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Shuyuanmen - the receding figure of the ancient capital

The Guanzhong Academy of Ancient Learning is now Xi'an Teachers' School. Numerous imperial exam participants once worked diligently in this area. Even though these people have long gone, they have left behind their studies, schools, legacies, and diligent spirit. The students in the school now have inherited the fortunes of those before them. With their majors as teachers, they are bound to pass the spirit to more people.

  The street

Upon walking down to the end of the South Street from the Bell Tower of Xi'an, and then turning east at the South Gate, one can see three golden characters of "Shuyuanmen" on an archway decorated in a grand and unaffected style. On the two sides of the archway are a set of couplets, reading "The Forest of Steles collect the national treasure; the academy of ancient learning nurtures outstanding talents."

Shuyuanmen neighbors the South Gate on the west and overlooks Wenchang Gate on the east. The Baohua Temple pagoda, which was first built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and the Forest of Steles are on each end of the street.

Classic architecture dots both sides of the street, and the ground is paved with bluestones. The Guanzhong Academy of Ancient Learning boasts a very grand scale. There are six major lecture halls in the middle, with six dormitories on the east and west sides. Behind the main buildings there is a rockwork, which is deemed as a "small Mount Huashan" (one of the five most famous mountains in China) near Xi'an. In front of the lecture halls is a small pool, in which stands a pavilion, and a stone bridge is linked to the pavilion. There are duplex gates holding back the grandeur. The first gate has two poles, and the second four, with each pole containing the writings of famous scholars.
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