When in New York , be sure to see the Statue of Liberty, just like climbing the Great Wall in Beijing. Standing like a giant dragon in the east, the Great Wall has become a symbol of the will, courage and strength of the Chinese nation, and a symbol of the spirit of the Chinese nation. For the United States , the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of fighting for democracy and yearning for the ideal of freedom. Symbol of ideology and cultural essence. Although the Statue of Liberty is not a historical monument, it is only an artificially shaped work of art, but its symbolic meaning has long exceeded the value of art itself. In 1984, the National Monument of the Bronze Statue of the Statue of Liberty in the United States was included in the World Heritage List, and its connotations have been widely used in various fields .
Route to the Statue of Liberty Monument
After breakfast, I left Princeton and headed to New York , which is about 46 miles apart and takes about an hour to drive. The hotel booked tonight is in Manhattan . Since the check-in is only after 2 pm, my son arranged to visit the Statue of Liberty in the morning. Check into the hotel at 1:00 p.m., and then go to the street to visit the city.
The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island in the upper New York Bay, to Liberty Island, you can choose from New Jersey or Manhattan , New York Take the ferry from both places. Generally speaking, most tourists go from the ferry terminal to the Battery Park of the Manhattan Castle. But because we were driving from Princeton , it was convenient to take the New Jersey ferry terminal, and we went to Manhattan Just enough to stay in the hotel.
New Jersey Liberty State Park
At nearly 9:50, we arrived at the New Jersey ferry terminal and parked the car in the New Jersey Liberty State Park parking lot.
Liberty State Park is located in the Upper New York Bay. It was built in 1976. Most of the park was built by reclamation. It faces Liberty Island and faces water on three sides. It is an elegant park.
There is a 36-acre nature reserve in the park, which is one of the few tidal salt marshes in the United States, so there are large lawns and green spaces in the park. In early summer, the salt marsh is covered with green spartina, which attracts a large number of birds to perch. Every weekend, groups of children come here to play and play, and this has become a happy paradise for children.
The park faces the Hudson River to the east. The Hudson River is a river in New York State, 507 kilometers long, where it joins New York port.
The lower Hudson River is the border between New York and New Jersey . On the east bank of the river is Manhattan .
Liberty State Park, because of its fantastic location, is the best place to relax with a distant view of the Manhattan skyline. Standing on the sparkling shore and looking at the tall buildings on the other side, it is not difficult to imagine the wealth and prosperity of this city.
New Jersey Central Railroad Station
The northeast corner of Liberty State Park is an old abandoned train station. Although our destination was the Statue of Liberty Island, but because of the curiosity about the ruins of this old train station, I was still very interested and did not miss the opportunity to explore the history.
The old railway station was built in 1838 and is one of the earliest railway stations in the United States. It was named New Jersey Central Station in 1849.
The old railway station was discontinued as early as the 1970s and remains as a historical site. On the 10th platform, I saw a blue sign, indicating that the train running on this track was the “Blue Comet”, and the stops to more than ten cities in New Jersey. The train comes with a dining car to provide lunch for passengers.
The once busy and lively station is now “empty.” The railway tracks in the station have long disappeared, only the empty platform and the mottled platform scaffolding, overgrown with weeds, leaving behind the vicissitudes of the years.
There is a marble , which was established by the New Jersey Central Railroad Veteran Union to commemorate the employees who worked here from 1849 to 1976.
The tracks under the platform are gone, and only a small section of track remains outside the station.
Several old carriages parked on the rails for tourists to visit and make people nostalgic.
The main building of the old railway station is still well preserved after 130 years of wind and rain. It is a European -style building with a sense of age.
The New Jersey Grand Central Railway Station building facing the Hudson River Dock was built in 1889. The three floors are steeply pitched, arched windows, and the center is a clock tower, which is a typical eclectic Victorian architectural style, and red brick walls It reflects the design elements of Charlison. This quaint, beautiful and elegant building has witnessed the process of the railway station from prosperity to decline in the past 100 years. Through the dense fog of history, the once inexhaustible prosperity has all turned into wisps of clouds and smoke drifting away in the wind. The vicissitudes of life, the fleeting years are still the same, like the ancient clock on the tower, it always turns unhurriedly in the change of world affairs, leaving only a deep sigh.
The old train station is at the end of the New Jersey Central Railroad, which connects directly to the ferry terminal. It was originally an important sea and land transportation hub. More than 100 years ago, a large number of European immigrants took trains from here to all parts of the United States . So this train station became their dream starting point for a new life in America.
The New Jersey Central Railway Station was finally closed in 1976, leaving the surrounding railways and stations abandoned. Only this old preserved train station building has a new use as a ferry terminal to Alice Island and Liberty Island. open.
The ticket office and waiting room for the ferry to Liberty Island are located in the building. The waiting hall on the first floor is the original waiting room, and the interior is as clean as new.
We bought the 11 o’clock ferry ticket and there were more and more tourists on the pier due to the delay of the return ferry.
It was not until 11:20 that I got on the ferry and left the pier. The ferry made a beautiful arc on the Hudson River, stirring up a string of snow-white spray, leaving Manhattan ‘s high-rise buildings behind.
Ellis Island
The first stop on the ferry is to Ellis Island. Alice Island is an artificial island located at the confluence of the East River and the Hudson River in New York, only 400 meters away from the pier.
Ellis Island was once the main immigration checkpoint in the United States and is therefore regarded as a symbol of American immigration. It became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965 and opened to visitors in 1976.
There is an immigrant museum on the island, exhibiting immigrant historical relics. We went to the island mainly to visit the Immigration Museum.
The museum provides free audio guide commentary for each visitor. The son got a mobile phone-like audio guide narrator at the visitor center, including Chinese commentary.
In the exhibition hall on the first floor, there are many old suitcases and wooden boxes. These are the suitcases used by immigrants who traveled across the ocean more than 100 years ago, recording the difficult immigration process of immigrants from various countries.
From 1820 to 1920, the United States ushered in three immigration climaxes, the number of immigrants reached 33.5 million, of which the number of immigrants in the third immigration wave in the next 40 years was as high as 23.5 million. European immigrants come to the United States , they must first enter New York Bay, to the continental United States . In 1892, the U.S. government established the Immigration Bureau (also known as the Immigration Checkpoint) on Ellis Island, and Alice Island became a must-stop for immigrants entering the United States.
During the peak period, 5,000 people are waiting in this immigration hall for questioning and inspection by immigration officers every day.
Ellis Island recorded that history. It is estimated that 40 percent of U.S. citizens today have at least one ancestor who entered the United States . As a result, Ellis Island became an iconic landmark for American immigrants.
Statue of Liberty National Monument
After coming out of the Immigration Museum, we changed to another ferry and left the pier for Liberty Island.
Liberty Island and Alice Island are even closer, only 300 meters away. From the air, the two islands are in a straight line with the New Jersey ferry terminal.
When the ferry leaves the small harbor of Alice Island, you can see the profile of the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island.
The Hudson River has become open, and in fact, this is the end of the Hudson River and is connected to the Upper New York Bay.
The ferry sailed from the side to the front around Liberty Island, and the Statue of Liberty we saw also turned sideways to the front.
The ferry is gradually approaching the pier of Liberty Island. The Statue of Liberty stands majestically on the island, and its raised right arm seems to be waving to welcome tourists.
Since the Statue of Liberty is just near the route, when the sea ship sails into the upper New York Bay, due to the curvature of the sea, the passengers on board can not see the high-rise buildings in New York City at this time, and the first thing that catches the eye is this huge statue.
The full name of the Statue of Liberty is “Statue of Liberty National Monument”, which is exactly the name of “The Statue of Liberty Shining the World”. It was a gift from France in 1876 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of American independence.
The Statue of Liberty was completed by the famous French sculptor Bartholdi after 10 years of hard work. Just like Cao Xueqin wrote “A Dream of Red Mansions”, “10 years of sharpening a sword”, Bartholdi made the Statue of Liberty an extraordinary sculpture. A masterpiece of art. The Statue of Liberty is 46 meters high, and the base is 93 meters. The index finger of the hand alone is 2.44 meters long, more than 1 meter thick, and the nails are 25 cm thick. Twelve people can stand on the edge of the torch. A spiral staircase inside the statue allows visitors to ascend its head, which is equivalent to climbing a 12-story building.
After the Statue of Liberty was inaugurated on Liberty Island, in October 1886, the then US President Cleveland personally presided over the unveiling ceremony in New York. The statue holds a torch and holds it high in the air, looking straight ahead, with a graceful posture. The Statue of Liberty has become a ship in and out of New York A great view of the port.
But I think the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty is much higher than its artistic value. The Statue of Liberty is dressed in ancient Greek -style clothing by theStatue of Liberty, wearing a radiant crown, seven pinnacles symbolizing the seven continents of the world, holding a torch symbolizing freedom in the right hand, and holding an inscription in the left hand, the cover is engraved with “July IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776)”, symbolizing the signing of the Declaration of Independence on this day.
At the feet of the goddess are broken handcuffs, shackles and chains, symbolizing freedom and freedom from tyranny. On the pedestal of the statue made of granite, there is engraved a famous poem “The New Giant” by Emma Lazarus: “Let those who have traveled long distances because of their desire to breathe free air. Weary and penniless people, lean on each other and fall into my arms! I stand at the Golden Gate , holding up the lamp of freedom.”
For more than a century, the bronze statue of the Statue of Liberty standing on Liberty Island is not only a symbol of the friendship between the American nation and the American and French people , but also a symbol of the United States.
