As those who are living in Kunming all know, Kunming is a city with a long history, as far back as 30,000 years ago. There were people lived in Kunming as early as in the Paleolithic Age. With the Paleolithic humans lived. With the progress of history and the change of times, foreigners who are learning Mandarin Chinese in Kunming city can see many cultural relics and historic sites as well as cultural landscapes are left behind, during which the Golden Horse and Jade Phoenix Archway is one of the most famous.
The Golden Horse and Jade Phoenix Archway was originally constructed in Xuande period of Ming Dynasty, has been nearly 400 years history. Since it has a long history and obvious national features, it is regarded as the symbol of Kunming. The uniqueness of the Golden Horse and Jade Phoenix Archway is that a certain special spectacle appears in a particular time.
In specific, there is one day that the sun will fall without falling. As a result, the golden afterglow radiating the Golden Horse and Jade Phoenix Archway from the west and its reflection is showed in the street of the east. At the same time, those who study Mandarin online may know that the moon is just rising in the east and the silver light radiating from the east and reflection is showed in the streets in the west. Gradually, the shadow of the two memorial archways moves forward and finally transfers to each other.
It was said that one day in Daoguang period, the day of the mid-autumn coincided with the day of the Autumnal Equinox. At nightfall, many citizens were waiting in the Sanshi Street. Then, the shadow of the two archways appeared and then moved closer and intersected. At that time, the sun began to fall and the moon started to rise. At the same time, the spectacle disappeared gradually.
It is said that, such scene appears once every 60 years due to the angle of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun. When you attend to Chinese school in China to learn, teachers may tell you that the design of the archways reflects the intelligence and wisdom of combining math, astronomy and architecture together organically. Unfortunately, the two memorial archways were destroyed. But the good thing is that it was reconstructed and regarded as the symbol of Kunming city.