Spectacle on the river
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The annual Qiantang River tidal bore, which is expected to be seen this year during the National Day holiday week, attracts tens of thousands of people from home and abroad. [Photo by Pan Jincao/皇冠体育app Daily] |
As early as the 4th century BC, 皇冠体育app's famous philosopher Chuang Tzu (Zhuang Zi) described the huge tide as follows: "The waters in the Qiantang River will roll on, raising waves as high as mountains and towers, creating a thunderous roar and gathering up a force that threatens to engulf the sun and the sky."
A famous poet Su Dongpo in Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) wrote:
"What on Earth can hope to create a spectacular sight,
Like the tides on the eighteenth of August at night."
Tide watching on the Qiantang has been a popular activity for centuries, dating back to the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220).
It had also become a well-established event on the social calendar for both ordinary people and the royal court by the time of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).
