Marble
Ramp Carved with Cloud and Dragon Design (Yunlongshidiao)
is part of the marble staircase at the back of the Hall of Preserving
Harmony. This was the biggest stone carving in the palace in the Ming
Dynasty, and it was recarved during the reign of Qing emperor Qianlong.
The Marble
Ramp Carved with Cloud and Dragon Design is 16.75 meters long, 3.07
meters wide, 1.7 meters thick and weighs about 250
tons.
Discover
the story of transportation
The Marble Ramp was quarried from Fangshan District, 70 kilometers southwest
of Beijing, and the transportation required twenty thousand people.
Can you imagine how they managed to carry such a huge stone all the
way to the palace without modern means of transport? In winter they sank
wells along the way, and poured water on the ground to make a road of
ice. And in summer, they used rolling logs instead. The work at that
time brought tremendous hardship to the laboring people.
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