Signature Events: Lantern
Festival:
Goddess Wangmu’s Peach Orchard
The goddess Wangmu, the queen of the heaven, hosts an annual peach festival on her birthday and invites all the gods of heaven. Each god is given one peach from the goddess Wangmu’s peach orchard. In the orchard, there are three thousand and six hundred peach trees. The peaches in the first 1200 trees mature every 3000 years and if eaten, will bring god-like (supernatural) powers. The peaches in the middle 1200 trees mature every 6000 years and if eaten, will bring mortal eternal life. The peaches in the last 1200 trees mature every 9000 years and if eaten, will bring immortality. The Monkey King on one occasion stole the peaches, which started a war between The Monkey King and all the gods of heaven.
Monkey King
The Monkey King was “born” in 578 BC during Zhou Dynasty but was in fact created by a famous writer Chengen Wu during The Ming Dynasty in the 16th century. The stories of the exploits of The Monkey King have been favorites among children for thousands of years. The fantastic abilities of The Monkey King are attractive to the creative minds of children. For instance, he can change into 72 appearances and can see through magical disguises or enchantments with his fire flashing eyes. His crown is made of phoenix feathers and rose gold.
Yellow Crane Tower
The Yellow Crane Tower was originally built in 223 AD during the Three Kingdoms Period and was totally destroyed at 1884 during The Qing Dynasty. Its reconstruction was completed in 1985 with both modern and classical architectural motifs. It is one of the three most famous towers in Southern China. Its beauty and surrounding scenery inspired thousands of famous poets whose masterpieces are displayed there.
Nine Dragons Wall
Nine Dragons Wall is a privacy screen that appears only in the emperor’s palace. The design and decoration represent the power and royalty of the kings partly by using the number nine and five. Nine is the highest number (digit) in Chinese culture and five is the median. In Confucian philosophy, the emperor has the highest power and is the only one allowed to use this wall.
