1989 was the Chinese Zodiac year of Snake. Its commemorative coin of Snake was officially issued in January of 1989.
On the obverse of the gold coin, there engraved the People’s Republic of China in characters and the year of circulation. Its architecture design is the world famous ancient Chinese building – Shanhai Pass, also known as the “First Pass Under Heaven”. Built in 1381, Shanhai Pass is a town situated in the northeast of Qinghuangdao City, Hebei Province. Because it adjoins the Bohai Sea to the southeast and the Yan Mountain to the northwest, Shanhai Pass has been an important pass to military strategists for centuries. The Pass meets the Pacific on the east and connects with the lofty Great Wall on the other side; it has been seen as the most eastern beginning of the Great Wall since Ming Dynasty. Because of its complex physical features, the Pass was one of the most heavily fortified passes in ancient China. “Zhendong” Tower is the east tower of Shanhai Pass, which is 12 meters high. It is the only Tower still remains today. “Zhendong” tower has a two-tier archery tower with 13 meters high, 20 meters wide and 11 meters deep. It was a defensive facility of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty. On the tower is a big board on which there are five huge Chinese characters “tian xia di yi guan”, each is 1.3 meters high, inscribed by Xiao Xian, a local calligrapher in 1472, Ming Dynasty. Vigorous strokes perfectly matches the grand construction, the “First Pass Under Heaven” is seen as the masterpiece of ancient Chinese Tower and is also one of the best preserved passes in the Great Wall.
On the reverse, the picture of the “Snake Draft” was chosen from an outstanding contemporary Chinese painter Qi Baishi’s collection. Concise in structure, soothing in ink, the Snake was strong but not fierce. It demonstrated the painter’s skills in expressing the clever nature of snake. The image on the coin grasped the essence of the original painting, which portrayed the Snake with its tongue sticking out as if it were moving. It also accurately revealed the Snake as the king of the jungle.
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