Describe a historical building in your country.
You should say:
Where this building is;
How do you know this building;
What it is like;
And explain why it is important to your country.

31. 历史建筑

I’m going to talk about Yuelu Academy143. It is a famous academy in ancient Chinese history, and it’s also a popular tourist attraction144 in Hunan province.

If memory serves correctly, when I was about eighteen years old, I visited the academy with my father for the first time. The tour guide shared many historical stories about this attraction. One story I remember clearly is that the Yuelu academy was founded145 over 1000 years ago during the Song dynasty.

It’s a quite large place, almost 20 thousand square meters in area. Most of the buildings are built in Chinese classical styles146, and the whole academy is surrounded by green plants. The plants around the buildings make it seem like a peaceful garden. Besides, almost all of the buildings are built in only three colors: black, white, and grey, which gives you a feeling of calmness and inner peace147. Plus, I
was impressed a lot with the shape of the roofs. Many of the roofs are built like steps to wish students achieve higher success.

I believe Yuelu Academy is a meaningful place for China. Many historical relics148 have been perfectly kept there. If you appreciate authentic artworks149, like paintings and ancient books, you definitely should visit there. You can literally150 feel how immersed151 the academy is in China’s traditional Confucian culture152.

143 Yuelu academy：岳麓书院
144 tourist attraction: 观光胜地
145 founded: 建立
146 Chinese classical styles：中国古典风格
147 a feeling of calmness and inner peace: 内心平和安宁的感觉
148 historical relics：历史文物
149 authentic artworks：真正的艺术品； authentic：真迹的，真品的
150 literally：真正地，完全地
151 immersed：沉浸（在传统儒家文化的氛围中）
152 traditional Confucian culture of China：中国传统儒家文化