Yantai, 5 May (ZXS) -- Xunfang Penglai Pavilion: The window of Chinese immortal culture

China News Agency reporter Yang Bing Wang Jiaoni

"I have been a fan of Hong Kong operas since I was a child, and more than 30 years ago, when the theme song of the Hong Kong TV series "Eight Immortals Across the Sea" sounded, my family had long been crowded in front of the TV, and the images of Lu Dongbin and Tie Zhu Li are still unforgettable." Guangdong tourist Fang Yuan traveled for his first trip after retirement, choosing Penglai, which has been long-awaited and famous at home and abroad.

In the 20s of the 80th century, the TV series "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" was mainly filmed in Penglai, Shandong, creating a precedent for Hong Kong dramas to be filmed in the mainland, causing a sensation after broadcasting, and becoming the collective memory of a generation. The story of the series is derived from Penglai Island, using a large number of stunts to create a vivid image of the "Eight Immortals".

The picture shows the Penglai Pavilion complex. (Photo provided by the Publicity Department of Yantai Penglai District Party Committee)

Penglai is both an ideal place and a place name. According to historical records, during the Warring States period, people imagined that there were immortal islands on the human sea, one of which was Penglai. Penglai as a place name began in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi of Han traveled here, visited the sacred mountain but did not come across, so he built a small city and named it "Penglai".

With its special geographical location, the local area has gradually developed into an important entry and exit port of the Shandong Peninsula and become a starting point of the ancient maritime Silk Road. Envoys from the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago landed at the port of Dengju (around present-day Penglai) on several occasions.

Danya Mountain, where Penglai Pavilion is located, is named because of the reddish-brown color of the rocks and the towering cliffs. In the sixth year of the Jiayou Dynasty of the Northern Song Dynasty (1061), Dengzhou Zhizhou Zhu met with the extreme peak of Danya Mountain with high sea and wide scenery, so he built Penglai Pavilion here.

In terms of architectural scale, the main pavilion of Penglai Pavilion is one of the smaller of the four famous buildings in ancient China. After several generations of repairs such as the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the Penglai Pavilion complex has today's scale.

As of last year, the local area has completed the painting of the main pavilion of Penglai Pavilion and other individual buildings, as well as the reinforcement of the rock mass of Danya Mountain, the repair of the slope protection wall on the south bank of Xiaohai, and the upgrading of the security and fire protection system, so that the cultural relics resources can be used permanently.

The picture shows the "Eight Immortals" performance of Penglai Pavilion. (Photo courtesy of Yantai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism)

Walking into the renovated main pavilion of Penglai Pavilion, the panes are bright and bright, and the carved beams and paintings come to life. The image of the "Eight Immortals" sitting, standing, lying down, leaning and drinking happily jumps in front of you.

Eight Immortal Streamers, Eight Immortals Silk Scarf, Penglai Pavilion Ice Cream... The novel and exquisite IP cultural and creative products in the scenic area are favored. Tim, a Russian student studying abroad, told reporters that the ancient buildings of Penglai Pavilion have a strong Chinese flavor, and the cultural and creative products here are good gifts, allowing family and friends to understand China's "immortal" culture.

"The eastern sea of clouds is empty, and the immortals are haunted in the sky. In the "Su Gong Temple" in the scenic area of Penglai Pavilion, Su Shi fans from home and abroad rushed to recite the words inscribed on the "Sea Market Poem".

Su Shi served as Dengzhou Zhizhou for a short time, during which he accidentally saw a rare mirage and left a famous story for thousands of years. He also had an in-depth understanding of the people's situation and presented to the imperial court the "Beggar Dengzhou Salt Form" and "Dengzhou Summoned Back the Water Army Certificate".

In the "Water Army Certificate", Su Shi requested that "the imperial court carefully consider it, surrender the command, and in the future, the four commanders of Dengzhou Pinghai Chenghai and Chenghai must not be sent to garrison elsewhere" to ensure the tranquility of the Dengzhou area.

More than 400 years later, Qi Jiguang, a native of Dengzhou, completed Su Shi's idea of coastal defense. Qi Jiguang spent more than ten years in Shandong, carrying out a series of coastal defense construction centered on Penglai Water City, making Dengzhou the strongest defense area on the eastern coastal defense line at that time.

On February 2, tourists visited the Qi Jiguang Memorial Hall in the Penglai Pavilion Scenic Area. Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Jiaoni

Today, the Penglai Pavilion Scenic Area has rearranged the original Wadu Sifu as the Qi Jiguang Memorial Hall. The museum has developed multimedia visual shows such as parade to coastal defense, Xiewei Xianyou, and Tangquan Dayue, which vividly interpret history with modern sound and optoelectronic technology, and take visitors through the ancient battlefield where drums and horns are sounding.

The local area also collected local famous dishes related to the Qi family army's resistance to the Yan and supporting the army from all over the country, and developed the "Qi family banquet". Among them, "Dengzhou Mingzhicai" has Qi Jiguang's poem written "Sealing the marquis is not my will, but I hope Hai Boping". It is precisely because of the strong coastal defense that the Penglai Pavilion standing on the cliff has been protected and circulated since the Ming Dynasty.

Walking in the scenic area of Penglai Pavilion, tourists can also experience the surprise brought by the interpretation of small scenes. The actor dressed as the "Eight Immortals" walked towards him, showing his treasure weapon; "Su Shi", who was carrying a book child, took out a pen and ink and invited tourists to wave poems.

The staff of Penglai Pavilion Scenic Area told reporters that this year, the scenic spot will open Houhai, develop projects such as water tours, realize going up the mountain, going to the sea, climbing the pavilion, and entering the market, and greet tourists at home and abroad with a closer attitude. (End)