3．風(fēng)吹浪打淘古跡

3．風(fēng)吹浪打淘古跡

開封建城已經(jīng)有2000多年的歷史，市內(nèi)文物古跡眾多，例如鐵塔、相國寺、繁塔、禹王臺、龍亭等，雖然都基本保持了歷史原來的風(fēng)貌，但大都是后來重建的。

開封城多次被黃河水淹沒，原來的皇宮王府和開封府衙所在地已經(jīng)淪為湖泊。但為什么舊開封城只有這兩處變成了湖泊呢？這是因?yàn)檫@兩個地方圍墻比較堅固，當(dāng)發(fā)生水災(zāi)時黃河水沖入開封城內(nèi)，大多數(shù)的建筑都被大水沖毀，黃河水?dāng)y帶著的泥沙就把開封城的街道和房屋掩埋了。只有皇宮和開封府衙因?yàn)閲鷫怨?，洪水一時無法將圍墻沖倒，等到后來水勢漸漸平緩之后，泥沙便在城墻外淤積下來，皇宮和府衙內(nèi)因?yàn)闆]有過多的泥沙淤積，地勢就變得相對比較低。隨著一次次的黃河水患，這里就變成了湖泊。在皇宮附近的湖被叫做楊家湖和潘家湖，在開封府衙附近的被叫做包公湖。

龍亭　北宋的都城汴京位于今開封城的西北部，當(dāng)時極為繁盛，皇家宮殿十分宏偉。后來，經(jīng)過多次戰(zhàn)亂、水患，宏偉的宮室已經(jīng)不復(fù)存在，現(xiàn)在，皇宮遺址上只留下了這座清代所建的龍亭。龍亭坐北朝南，高踞在臺基之上。臺階中間是雕有云龍圖案的石階，石階上有隱約可見的馬蹄印，相傳是宋朝開國皇帝趙匡胤騎馬登上龍亭時留下的。登上平臺，四周有石欄圍繞。大殿是木結(jié)構(gòu)，重檐歇山式建筑。頂部全部覆以黃色琉璃瓦，頗具皇族威儀，十分壯觀。游人登上平臺，可以在石欄前眺望遙遙對應(yīng)的鐵塔以及整個開封古城的景色。龍亭前有一條筆直的大道，道旁有東西兩湖，東邊的是潘家湖，西邊的楊家湖。傳說，東湖為宋朝太師潘仁美的府第，他是陷害忠良的奸臣，所以潘家湖里的水是渾的；西湖為宋朝名將楊業(yè)的府第，他是舍身救國的忠臣，楊家湖里的水是清的。但這個說法并沒有科學(xué)根據(jù)，只是反映了人們對忠奸的態(tài)度。

龍亭公園主要建筑有午門、玉帶橋、朝門、照壁、朝房、龍亭、北宋皇宮宸拱門遺址、碑亭、北門及東門等，還有大型宋代蠟像館，人物形象生動，栩栩如生。

鐵塔　鐵塔位于開封市東北角，建于北宋時期，原來是一座木塔，13層，因?yàn)榻ㄔ陂_寶寺內(nèi)，所以又叫做開寶寺塔。后來，這座木塔被雷電擊毀，北宋統(tǒng)治者在1049年重新建造時，用褐色的琉璃磚瓦砌成塔身，從遠(yuǎn)處看就像是用鐵鑄成的，所以就叫做鐵塔。鐵塔平面是八角形狀，塔座和座下的八棱方池在清朝時被大水淤埋在了地下。塔外壁上鑲嵌的琉璃磚雕刻有50多種圖案花紋，做工十分細(xì)膩，所刻的事物栩栩如生，是宋代雕刻藝術(shù)的精品。另外，這座塔有良好的防震體系，在經(jīng)歷了無數(shù)的地震、水災(zāi)之后，屹然矗立。相傳，最初建造的鐵塔是向西北傾斜15°的，因?yàn)樗纬慕ㄖ焸兛紤]到開封是泥沙土質(zhì)，地勢會在若干年后發(fā)生改變。如今的鐵塔的確已經(jīng)開始向東南方向傾斜了。

相國寺　相國寺在開封歷史上是一座很有名的寺院，也是中國著名的寺院之一。這座寺院最初是魏國信陵君的私人住宅，南北朝時期，北齊在這里建造寺廟，名字叫做建國寺，后來這座寺被戰(zhàn)火摧毀。唐朝年間重新修建，開始時仍叫建國寺，后來才改為“大相國寺”，習(xí)慣上稱作相國寺。相國寺內(nèi)的建筑高大宏偉，壁畫、塑像等都精美絕倫，十分精致?，F(xiàn)在大相國寺的主要建筑有天王殿、大雄寶殿、八角琉璃殿、藏經(jīng)樓等，在八角殿里有一座千手千眼觀音像，高7米，是用一棵巨大的白果樹木雕刻而成，雕工精細(xì)，是佛教文化藝術(shù)和雕刻藝術(shù)的精品。寺內(nèi)還有鐘樓、鼓樓等建筑，鐘樓中還保存著一口清代所鑄的大鐘，高約4米，重1萬多斤。游客們來到相國寺不僅可以參觀其建筑遺跡，還可以祈求平安和幸福。

繁塔　繁塔位于開封外城的東南部，又叫做興慈塔，因?yàn)榻ㄔ诜迸_上所以俗稱繁塔。它建于北宋初年，高9層。這座塔在明朝初年被摧毀，只剩下了3層。后來人們在修整的平頂上加建了6層的小塔，造型非常獨(dú)特。繁塔為平面六角形的磚塔，其中頂部小塔的高度在7米左右，從遠(yuǎn)處看上去就像一棵粗大的樹枝上又嫁接了一個新的嫩芽。塔檐下面是仿木結(jié)構(gòu)的的雕刻斗拱。在它的外壁上鑲嵌著各種形態(tài)的幾十種佛像雕磚，具有宋代磚雕藝術(shù)特色。

延慶觀　延慶觀是中國著名的道觀之一，它最初的名字叫做重陽觀，是為紀(jì)念中國道教全真派創(chuàng)始人王重陽而建造的。重陽觀在金代末期已經(jīng)十分破敗，明朝初年恢復(fù)重建，并更名為延慶觀，這一名稱也一直沿用至今。后來開封多次被黃河水淹沒，延慶觀的大部分建筑被淹沒毀壞，現(xiàn)存的僅剩下玉皇閣。玉皇閣用青磚砌成，底座呈四方形，分為3層，是漢族和蒙古族文化交融的結(jié)晶，結(jié)構(gòu)精巧獨(dú)特。閣內(nèi)沒有樓梯可以攀登，里面放有一尊白玉雕刻的玉皇大帝坐像。

另外，開封的小吃也頗具特色，如小籠灌湯包子、桶子雞、黃燜魚、花生糕等等，其中的小籠灌湯包子，是由北宋時期有名的“山洞梅花包子”演變而來，至今已有近千年的歷史，以小巧玲瓏、皮薄餡多、灌湯流油、鮮香利口而馳名。種種美食吸引著大量的中外游客駐足流連。

3. Historical Relics

With a history of more than two thousand years, Kaifeng is sure to boast numerous historical relics. However, having gone through so many wars and natural disasters, most of them are rebuilt ones based on the original.

Kaifeng was flooded by the Yellow River several times in history and the places where the Imperial Palace and the Kaifeng local government used to be have changed into lakes long before. How does that come? When the overflowing Yellow River made its way to the city, it washed away all the buildings except the firm city walls of the Imperial Palace and the walls surrounding the government office. Later when the floods abated, mud and sand silted up along the wall, making the inside of the Imperial Palace and the local government much lower than the outside. Thus by and by, those palaces changed into the Yangjia Lake and the Panjia Lake where the Imperial Palace used to stand as well as the Bao Gong Lake around where the feudal local government used to be.

Dragon Pavilion

Northwest of today's Kaifeng there used to stand the capital city of the Northern Song dynasty-Bianjing. Magnificent as the imperial palaces were; wars and floods reduced all of them to ground, only leaving the Dragon Pavilion to tell the stories of past times. Standing high on a platform and facing south, the pavilion was built in the Qing dynasty. A set of stone stair carved with clouds and dragon leads to the top. On the stair, there are horse hoofprints which are said to be left when the first emperor of the Song dynasty Zhao Kuangyin climbed onto the pavilion on a horse. The pavilion is of a wood structure and has a double nine-ridged roof decorated by golden glazed tiles which reflect the impressive and dignified manners of the royal family. Standing on the platform of the pavilion, tourists could overlook the Iron Tower that stands just opposite and the whole old Kaifeng city. In front of the Dragon Pavilion, there lies a straight road, on the two sides of which are the Yangjia Lake and the Panjia Lake respectively. Legend goes that since the Panjia Lake is where the mansion of the wicked official Pan Renmei used to be, the water of the lake is muddy; while the water of Yangjia Lake is always clean for it is where the mansion of the loyal Yang family was.

Iron Pagoda

Situated at the northeast corner of Kaifeng, the Iron Pogoda was originally a thirteen-storied wooden tower built in Northern Song. It was also called Kaibao Temple Pagoda for it was built in the Kaibao Temple. Later, the pagoda was struck down by lightening. In 1049 the ruler of Northern Song ordered to rebuild it and cover its body with brown glazed tiles. Thus the pagoda got its present name "Iron Pagoda" for it seemed to be built with iron when looked at from a distance. The pagoda takes on an octagonal shape. It used to have a seat and an eight-edged pond under the seat, but they were buried under the ground by floods in the Qing dynasty. The brown glazed tiles that cover the body of the pagoda are carved with more than fifty types of designs. So lifelike are the carvings that they may well be called art treasures. Since the pagoda was built to be shockproof, it survived a number of earthquakes and floods. It is said the pagoda was built with a 15 degree of sloping to the northwest for the architects believed the terrain of Kaifeng was sure to change years later for there were mainly mud and sand under the land of Kaifeng. Their judgment proves to be correct. Nowadays, the pagoda indeed begins to slope towards southeast.

Xiangguo Temple

A temple of historical significance in Kaifeng and a temple of fame in China, Xiangguo Temple was originally the private mansion of Prince Xinling in the Warring States period. In the Northern Qi dynasty, a temple named as Jianguo Temple was built where the mansion was but was burned down in the flames of wars. In the Tang dynasty, a new temple was built in this place. Originally named after the one in Northern Qi, the temple was renamed the Grand Xiangguo Temple, or Xiangguo Temple. Inside the temple there are exquisite murals and statues as well as tall and grand halls including the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Sakyamuni, the Octagonal Glazed Hall and the Hall of Sutra. Inside the Octagonal Glazed Hall, there stands a seven-meter high statue of the 1000-Armed-and-1000-Eyed Avalokiteshvara. Carved out of a huge ginkgo tree, the fine statue is a treasure of the Buddhist art and sculpture. In the temple, there is also a drum tower and a bell tower. In the bell tower there hangs a bell which was founded in the Qing dynasty and is four meters high and more than 5,000 kilograms heavy. For visitors, Xiangguo temple is not only a place where they can see for themselves the historical relics but also a place where they can pray for safety and happiness.

Po Ta

To the southeast of Kaifeng, there stands Xingci Pagoda. Since it is constructed on a terrace called Po, it is widely known as Po Ta ("Ta' in Chinese means pagoda). First built in the early Northern Song dynasty, the pagoda had nine stories but only three were left by the end of the Ming dynasty. Later, another six-storied mini-pagoda was added to its top, making the pagoda a very unique one. Seven meters high, the newly added mini-pagoda resembles a new sprout transplanted to a bulky trunk. Under the eaves, there is carved corbel bracket. The outside of the pagoda is inlaid with bricks carved with Buddhas of different images.

Yanqing Taoist Temple

One of the renowned Taoist temples in China, Yanqing Taoist Temple was originally named Chongyang Taoist Temple in honor of Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen sect of Taoism in China. So dilapidated was it that the ruler of early Ming dynasty reconstructed it and gave it its current name. Most of the buildings in the temple were destroyed in the many floods that ravaged Kaifeng, leaving the Hall of Jade Emperor standing there alone. Built with grey bricks and on a square pedestal, the three-storied stairless hall is of a delicate and unique structure, reflecting both the Han culture and the Mongolian culture. Inside the hall, there sits a white jade statue of Jade Emperor.

In addition to those historical relics, the peculiar local food is also of great appeal to both Chinese and foreign visitors. Among the famous are the steamed meat-stuffed bun, tongzi chicken, stewed grass carp and peanut cake.