At the end of 12th century, he united Mongolian tribes and challenged other powers to expand his huge Mongolian empire, which extended from South China to the Caspian Sea. In 1277, Khan attacked the West Xia Kingdom (presently Ningxia) and encountered strong resistance. He died of disease and age. The great emperor was later buried secretly according to Mongolian custom. It says that after the burial, 2,000 men were slaughtered by some 800 soldiers so that the location of the real tomb remains a secret.

Genghis Khan’s Mausoleum, rebuilt in 1954, 185 kilometers south of Baotou, is a mausoleum, in which only his clothing is buried in memory of the great leader. The 5.5 hectares mausoleum includes three giant yurt halls which house coffins of the Khan, his wife, his son and his generals.

The central building resembles the historical gate symbolizing a bun-shaped Mongolian yurt. The three inter-linked halls, which look like Mongolian yurts, consist of six parts: a central hall, the east hall, the east and west hall, the west corridors and the back hall.

Now the Darhut people – the descendants of Gengghis Khan defend the mausoleum all the year round. They hold a memorial ceremony and courtesy four times a year, that is, on March 21, on May 15, on September 12 and on October 3. The ceremony, held on March 21st on lunar calendar, is the grandest. After the ceremony, horse racing, archery and wrestling are held as entertainment. Thousands of people come to the mausoleum for worship or sightseeing.

The lamasery has an area of 40,000 square meters. It is surrounded by long and thick walls, the total length of which is 681 meters. At the four corners of the walls are built the mounds extending out 11 meters, with a watchtower standing on each of them. The layout of Meidaizhao Lamasery serves for three purposes: prince’s palace, temple for enshrining and worshiping Buddha, and castle. This is of great value to the study of the Mongolian history and architecture of the Ming Dynasty.

The Jingdezhen Ancient Folk Kiln Museum not only collects and exhibits all kinds of representative standard ware, unearthed rarity cultural relics and ancient specimens made in each history moments of the Huian Kiln, but also protects about 20 locations of the relics of valuable kilns and porcelain factories in the important history periods of Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasty. It lays out the scene of porcelain manufacturing in the ancient times, and touch the reality of the history.

Around the Jingdezhen Ancient Folk Kiln Museum there are 12 locations of important ancient porcelain relics buried under the earth yet, which covering 260 thousands square meter. The former appearance of the history has been conserved rather perfectly. All these rich cultural deposit and excavated cultural relics have been protected strongly by our country, and they are not only valuable materials for researching of porcelain manufacturing history and the history of the humankind civilization, but also good sightseeing for the tourists all in the world.

During Song and Yuan Dynasties, the discovery of the use of kaolin made possible the preparation of the porcelain body compound, a mixture of porcelain stone and kaolin (a binary formula). Thus, the firing temperature was greatly raised, deformation during firing reduced and porcelain quality significantly improved. That had brought about a qualitative leap forward in the history of china’s ceramic industry, and laid a solid foundation for Jingdezhen’s subsequent status as the porcelain metropolis of the world.

Around Mt.kaolin are a great number of cultural relics and historic sites left behind by hundreds of years’ extensive Kaolin mining, including ancient Mining sites, Washing pits, Shuikon Pavilion, Age-old Dongpu street, old pier, etc. Piles of white Kaolin clay cover the mountain, a spectacular sight known as ‘A green Mountain with white snow’.

Mt.Kaolin is now a significant tourist attraction combining ceramic culture with the natural environment in Jingdezhen.

The government office of Fuliang county, the only well-preserved of the sort of Qing Dynasty in the area south of the Yangtze River known as â?œthe First county government office south of the Yangtzeâ?, still retains its original appearance: the First Gate, the ceremonial Gate, the courtyard, the Principal Hall, the secondary Hall and the later most Hall. The whole structure is a well-organized multi-purpose complex, joined together by corridors and passages. As an excellent combination of solemnity, life and elegance, it fills people with the mixed feeling of reverence and relaxation. The architecture is fabulous in terms of art, while in the meantime, are inspiring as it is characteristic of the feudal government office. Inside the government office is an exhibition of ancient official robes, implements of punishment, the 18 kinds of weapons, official sedan chairs, clamping sticks and all sorts of inscribed scrolls and boards. The Monarchy long abolished, though the county government office remains still. Visiting the office, you can get some idea of the circumstances of the ancient county government office in terms of its history, politics and culture, and you can also have much fun by posing as a magistrate for a while. As people saying, ‘A county government office, half a historical account of Qing Dynasy’. Walking around inside, observing everything in sight, one feels happy as if traveling beyond the boundaries of time and space, which pleases both heart and soul.

The exhibition of ceramic curiosa of past dynasties is in the exposition zone, where you can also see traditional relics and ceramic forming handcraft demonstration, besides ceramic Stele Corridor, Gallery for paintings and calligraphy, the founder\’s Temple , the Queen Mother’s Temple. Ancient kiln complexes, the temple of wind & Fire immortality, zhimei studio, ceramists’ Gallery, porcelain street,etc.

The exposition zone has a natural scenery conservation of 83 hectares in area, surrounded by hills , characterized by luxuriant forestry ripping lakes, rows of ceramic workshops, and dotted with rare flower beds and bamboo groves. The harmonization of the scense, a natural scenery and the anthropogeography makes it a world-famous tourist scenic spot with a distinct individuality.

The exposition zone is one of china\’s 100 educational bases for patriotism. The model of civilized tourist scenic spots and the Gardenization zone of Jiangxi province, and one of the first AAA-class national scenic spots.

The monastery was built by Huiyuan, a famous monk of his time, who was also the originator of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism (also named Lotus Sect). In the past centuries, the Pure Land Sect was widely spread by Huiyuan’s followers. Some of its doctrines were even spread to Japan. Now in China, among the several Buddhists sects, the Pure Land Sect is worshipped by 80% of total Buddhist disciples. With the spread of the Pure Land Sect doctrines, the importance of Donglin Monastery has also grown.

The main halls of most Buddhist temples and monasteries are named Mahavira Hall, showing respect to the Great Buddha. Nevertheless, the main hall in this monastery is called ‘Shenyun Hall’ which means a hall bestowed by the Buddha. It was said that when Huiyuan arrived at the foot of Mt. Lushan, he didn’t believe it was good to build a temple in the forest. One night in a dream, he was instructed by the Great Buddha and decided that it was in fact the right place. That night a violent wind rose and pulled up the trees. Thus not only a piece of land but also the wood needed was ready for the temple. To show thanks Huiyuan dedicated the name of the hall in honor of the Buddha.

Donglin Monastery is a place of stories. There are also stories about other structures in the temple, such as Sanxiao Hall. Even the springs behind the main hall and the stream in front of the temple gate have marvelous stories.

Tourists have the chance to share vegetarian food with monks in the temple. Entering the dining hall, men sit in lines on the right side and women on the left. The monks stand in two lines reciting the Buddhist scriptures, kowtowing toward the Buddha and playing religious music. Tourists must not make any noise when eating. If they want more food, they can draw circles in their bowl with their chopsticks and the monks will help them. When the dinner is finished, monks will chant scriptures again to request the Buddha bless the tourists. The entire process is sacred and solemn and provides tourists with a sense of the culture of the Buddhist religion.

There is a legend that tells of the origin of Stone Bell Hill. One day, the Jade Emperor (the supreme deity of Daoism) wanted to build Lingxiao Palace in the Heaven, so he asked one god to carve two jade bells from the jade in Mt. Jiuhua. When the two bells were completed, the Jade Emperor asked another god, the one with great strength, to carry the bells up to the Heaven. When he was flying over the meeting point of the Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River with the two jade bells on his shoulders, he was distracted by the beautiful sceneries and forgot his mission. As a result, he dropped the two bells without knowing it. One bell landed on the side of the Poyang Lake, whilst the other landed on the side of the Yangtze River, giving us the Upper and Lower Stone Bell Hills.

With a constant stream of visitors from different places for thousands of years, the Stone Bell Hill is famous for its singular prospects, a holy place for Confucian intellectuals, and a place of great strategic importance. As on one side of the hill is the Poyang Lake which is green, and on the other side is the Yangtze River which is yellow, the hill presents people with a kaleidoscopic view with changes in color. Many literary giants of ancient China have left more than 20 calligraphy masterpieces carved upon the stone. Some of the most precious works date as far back as the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). As a place of strategic importance, many historical events and battles occurred here, including the war between Zhu Yuanzhang (first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644)) and Chen Youliang, (a general of the late Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368)), and the ten-year war fought between Zeng Guofan (a famous general of the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911)), and Shi Dakai (a general of the Taiping Army).

The most mysterious and the most attractive thing about Stone Bell Hill is the sound visitors can hear on the mountain. The legend tells why it is so called, however, it cannot really explain the strange bell-like sound that can be heard. There are three generally accepted theories to explain this. The first one is that the hill is comprised of limestone; and fissures formed through water erosion. When water flows through these fissures, the sound occurs. The second is that when striking the stone chimes, stalagmite and the stone pillar on this hill, people could hear that kind of strange sound. The third one is that when water seeps into the limestone cave at the base of the hill, this generates the sound.

Suojiang Tower was firstly built in 1586 by an official of Jiujiang City, Wu Xiu, in the Wanli Reign of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was built because the low-lying city of Jiujiang, surrounded on three sides by the Yangtze River, was vulnerable to flooding. It took eighteen years for the tower, which was paid for by collections of money, to be built. Suojiang Tower has three stories and is surrounded by four iron oxen.

A pagoda was built at a later point near Suojiang Tower – Suojiang Pagoda, also known as Wenfeng Pagoda. Standing at a height of about 35 meters (about 115 feet), people can travel to the top of the Pagoda via a wooden staircase, where they can receive a view of Jiujiang City and Yangtze River. Suojiang Pagoda is built of stones and medieval thick bricks, making its seven stories very solid.

Suojiang Tower and Pagoda were built to protect people from disasters, but these structures don’t seem to have the same power over themselves. The ravages of earthquakes and wars led to Suojiang Tower being almost completely destroyed. In the Second World War, Japanese invaders shelled Jiujiang City with cannons. Suojiang Pagoda was caught up in a bombardment. Because of the shelling, the Pagoda now slopes northeastward; the top of the Pagoda has already strayed away from the centerline by about 76 centimeters (2 feet). The fact the Pagoda is still standing is an attestation to the wonderful skills of the ancient workmen.

In 2004, the local government rebuilt and restored Suojiang Tower and Pagoda in order to preserve these fantastic examples of ancient architecture. Both are well worth a visit while you are in Jiujiang.