◎Step on Chenghai Tower to Watch the Sea

◎Step on Chenghai Tower to Watch the Sea

Emperor Kangxi

Note: This poem was written by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty at Old Dragon's Head, Qinhuangdao, in 1682.

This poem can be interpreted as follows: High dangerous buildings are pressing the flood, and vast rosy clouds turn misty.

All rivers converge into the sea.On the vast sea, ships travel to and from all over the world.

The waves are rolling, the universe is big, the stars are blinking, and the sun and the moon are shining.

But things and the world have changed.I will not send people to search for the mysterious Penglai Fairyland or seek an immortal elixir like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did.