Tianshui
A Brief Survey
Tianshui is situated in the southeast of Gansu province.
It has an area of 14,070 square kilometers with an average
altitude of 1,500 meters and a total area populaion of about
2,700,000, mostly of the Han ethnic group. Its major agri-
cultural crops are wheat, corn, potatoes and linseed. Tian-
shui abounds in natural and mineral resources. There are
wild animals of many species, some of which are rare, such
as..takins (a goatlike animal more common in Tibet) and
macaques. Metal and mineral resources include:gold, cop-
per, molybdenum lead, zinc,tungsten, manganese, chromi-
um, hematite, magnet, limonite, dolomite, limestone,
marble, granite, mica, asbestos, malachite and others.
Scenic Spots
Maiji Mountain Grottoes
Maiji Mountain is located 50 km from Tianshui just to
the south of Maiji Village. It is a single,distinct peak of the
Xiaolong Mountains of the Western Qinling Range. Since it
looks like a huge wheat straw pile from afar,it is called Mai-
ji Shan(Wheat Straw Pile Mountain). The construction of
grottoes and temples here began in the Qin Dynasty(around
384 AD) and took their persent shape through the Northern
Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dy-
nasties, Song, Yuan,Ming and Qing dynasties. There are
194 grottoes, more than 7,200 statues, and 1,300 square
meters of murals.
Maiji Mountain Grottoes were dug in rows 20 to 30 me-
ters and 70 to 80 meters above the foot of the mountain and
give it the appearance of a huge honeycomb. An earthquake
which occurred in 734 AD resulted in the collapse of the
cliffside and the grottoes were subsequently divided into sec-
tions :Eastern and Western with 54 and 140 grottoes respec-
tively.
As the stone of Maiji Mountain is unfit for fine carving,
most statues here are clay sculptures, but they are quite
exquisite. The sculptures are mainly of Buddha and his dis-
ciples, bodhisattvas, celestial kings and vajras of all differ-
ent sizes, but true to life in appearance. They reflect the de-
velopment and evolution of clay sculpture art in China. Mai-
ji Shan is honored as the "Oriental Sculpture Treasure
House".
Like the earliest sculptures of the Mogao Grottoes at
Dunhuang, at Maiji Shan, those in the 30 caves of the
Northern Wei,Western Wei and Northern Zhou are grave in
expression and stiff in their costumes ,obviously bearing the
influence of the Indian style. By the time of the Song Dy-
nasty, this had changed greatly. The facial expressions are
lively and the dress is soft and natural. In the later periods,
there were incessant renovations and improvements on the
basis of the current vogue-and the sculptures are vivid and
the expressions full of the interest of worldly life.
Immortal's Cliffs
The Immortal's Cliffs are located to the southeast of
Tianshui and were established as a religious site as early as
the late period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. There are
three cliffs -- -- East, West, and South; six temples -- --
Flower Lotus, Iron Lotus, Water Lotus, Wood Lotus,
Stone Lotus, and Miraculous Lotus; and five Lotus moun-
tains which are actually the five peaks of the cliffs. There
are 27 mansions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 197 stat-
ues of the Northern Wei, Song ,Ming and Qing Dynasties,
and five copper statues of Buddha from the Yongle Period.
According to legend, the cliffs are haunted by immor-
tals and that is why local people call them "Immortal's
Cliffs". While this story cannot be true, the mountains,
rivers, trees, and grasses, the Buddhist temples and the
Taoist mansions really give the impression of an enchanted
land.
Stone Gate Mountains
The Stone Gate Mountains are situated 80 kilometers
south of Tianshui. They are regarded as one of the three ma-
jor sights of the Maiji Mountain scenic complex. Mansions
and pavilions are scattered here and there according to the
natural relief. Wild plants are over a hundred varieties,and
many are rare gardening treasures.
Stone Gate Mountains are renowned for their
grotesqueness and beauty. This idea is captured in the local
saying :" One building ,two caves, three grotesquenesses,
four firs, five animals, six treasures, seven flowers, and
eight scenes. ' 'tOne building nrefers to the bell tower on the
north peak in which is preserved a huge iron bell cast in
1688 AD during the Qing Dynasty. "Two caves" refers to
those between the cliffs of Unicorn Peak~ One is named
Pangu Cave in which Nuwa is worshipped~ the other is
called Healing Master Cave which is said to be the place
where Song Simiao, the Master of Healing, once resided.
The grotesqueness of the peaks, trees,and rocks is a good
match for the guotesque scenes in the Huangshan Mountains
in Anhui Province. The "Four Precious Firs" are dragon
spruce, metasequoia, fir, and larch. The five animals are
the paradise flycatcher, the muntjac (a small deer), the
musk deer, the plain deer and the rabbit. The six treasures
are zushima, akebi, xiecao, cold fungus, pine nuts and
prickly ash. The seven flowers are jade flower, yulan, aza-
lea, lilac, yuexiu, false spiarea, and eglantine chrysanthe-
mum. The eight scenes are :Stone Gate under the Moon,
White Deer's Mark on the Gate, Pine Waves along Quiet
Lanes, Peering into the Clouds, Sleeping Tiger on the Vul-
ture Ridge, Winding Dragon on the Peak, Hanging Pangu
Cave, and Watching Clouds from Heaven's Gate.
Yuquan (Jade Spring) Palace
Located at the foot of Zhongliang Mountain in the
north of the city, Yuquan Palace takes its name from a
spring located there. The palace was erected in 1299 and the
present buildings were reconstructed in the Ming and Qing
Dynasties. Yuquan Palace stands close to the city wall and
the pavilions and stone insrriptions are dotted high and low
on the mountain sides. Deep, quiet lanes wind through ver-
dant woods. The water in Jade Spring is pure and sweet and
beneficial to the health.
Nanguo (South City)Temple
Nanguo Temple is also called South Mountain Temple.
It is on the south bank of the Ji River which flows past the
city. Inside the temple yard, are dense pines and cypresses,
clear spring water and fresh flowers everywhere. Two spec-
tacular scenes are most attractive~ one is the very old cy-
press, the other a spring sheltered by a hexagonal pavilion.
The old tree branches from the bottom as if it were split by
outer forces and another tree comes up in between. Legend
has it that during the Zhenguan Period (627--649 AD) of
the Tang Dynasty, Qin Qiong and Jin De, two generals of
the time, visited the temple together and tied their horses to
this tree. The horses fought with each other and split the
tree trunk. The spring is even more amazing because its wa-
ter level drops abruptly during heavy rains and rises when
droughts come.
Fuxi Temple
Fuxi Temple is located in the western area of Tianshui~
it was constructed in 1490 and reconstructed in 1524. It is
said that the Fuxi and Shennong tribes inhabited Tianshui in
ancient times and this temple is built in their memory. The
temple complex has an area of 2,000,000 sq m. The main
building is the Taiji Palace located on a platform and which
stands 46.7 m high, The palace roof is of glazed tile with
peonies, dragons, animals, and other ornaments on the
ridge. The door is decorated with golden mugwort veins and
the windows bear carved pictures of two dragons playing
with a pearl. The roof is supported by eight golden pillars
with hetu (mysterious diagrams)near the top. The coffered
ceiling is divided into 64 equal squares in which the 64 div-
inatory symbols in the Book of Changes are depicted. There
is a colored sculpture of Fuxi, the legendary forefather of
the Chinese people. Behind this palace is Xiantian Palace in
honor of Shennong. The yard, full of life, is shaded by old
pines and cypresses.
H uagua (drawing Diagrams) Platform
The platform is 50 kilometers from the North Road
Section of Tianshui on Guatai Mountain in Weinan~ it faces
Dragon Horse Cave across the Wei River. At the east foot
of the platform in the middle of the river,there are several
beaches forming the Taiji diagram. Between the beaches and
the river is a huge rock which is also like the drawing of the
Taiji Diagram. Legend holds that in order to create the
characters, Fuxi observed the heaven and the earth and ,
one day, when pondering over the problem from the plat-
form ,he saw a dragon horse suddenly fly out of the cave be-
yond the river and each of them was reflected on the rock in
the middle of the river. He had a sudden inspiraton and
drew eight pictographic characters representing heaven,
lake, fire, thunder, wine, water, mountain, and earth.
This is said to be the origin of the Eight Diagrams of divina-
tion and the earliest characters of the Chinese language.
Narrative of Tianshui History
The name of Tianshui, "Water from Heaven" ,was giv-
en long ago. Legend holds that one day more than 2,000
years ago there was a thunderstorm in the south of present
Tianshui. The earth quaked and the ground cracked open.
Water from the heavenly river poured in and formed a lake.
Whether there was drought or flood, the water level of the
lake never rose or fell. The water was pure and sweet.
People believed the lake was linked to the celestial river and
called it Tianshui -- -- Water from Heaven. Later when Em-
peror Wu Di of the Han Dynasty established a prefecture be-
side the lake, he gave it the same name. The lake is no
longer there, but springs in Tianshui are many and the
spring water is very pure and sweet.
Tianshui has had a long history. It was the first impor-
tant town in Gansu on the Silk Road. It was home to many
historic persons and has many significant historical sites.
According to historical records, Fuxi, the ancestor of the
Chinese peoPle,was horn in the present Tianshui. He creat-
ed the eight diagrams heralding the foundation of Chinese
civilization, set rules /or marriage and established the Chi-
nese calendar. He created the qin and se----multi--stringed
musical instruments, and created written land deeds. Fuxi
Temple in Tianshui was erected in memory of this great per-
son.
Li Guang, another native of Tianshui, was a general in
the Western Han Dynasty. He was brave and skillful in bat-
tle. During his life, he [ought nearly a hundred battles with
the Xiongnu (Huns) and was praised as a marvelous general
of the Hah by his enemies who never dared to invade the
Han borders as long as he was alive. General Li Guang's
tomb is on Wenfeng Mountain two kilometers from Tian-
shui.
Another general, Ji Xin, also born in Tianshui, saved
the life of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, in a
battle with the Kingdom of Chu by disguising himself as Liu
so that Liu Bang could escape.
Many ancient sites of the Three Kingdoms Period are
also found in Tianshui, for example: Jieting , where General
Ma Su was defeated and executed by Prime Minister Zhuge
Liang; Zhuge Platform which was piled up with soil brought
there by his soldiers from their home places.
Many sites from the famous Chinese novel,"Journey to
the West" are saicl to be in Tianshui~ Yunzhan Cave haunted
by Zhu Bajie and Gaolao Village where he stayed are located
to the west of Tianshui. Wanzi Mountain, Tongtian River
Tianshui silk blankets are made of finely spun, bright'
silk and have colorful and meaningful designs. There are
nearly 200 pattern designs sold throughout the world.
Huaniu Apples
Hauniu apples are raised at Huaniu Village in the North
Road Section of Tianshui. They are big, red, juicy, sweet
and nutritious. They are also suitable for preservation and
are liked by both Chinese and foreigners.
Softwood Carvings
Softwood carvings are pictures in a wide range of topics
which are exquisitely carved on oriental oak bark.
Yangtao (Actinidia chinensis)
This is a delicious, nutritious fruit which contains many
vitamins and amino acids and is beneficial in the prevention
and treatment of hypertension,hyperlipemia and cancer.
Walnuts
Tianshui walnuts are of top quality with thin shells and
rich, plump kernels and are shipped to world markets.
Local Snacks
Guagua
Guagua is made of buckwheat flour and other special
ingredients. With a pleasing color and taste,it is one of the
most famous snacks'in Gansu.
Lard Cake
This cake is made of wheat flour, lard, scallion stalks,
linseed oil and salt. It is soft, crisp and tasty.