The Secrets Of JinMa BiJi Archways
JinMa(Golden Horse) BiJi(Jade Cock) Archways are two most famous archways in KunMing, YunNan. But no one knew where their name came from, and we might never know the secret of the miracle which had happened every 60 years.
If you ask the origin of JinMa BiJi Archways, People will tell you many stories in different editions.
Some people think the JinMa (Golden Horse) is the totem of the gold which is rich in Yunnan, and the BiJi (jade cock) is the symbol of jade; But others think that JinMa refers to the Golden Horse (Jinma) Mountain in East Kunming, and BiJi is the Jade Cock (Biji) Mountain in the West; Another legend said that the JinMa and the BiJi are the symbols of the sun and the moon…Yeah, I hear many kinds of stories. Because there was no letter to record the YunNan history, There was no certain answer.
The most mysterious thing about JinMa BiJi Archways was the miracle which had happened every 60 years.
On the day when Autumn Equinox (September 22, 23 or 24 of the Gregorian calendar) and the Mid-Autumn Festival (August 15 of the lunar calendar) of the year of JiaZi happened to be the same day (it happened only once every 60 years), when the sun has set and the moon is rising, the shadow of sunshine on JinMa becomes longer gradually and the shadow of moonlight on the BiJi becomes clearer. Then the shadows of JinMa and BiJi draw near bit by bit and finally become one shadow. That is the splendid scene of the overlapping shadow of JiMa and BiJi.
But JinMa Biji Archways were destroyed during The Cultural Revolution in China in 1960s. The present archways were rebuilt, But there was no record of original size to strictly follow. So the legend of Overlapping Shadow of JinMa and BiJi will never appear again.
JinMa BiJi Archways KunMing Travel Guide:
Address:
Jinmabiji Square,Jinbi RD,Kunming,Yunnan,China
How to get there:
From Airport to JinMa BiJi Archways:
Bus 52 or 67 to International Trade Centre (3 stops with 1 RMB), change to Bus 107 to Jin Ma Fang (5 stops with 1 RMB).
Taxi approx. 20 RMB
From Train Station and Long Distance Bus Station to JinMa BiJi Archways:
Bus 3 (opposite train station) to Jin Ma Fang (6 stops with 1RMB).
How to understand the cycle of traditional chinese calendar
Traditional Chinese calendar calculated the passage of years, months, days and hours by combining one Heavenly Stem (tian gan in Chinese. The 10 Heavenly Stems are jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, ji, geng, xin, ren and gui) and one Earthly Branch (di zhi in Chinese. The 12 Earthly Branches are zi, chou, yin, mao, chen, si, wu, wei, shen, you, xu and hai) to form 60 unique pairs in a complete cycle. In the lunar calendar in use today, only years and days are in such cyclic pairings.
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Tags: China Travel, Chinese Tradition, JinMa BiJi Archways, KunMing, Travel, Travel Guide, YunNanRelated posts
Actively following your travel blog is awesome ! You have brought us into many beautiful and wonderful places that doesn’t seem to appear in tourist maps/guides ! Excellent write up here !
This would make an excellent night scenery !
My places to visit list is ever increasing longer !
JH
http://www.photojournalist-tgh.tv
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Thank you dear JH. I am so lucky to meet friends like you here. We follow each other and learn from each other. I hope we have change to travel together in the future.
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Very beautiful Archways. I would love to see them in person one day.
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iWalk reply on October 28th, 2008 11:54 pm:
I always think maybe it was the pious religion made the ancient architectures of Thailand always looked so splendid and inviolable, But these archways in China were different, They contained more philosophic theory than religion.
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Been to Kunming on January this year. The Archways can be seen from my hotel room window… sadly I never got the chance to see them up close. I saw another archway in the CBD though. Very beautiful indeed.
Khiong
khiongcentric.blogspot.com
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iWalk reply on October 29th, 2008 12:12 am:
Oh, You choosed the hotel at the right place. You could find many many delicious foods at alleys around JinMa BiJi square.
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I am always surprised at the use of such bright colors, no matter how many times I see Chinese architecture. Similar to the temples, that use bright yellow, oranges & RED.
You just never see such ‘obvious’ structures in the western world. Everything is meant more to blend in and not to stick out.
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iWalk reply on October 29th, 2008 10:03 am:
I think that’s the different attitude to the nature. But you may know Daoism of China, It respects nature very much, and puts this opinion in all their architectures and projects, DuJiangYan is the most famous one.
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Great pics and history. How sad the shadows will never overlap again. Terrible when politics get in the way of culture.
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iWalk reply on October 29th, 2008 10:16 am:
The Cultural Revolution, terrible nightmare of China.
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Hi, first time commenting. What a fascinating place! It’s too bad we will never get to see the shadows of the two archways overlap. Otherwise, tourists from all over the world will flock there every 60 years!
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iWalk reply on October 30th, 2008 11:17 pm:
Thank you so much for the kindly comment, Foongpc.
Our high-tech still can’t solve the secret of our ancestor. What a pity!
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Wanna know what’s my expression after seeing those pics? WOW!!! What about after reader the post? Amazing! Great job. More!
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These archways are absolutely beautiful. I am a big fan of Chinese architecture. It’s great they were not destroyed forever.
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wat tha fuck…these suck
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