1988 was the Chinese Zodiac year of Dragon. Its commemorative coin of Dragon was officially released in January of 1988.
On the obverse of the gold coin, there engraved the People’s Republic of China in characters and the year of circulation. Its architecture pattern is the most grandeur building in ancient China – the Great Wall. Lying in Northern China, the Great Wall starts from Shanhai Pass in Hubei Province in the east, and ends in Jiayu Pass in Gansu Province in the west, its total length stretches more 6,700 kilometers. The Great Wall coils around ragged mountains, steps over extensive grasslands and desserts as if it were a giant dragon. It passes through Hebei, Beijing, Shanxi Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Ganxu, seven provinces, cities and autonomous regions. The Great Wall signifies the spirit of Chinese people.
On the reverse, there carefully crafted the Chinese traditional dragon, which was a replica of the most reputable artwork — the Nine Dragon Wall of Beihai Park in Beijing. The Nine Dragon Wall is a colorfully glazed screen, sitting in the north bank of Beihai in Beijing. Built in 1756, it is 25.9 meters wide, 6.65 meters high and 1.42 meters thick, with jade stone as its base. There is a Xumi Seat made of green glazed glass and on the wall above the Seat there carved nine dragon in various positions with silver clouds and great waves surrounding them. On the east end of the Wall, the sun rising from the east above river cliffs into the rolling clouds; on the west end of the Wall, the bright moon hanging in the floating clouds. On the top of the Wall, there decorated with flying dragon. Screen Wall was built with 424 pre-made seven-colored glass tiles. Magnificent and grascious, it is a masterpiece of glass structure architecture of Qing Dynasty. Because dragon is a totem to Chinese People, many painters are not able to completely depict its essence, therefore, just a few paintings used dragon as their subject. Only a part of the Nine Dragon Wall was selected as the architecture pattern on the coin. It is the only set in the Zodiac Coin Series that does not use a prestigious painting on the reverse.
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