Аннотация:In the midst of the brash international architecture of boomtown Guangzhou, a new structure derived from the classical Chinese tradition makes a strong impression. This is one of the few recent cultural adornments in a city dedicated to commerce. The massive building stands on a prime site, where the Great North Gate of Guangzhou once stood, its bulk accentuated by high, windowless walls of somber red stone. From the street level, twin flights of steps reverse on themselves to reach the central focus of the building, a magnificent staircase, roofed with a glass barrel vault, which rises to the top of the building. Facing each other across the facade of the staircase hall are bas-reliefs of heroic figures, a man and a woman, each grasping a serpent's head in an upraised hand, the serpent's body entwined around the human torso. Each figure stands at the head of a train of ferocious beasts, carved in a taotie style. Over the man's head is the sun; over the woman's are the moon and stars. Inside the building, the staircase is flanked by dimly lit exhibition halls filled with glass cases of exhibits. Behind the building, across a patch of rough ground, is a modem glass structure covering the entrance to a tomb. The design of this edifice is a bold pastiche. Some of the design elements are inspired by imperial tombs-the red color, the blank walls, the reversing steps, the barrel vault. This building is meant to look like the approach to an imperial tomb. Other elements, such as the figures entwined with serpents, are not imperial at all but come out
