hotel in Guangzhou before the 1970s. About 100 meters upstream from the Aiqun Hotel is another big building called Nanfang Mansion. Before the 1989s, it was one of the 10 largest department stores in the county. Coming up to us the right is a Western-style building with a clock on the top. I t is the former Guangdong company ,with the main building materials imported from the United States .As we know, Guangzhou has always been an important foreign trade port of China. In the 80 years form 1757 through 1842, it was the only commercial port that was opened to foreign countries. This Customs house is a witness of Guangzhou’s history as a flouring trading port in that period of time. The small building by the river, called Taying Lou, is also a historic building; it is the former residence of Mr. Chen Shaobai, who was Sun Yat-sen’s close comrade-in arms. In the 1920s last century, Sun Yat-sen had stayed here for some time. A short way upstream from the Taying Lou building is a monument serving to remind people of a bloody event. In June 1925, the workers in Hong Kong,under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,staged a general strike in order to support the workers in Shanghai in their struggle against the imperialists. Over a hundred thousand workers of Guangzhou in a protest demonstration held on June 23rd When the parading procession was passing the Shaji Road opposite to Shamian Island, which was the British and French concessions, the British and French armed policemen opened fire at the parades,causing a casualty of over 50 killed and more than 170 wounded. This incident is known as the Shaji Massacre. [The Shamian Island] Our ship has sailed past the Renmin Bridge. Coming up to us on the right is the well-known Shamian Island. In the mid-19th century, it was the concessions of imperialist big powers, such as Great Britain, the United States and France ,and nineteen countries had successively set up their consulates here .Now about 150 old building in European style still remain as important historical relics protected by state. The high building by the river is the White Swan Hotel, built in 1938 .It was designed ,constructed and managed solely by the Chinese and is the first 5-star hotel in China. Much state had stayed in this hotel, such as the former presidents of the United States, Mr. Nixon and Bush the elder and expired minister of Great Britain, Mrs. Thatcher. [The White Swan Pool] Now our ship is sailing on the widest river course within the city, which is commonly known to the local people as the White Swan Pool. Tradition says that over 500years ago during the Ming Dynasty ,a Cantonese Opera actor, by the name of Huang Xiaoyang, led the farmer rebels to attack the Ming troops in Guangzhou ,But ,because of the great disparity in strength, the farmer rebels were defeated by the government troops and Huang was wounded and pursued to the river bank here ,where he could find no way to escape. The situation was desperate when suddenly two white swans came to his rescue and carried him to fly into the distance. Since then this section of the r iver has been called the White Swan Pool. The “Moonlit Scene on the White Swan Pool” was selected as one of the Eight Sights of the Goat City. In the stillness of the nights when the bright moon was shining in the clear sky, the rippling water glittered in the moonlight, the lamplights on fishing boats and the singing often rang out in the added radiance to each other and melodious music and singing often rang out in the distance. What a peaceful and flourishing night scene on the placid White Swan Pool!