How marvelous it is to see miniature sculptures of old walls and Six-Banyan Temple on a stone weighing two tons, which was assembled within two days and with nights!

About 700 miniature architectural models including Six-Banyan Tower, Guangxiao Tower, Zhenhai Tower and Yuexiu Mountain are placed on a two-ton stone, reproducing the appearance of 18 ancient City Gates, water pass, residential architectures, river network of the Ram City in Qing dynasty (1616――1911).

Recently, the miniature sculpture of 18 City Gates of old Guangzhou was completed after almost half a year's work. It was unveiled in Cantonese Culture Clubhouse, Guangwei Street, Yuexiu District, which brought the viewers back to the old time of Guangzhou in Qing dynasty.

It was said the making team had collected about 30 maps of Guangzhou in previous dynasties before they decided to use Map of Guangzhou City in Qing Dynasty as the blueprint for the designing of the miniature carving.

A team of 100 persons worked on a 3.8-meter-long and 2.01-meters-wide stone to carve out the sole miniature sculpture of 18 City Gates for the sake of discovering roots for the old city area of Guangzhou.

The purpose of making the miniature sculpture was to enable Cantonese people to discover their roots and new comers to relive the old times of Guangzhou, said Tan Xu, a designer of the miniature sculpture. "Hosting the Asian Games can promote a city's culture, and Guangzhou is ready to welcome more visitors and make them know more about the Cantonese culture".

Tan also said the miniature sculpture would not only provide the information on the pattern of city layout of Guangzhou in Qing Dynasty but explore how the city pattern changed since Qing Dynasty.

(Translated by Guangzhou Association of Foreign Affairs Translators)