黃龍奇觀

A View of Huanglong

在四川西部，有一美妙的去處。它背倚峨山宇峰雪寶頂，樹木蒼翠，花香襲人，鳥聲婉轉，流水潺潺。這就是松潘縣的黃龍。

One of Sichuan's finest scenic spots is Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) , which lies in Songpan County just beneath Xuebao, the main peals of the Minshan Mountains. Its lush green forests, filled with fragrant flowers, bubbling streams, and songbirds, are rich in historical interest as well as natural beauty.

相傳在中國古代氣洪水肆虐，人民苦不堪言。大禹決心治水，但船不能行氣有黃龍來為他負舟，于是導水成功。黃龍疲憊，未及回歸大海，死于眠山之下，因而其地就稱為黃龍。

Legend has it that sane 4, 000 years ago, when great floods threatened the people of central China, Yu the Great resolved to tame the mighty rivers. He journeyed inland in a boat, but was soon stopped by the torrential current. Fortunately, a yellow dragon appeared and bore the boat upstream as far as it could go. Yu succeeded in controlling the flood and went on to found the 500-year Xia Dynasty, but the exhausted dragon could not return to the sea, and died at the foot of Xuebao Peak.

黃龍風景，自海拔近3600米處，沿山谷而下，逶迤3.5公里，地上覆蓋著一層淡黃色碳酸鈣沉積，形成大大小小的眾多水池，狀如梯田。池水澄清，呈淡藍、淡綠各色。遠看宛如黃龍俯臥，粼光閃閃。兩旁森林，全是高大云杉。林間地上，多奇花異草，或藍或白，或紅或紫，燦爛如繽紛。

Viewing Huanglong from a distance, one might imagine that the noble serpent for which the area was named is still lying on the hillside. Actually, this "yellow dragon' is a geological formation unique to this karst region; its yellow color is due to a layer of calcium carbonate, and the tiny, clear pools that line its back took like scales. The dragon is surrounded try, spruce trees and assorted rare flowering plants in blue, white, red, and purple.

山谷頂端，殘留著一座道教建筑，名“黃龍古寺”。據松潘縣志記載，該建于明代(公元1368一1644年)。寺前有一溶洞，深邃莫測。寺后有一石碑，除碑檐外，幾乎全被碳酸鈣沉積淹沒，碑文已不可辨認。看來，這400來年的沉積速度是相當可觀的。每年農歷六月為黃龍寺廟會期，方圓幾百里及至青海、甘肅的藏、羌、回、漢各族人民也前來趕會。屆時，帳篷連營，人馬喧騰，歌舞相雜，十分熱鬧。

On the hilltop stands the Yellow Dragon Monastery, a Taoist retreat hilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368-- 1644). A karst cave lies before it, and a stone tablet was erected behind. All but the top of the tablet has been eroded by calcium carbonate, and the inscriptions have become unreadable. Every year in the sixth lunar month, the local people, along with Tibetan, Qiang, Hui, and Han visitors from neighboring provinces of Qinghai and Gansu travel to the monastery on horseback for a temple fair. They set up tents and celebrate wish songs and dances far into the night.

據科學工作者考察，這里的山體系石灰巖地質，黃龍景觀實為巖溶地貌。在中國，巖溶地貌形成的綺麗景色著實不少，有名的如桂林山水、云南石林，然而它們的風貌都與黃龍迥異。

Many of Chinas famous landscapes, such as those of Guilin in Guangxi Province and the Stone Forest in Yunnan Province, are also built on karst formations. But each has its own character.

在黃龍附近的林區，還棲息著大熊貓、扭角羚、虹雄等珍貴動物。如今，國家擬將黃龍劃人它北面的九寨溝自然保護區，統一管理，以保護自然生態，開展科學研究和供人們游覽。

Giant pandas, takins, and pheasants roam the forests of Huanglong, along with many other species of animals and birds. Huanglong and nearby Jiuzhaigou will soon be made a nature preserve to protect the area's ecology and to allow scientists to observe these rare animals in their own habitats.

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