石鼓: 金沙江在这里拐了个弯

Jinsha River Bends Here

在丽江以西的中甸草原,高山耸峙,三条闻名的大江挟青藏高原的冰雪一路南来,形成了独特的三江并流.行至丽江附近,澜沧江和怒江继续结伴保持南下的姿势,从彩云之南流出国境.而金沙江--长江的上段,却特立独行地在石鼓拐了一个倒"几"字形的急湾,撕破重重山峰的围困,转而急速往北奔流,在冲出虎跳峡的约束后,一路浩荡东去.

Shigu (Stone Drum) Town is so named because of a huge stone drum here. The drum is higher than a man, 1.5 m in diameter, 0.7 m in thickness. The walnut-sized Chinese characters in the inscription on the drum are faintly identifiable with the passage of time. Legend has it that Zhuge Liang erected the stone drum during his punitive expedition against Meng Huo in the south. There are 2 obvious cracks on the drum. It is said that the 2 cracks would expand wider and deeper in the years of war but close relatively in the years of peace.