DUN HUANG - PART 1

Levels by moon_cn

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth. This is a complex and nonlinear game, and the posted videos do not follow the same paths.

I've chosen to use kapil4417037's four-part video for purposes of this written guide, although Saki Croft has provided an equally competent and glitch-free video of her own.

[Download the savegames package here]

Level 1: UNDERGROUND TOMB

After the extended introductory flyby with some historical background, which could have been handled more efficiently through a text readme file, begin near a Land Rover, a short obelisk and a grazing camel while your guide walks slowly into a structure, lights a torch and waits patiently for you to follow. Enter the W passage and run past the guide to make him start moving again. You'll come to a fork in the passage, and the guide provides some additional information without telling you which way to go. Actually, it doesn't matter, since both paths meet on the other side of the structure that's blocking you, so continue around W and the guide will follow and stop at a closed iris door.

Go alone E to the closed gate, and this will prompt additional activity on the guide's part. Return to him and pick up the LIGHTER he dropped. Go back to the gate, and the guide will follow and open it for you. Enter the passage, shoot a couple of bats and come to another closed gate. Climb the S ladder and emerge on a hill overlooking the valley. Take a running jump SW onto a flat ledge, walk forward a bit and turn left. Take a running jump (being careful while hopping back not to slide back down to the valley floor) to grab the E ledge, shimmy to the right corner and pull up. There's a floor hole directly ahead. You can drop safely into the water below, but for a secret walk carefully to the SW corner, face NE and run off the edge with grab to land on a ledge halfway down the shaft. You'll suffer some health loss, but you can pick up a small medipack and something called RU YI for SECRET #1.

Run off SE onto a slope so that you bounce off and fall the rest of the way down into the water, wade out and locate two spider webs NE in the cave wall. Light a flare to see the triangular opening beyond them and stand jump into a room with a small medipack on a raised slab. Shoot the jar for flares and stand in front of the other object on the raised slab, facing N, and use your Lighter to set it aflame. Notice an object sticking out of the nearby column and get up on your tiptoes to grab the ZEN KEY. Jump back past the lower left corner of the opening and slide down to the water pool. Kick open the panel in the E wall and pull down the wall switch to open the door to your right.

Enter the next area but avoid the deadly sand pile to your right. Shoot the NE jar on a rock ledge for flares and open the nearby gate with the Zen Key. Enter the next room, shoot a couple of bats and find a small medipack on the table against the N wall. Shoot the carpets stacked against the S bookshelf to get them out of your way and activate the E book switch to release a boulder in the previous area so that it rolls down and falls into the sand pit. Go back there, stand near the E corner of the sand pit facing N and pull a skeleton that was completely covered by the sand away from the UNKNOWN KEY (well named, as it was also completely hidden by the sand). Don't jump over the skeleton, as you'll land in the pit and die if you do. Walk around instead to pick up the key.

Go to the other side of the sand pit and stand at the dancing yellow spots facing E. Stand jump forward into a gravity well so you can float up and activate a jump switch that moves aside the stubby obelisk you saw at the beginning of the level. A trap door also opens nearby, so hop onto the NE rock ledge where you got the flares earlier, jump to grab the monkey bars and turn to face S. Monkey swing to the edge of the trap door shaft and press both the right and the down arrow keys to make Lara turn in place and grab the opposite ladder surface in the shaft.

Climb up, pull out past the shifted obelisk near the grazing camel and go back into the W passage. The guide is still waiting patiently in front of the iris door, but continue past him through the NE gate he opened for you and use the Unknown Key to open the gate you noted earlier. Shoot the scorpion in the small room and save your game before pushing the timed floor lever. You have exactly one minute to exit this area and drop down the floor hole where the obelisk moved aside, sprint W through the cave with the shallow pool and save in a different slot as you approach the W opening (assuming you've made good time getting this far).

You need to stop and jump onto the first step on the right side just past the opening, stand jump up slightly left onto the next flat step, stand jump right onto the next flat spot and run forward before the timed gate slams shut. Shoot two snakes once inside the next room while avoiding the jutting slab where the skeleton is fastened to the column (unmarked spike trap). Open the small SE chest for a large medipack, note the S keyhole and go to what appears to be a ladder at the NW corner. Pull up E, hop up to your right, head S past an empty jar and loop around right to find yourself on the other side of that iris door. Pull down the wall switch to roll it aside and your relieved guide will come marching past you.

Follow him until he stops at a large opened door, obviously expecting you to take some further action.  Go past him to coax him forward and he'll open a gate that leads to the open desert. Run after him following the brief flyby for a level change.

Level 2: YUMEN GUAN

When you catch up with the guide he will light a torch and follow the brick path to a skeleton, which he will ignite before moving on toward a pagoda. After saying something he will start running around in apparently haphazard fashion, making intermittent comments until three ninjas charge toward you. After dealing with them (the guide will try to help, but not very effectively), go to where the guide is standing in front of a stone monument near a walled city. After a few more comments he goes to the closed gate and remains inert, so you're now on your own for a while.

Turn around to explore the vast area behind you. You can do the following tasks in any order, but if you start by heading SW you can see two tall watchtowers in the distance. Each is occupied by a ninja, and you can target and damage them only where there are no side rails. Approach the watchtowers from the W side and deal with the nearer ninja. When he dies he will most likely topple over the side and leave behind revolver ammo. Climb the ladder on this side of his tower and shoot the other ninja while jumping up and down. His perch has no open section, so you'll need to reach it with a swan dive (save first, as you'll die if you miss). Pick up the small medipack dropped by the ninja and stoop to pull the CROWBAR from between the rails.

Hop to the ground and continue S along the rock wall toward a pagoda. As you go past and around it you'll attract two ninjas who try to sneak up on you from behind. One leaves revolver ammo, the other a small medipack. From here head E toward the far wall. There's another watchtower there with a ninja guard, so go around to the N side where there's no railing and shoot him from there. Hop up the sand dune and climb the ladder for his REVOLVER and drop back down. Run a long distance back W and N toward the area where you left the guide. When you get there, look up S to see two obelisks perched on a hill. Go there, pull up onto a flat spot on the structure between the two obelisks and walk forward to find the LASER SIGHT.  

Hop back down, return to where the guide is waiting and turn the handle to the left of the closed gate in front of him. Keep the down arrow key depressed so that Lara jumps back and avoids being killed by the huge sword that drops from directly overhead. Go to the debris next to the nearby watchtower and pick up a TORCH from the pile. No, you can't light it from the guide's torch (that would be too easy), so take it with you all the way back S and E to the lone watchtower where you got the revolver. Opposite the watchtower, in front of the shrine, is a metallic device that you can ignite with your Lighter. Do so and light your torch on the resulting flame without standing too close.

Take the long trek back to where the guide is waiting, leave the torch there and head SE toward the hills in the distance. Just past the boulder (next to the remains of a cart), look up to see a dark spot near the top of the hill. Use your combined revolver and laser sight to shoot it, which retracts the spikes in a cleverly hidden floor hole (covered by a pyramid of sand) between where you're standing and the lower dark plants near the base of the hill. Go there and drop down into the hole for SECRET #2 (I won't keep mentioning the RU YI that accompanies these secrets). Retrieve your torch, go to those dark plants I mentioned and kick open the cleverly disguised wall panel just beyond them.

Light the wall torch just past the closed gate to lower the bars behind you and to your right. Enter the alcove and push the button to release a boulder that rolls down and changes the position of a nearby cannon. After the brief flyby, pull out your crowbar and pry the "button" (actually the DOOR HANDLE) off the wall. Leave your torch here and go down SW to find the shifted cannon. It can now be moved, so pull and push it laboriously N and W so that it's pointing directly at the closed gate in front of the guide. Yellow dancing dots will appear in front of the barrel to confirm that the cannon is properly placed. You now need to find some ammunition for the cannon, so run to the W wall, turn left and follow the wall N. Look for a small floor depression against the wall, about halfway between the twin watchtowers and the pagoda. Kick open the wall panel there and affix the Door Handle to the left door.

The right door opens, so enter, go up the steps and shoot the waiting ninja. Pick up 2 x revolver ammo, note the steps leading up to a closed trap door, squeeze into the SW corner, face E and position Lara with some difficulty so that she finally takes the CANNON SHELL from the barrel of the cannon. Exit to the desert and return to the cannon (yes, I know there's a lot of running back and forth in this level). Stuff the shell into the open barrel, retrieve your torch (probably near the alcove where you got the Door Handle) and find that you needn't have bothered. By the time you get back to the cannon the guide will have already arrived to light the fuse and blast open the N gate. After the flyby, follow the guide with torch in hand for another level change.

Level 3: TEMPLE OF MIRROR

The gate closes behind you as you enter. Leave the torch where you can easily find it again. Bug alert: Near the end of this level, when you need to use the torch again, it had disappeared in my game, so check periodically to make sure it's still there where you left it and maybe even move it occasionally. It may help to leave it on the pool ledge rather than on the sand. Also, as it later occurred to me, you can simply exit via the S gate to Level 2, grab and light another torch and return.  Shoot the jars against the E wall for 5 x flares and 2 x small medipack and follow the guide to a corner of the pool, where he will stoop to light something and provide some information. There are two pushblocks in this area. Go to the one against the N wall, shoot the stacked carpets to get them out of your way and pull the crate away from the RED KEY it was covering. Push the crate back to its original position (under a high jump switch) and walk carefully to the NW corner. The sand pile next to the slope is a disguised spike pit, so face SW, side flip right onto the ramp and jump to grab the vine ladder.

Climb up, press the shift, jump and up arrow keys to transfer Lara to the ceiling and monkey swing E to the jump switch. Drop to activate it and the S gate will re-open. Go to the other pushblock next to a watchtower near the W wall, shoot the empty jars, pull up onto the crate and jump over the debris into the NW corner for the GOLD (1). Jump S out of the corner, stoop to shoot the jars and crawl under the cart for the CROSSBOW and revolver ammo. Return to the pushblock, pull it two or three times (you'll see why in a minute) away from the wall and go around it to kick in the wall panel.

Use the Red Key to open the gate, save your game and pull the timed chain inside the alcove. Turn around in place (if you reverse roll you'll get caught in the chain's collision), run outside and loop around left to climb the watchtower. Turn left and pull up onto the timed platform, causing other nearby platforms to rise. Stand jump onto the first one and take running jumps over the next two, pull the switch on the S wall, hop back and jump forward to grab the ledge. Pull up onto the ramparts as a cut scene shows a gate opening elsewhere.

Turn left and start circling this vast fortress. After you turn the corner you'll come to a E passage leading to a blockaded section of the fortress. As you approach the barrier Lara will look at something off to her left. Vault up onto the rampart, face NE, save your game and take a pixel-perfect running jump curving right to grab the higher E rampart (it's likely to take many tries, and the trick is not to brush against the column during the jump). Pull up and hop down into the trench. Turn left and run over the breaktiles. Before you fall down into the hole, vault up right next to the vine ladder. Target two ninjas down below, then climb down the vine ladder, grab the revolver ammo and take the ZEN KEY from the crevice. Note the key hole for later and climb back out.

Go to the other end of the trench, note the closed trap door and go up E, but not too far lest you prematurely trigger a level change. The jar is empty, but if you run under the ceiling trap door it will release a bounder that rolls down W. Follow after it and push it onto the still closed trap door. Turn around, return to the ramparts, turn right and run past a floor hole with a trap door and a jump switch you can see beneath it. Continue around the corner past a wooden structure and come to a boulder near the NW corner. Push it one time W and it will roll down to dislodge a group of stacked boulders to clear a ramp leading down to the inner courtyard. It will also draw the attention of numerous enemies, so draw a weapon and deal with two guards coming at you from ahead (one may turn and come around the long way), while two other guards and a ninja are coming up from behind you at the same time.

When all enemies have been vanquished, search their corpses for the PRISON KEY (ninja), a large medipack and 3 x explosive arrows. Go down the stepped ramp to the courtyard and across to the SW corner. Lara will look at something there, so shoot the empty jars and hop into the pit of sand next to the cart. Crawl W underneath the cart into a wall enclosure, pull up left past the opened gate you saw in the cut scene and push the S button to cause electrical activity around the pool outside. Crawl back past the cart, stand up, turn around and pull up onto the cart. Hop to the W wall, turn around and open a small chest for revolver ammo.

Look up at the W wall and you can see an inaccessible opening beneath one of the timed platforms you negotiated earlier. You'll also notice that two of the dislodged boulders have rolled into this area. Move the one closer to the S wall one time W and five times S and it will disappear into a hole covered by a sand pile. Move the other one four times S and five times W and it will likewise disappear into a similar hole. A rope will then appear in front of the W opening, so move the pushblock as close to it as you can, get up on it, jump to grab the rope and use it to reach the W opening. Shoot the jar and pick up the RU YI for SECRET #3.

Drop to the ground and go back into the N opening next to the watchtower. Turn left and go up and around to a closed gate that you can open with the Zen Key. Turn right into a hallway, go past a closed door and pull down the wall switch on your left to open a gate where a sleeping bull reposes. Hop past the bales of hay into the NW corner and pick up a bowl named FORAGES. The bull awakens, so run past him back to the outdoor courtyard and head toward the opened NE gate. Exit to the open desert, loop around left and go SW to that closed door you saw from the other side. Stand where you see the dancing yellow lights, place the bowl on the raised slab and side flip out of the way as the bull shatters the door.

Run back to the gray block in the E wall, stand bravely in front of it and jump out of the way at the last instant as the bull charges into it and crushes the protruding button. There's a similar gray block in the distance NW. Go there, coax the bull to shatter it in the same manner and run a long distance E to find the third such block to your left. The fourth and last block is a bit S and to your right. When the bull smashes the button there, a nearby gate opens straight ahead in the E wall to an enclosed area where the bull won't follow.

Loop around right, kick in the wall panel and crawl around to where you can stand up. Continue to a wall switch that releases a boulder which in turn demolishes a gate blocking the nearby hallway. Go there, save your game and push the boulder into the floor hole, which opens the doors ahead and allows the bull to enter the hallway. Run quickly around past the bull to the W end of the hallway before the bull has a chance to become distracted by trying to join the boulder in the floor hole. Otherwise, he'll become stuck in that animation and you'll have to reload (a bug that should have been foreseen and dealt with). Stand in front of the explosive gray block and the bull will be destroyed when he charges against it. At the same time, a trap door will be lowered above the jump switch in the ramparts area.

If you wish, you could go directly there now via the NW ramp in the courtyard, but there's another gate you first need to open which requires some extensive prep work and a timed run. Head N into a room with a chain and a wall switch. Leave the chain for now and squeeze past the collision of the floor lamp to pull down the wall switch and open the gate to your right. Return to the hallway and loop around left to find another wall switch that opens the gate behind you. Go back to the N room with the chain, exit to the pool courtyard and run straight W toward the boulders surrounding the pushblock under the jump switch you activated earlier. Move the boulders out of the way (they can only be pushed, not pulled) by starting with the one to the W of the pushblock. Push it one time S, fighting the collision to initiate Lara's pushing animation. Push the other boulder one time W, then move the pushblock three times S (two pulls and a push). Push it all the way to the E opening, then one time S next to the watchtower. Turn around, go to the chain and save your game for a difficult timed run.

Pull the chain, turn around to your left and take two standing jumps onto the pushblock. Pull up onto the watchtower, run forward with the walk key depressed, jump up to grab the first of several timed platforms, save in a different slot as you pull up and take a walking running jump to the next platform as it rises. Continue with curved running jumps across the remaining platforms ahead until you reach the switch in the S wall. Pull it down, hop back and jump forward to grab the ledge. Pull up to the ramparts as another gate opens, turn left and follow the ledge to the floor hole where the trap door opened. Hop down to the ledge below, activate the jump switch for a cut scene of the pool and land next to the timed chain. Go out to the pool, jump into the water and find the CANNON SHELL. Pull back out, return to the bull hallway and continue S past the two opened gates.

Push the button at the end of the passage to complete the electrical circuitry surrounding the pool. At the same time, the object in the center of the pool moves aside. Retrieve your lighted torch (assuming it's still where you last left it), take it back to the N door next to the watchtower near the SW corner, go up and around to the bull hallway and light the wall torches if you like (although this doesn't appear to be necessary). However, it's vital that you light the bale of hay in the W alcove (standing one step back from it). Something is ignited high up on the ramparts, so return to the pool courtyard, go up the NW ramp, turn right and approach that wooden structure you saw earlier. Thrust your lighted torch into either the W or E side to ignite the structure and continue around the ramparts ledge until you reach the cannon near the SW corner.

Leave the torch where you can find it quickly and place the Cannon Shell in the barrel of the cannon. A gate moves aside, so pull the cannon from the fenced enclosure and move it one time S, then push it E until it comes to rest within the flagpole in defiance of all known laws of physics. Pull and push it into the S alcove. Get your torch, light the back end of the cannon and watch the destruction of the obelisk in the distance. Leave the torch here, go E and N along the ledge and turn right toward the structure you visited earlier. Turn left at the closed trap door and hop onto the block with the vine ladder. Hop down N onto the lower block against the rock face, hang from the E edge, shimmy right and drop to the sand below. You're now on the other side of the fortress, facing the open desert. Run E for a brief level change.

Level 4: CRESCENT SPRING

To bring this game to a quick conclusion, simply run forward past the fortress walls and slide a long distance toward an oasis down below. But for much additional gameplay, not to mention another secret, follow the fortress wall around right and make your way up S to reach a new section of the ramparts. There's a closed gate to your left, so continue forward (S) and loop around right to find a section of the N wall that you can kick in. Crawl into the opening for SECRET #4 and return to the ramparts. Go up W and follow the ledge around several corners until you can run up to a level change.

Level 3: TEMPLE OF MIRROR (revisited)

Run forward and note that the boulder you left on the closed trap door is no longer there. Continue to the ramparts surrounding the pool courtyard. You can either get down there via the ramp in the far NW corner or more quickly by taking a running swan dive (not a running jump) down into the pool. Exit S past the opened gates for another level change.

Level 2: YUMEN GUAN (revisited)

On your way out to the open desert, note the burning bowl atop a tripod near the gate. If you were wondering why you were provided such a bountiful supply of explosive arrows so early in the game, there's your answer. There many such tripods scattered throughout the desert, and your task is to find them and use your crossbow with attached laser sight and ignite them with your explosive arrows (for a sure shot, aim for the bowl's base). But first, go to the pile of debris next to the watchtower and grab another TORCH from the pile. Unless you wish to carry it with you on your tripod hunt, dropping and picking it up each time, I suggest you now go SE to the metallic device that you lit during your first visit here, light the torch from the flame and leave it here for now.

I won't pinpoint the locations of the tripods, as they're easy to locate, but keep in mind that the number you need to shoot and ignite is 9, so keep a running total as you progress. The first one is quite close by next to a cart. You may also find additional pickups by using explosive arrows on the corpses of enemies you killed during your first visit. When you've ignited all 9 tripod bowls, you may get a cut scene of a trap door opening (in my case, all I got was a burst of warning music). From wherever you are, run over to the W wall where you kicked in the panel earlier. Enter, go up to the dark storage room you've already been to and find that the trap door at the top of the E steps is open. Climb the ladder, pull up onto a high ledge and hop N onto the dark plant for SECRET #5.

Slide down to the desert floor and run NE toward the reddish structure with a closed gate that's perched on a hilltop. Go up the hill to find a floor hole near the E side of the structure (as you face it). Climb down the ladder (don't try to use the drop and grab method to get down more quickly), but be aware that a snake is waiting for you down in the room below. Back flip near the bottom while drawing your revolver and a couple of rounds will deal with it. You're now in a flooded underground area. Locate and kick in the N wall panel to find a gate blocking your way to a wall switch. Walk out into the water toward the underwater S gate, turn right at the lily pads and jump up to grab the monkey bars. Monkey swing around to a jump switch, release to activate it and wade out of the water.

The gate in the N passage is now open, so go inside and kick open another wall panel to your left for later. The wall switch begins a timed swim, so save your game before pulling it down. Three of the four underwater gates open, so quickly reverse roll and get into the water. Swim past the leftmost gate, pull down the ceiling switch (1 of 3) just inside, turn right and right to another ceiling switch (2 of 3). Reverse roll, swim back and turn right, take another right past an opened gate and right again to another ceiling switch (3 of 3). Reverse roll, swim back and turn left, then right, then left past an open gate where you can surface and wade up into a passage.

Continue to a more open area, note the lighted crawl space and walk forward into the dark W alcove. Light a flare, face E and jump to activate the jump switch. Return to the open area and pull the NW pushblock into the room. Pull it aside, enter the revealed passage and swim around to the chain you could see past the crawl space. Pull the chain to open up a floor hole in a room you've visited twice already, return to the pushblock and push it two times E to open a gate further back in the E wall. Go there and follow the passage to a sand-filled room. The structure ahead is a pushblock, so go around it and push it for a cut scene of the pagoda out in the open desert.

Go back through the passage, light a flare so you can see the overhead alcove, pull up into the alcove and find a wall switch that opens a nearby gate. Get down to the flooded passage, go back left toward the first pushblock and just beyond it you'll find an alcove with dancing yellow lights guarded by a flameblower. Stand facing the E wall next to the flameblower, and when the flames subside jump up to grab a ledge and pull up quickly into a crawl space. Continue to a small but ornate room, shoot the large jar in the corner for revolver ammo, grab the MEMORIAL TABLE PART 2 from the adjacent table and return to the crawl space. Hang right, drop when the flames subside and turn right to face the S wall at the corner. When the flames subside again, jump straight up into a gravity well that carries you up to the floor hole you saw in the cut scene.

Pull out into a familiar room and exit N to the open desert. Turn right, head toward the pagoda and go around to the W side where you can take A BOOK OF GO GAMES from the table while a page is added to MY DIARY (which has been in your inventory all along, I just haven't felt the need to mention it). You still have unfinished business down in that floor hole near the N reddish structure on the hilltop, so return there, climb painstakingly down the ladder and return to the N passage. Save your game, push the wall switch back up, reverse roll and jump into the water. Swim past the leftmost gate again, turn left at the wall, stop at the closed gate and wait patiently while your air supply runs dangerously low. The gate will open in the nick of time (but will quickly close again), so surface just past it and wade out N.

Continue to a room with a bunch of lighted candles and dancing yellow lights in the middle. Pick up the CANDLE at the NW corner, save your game and pull down the N wall switch. Reverse roll, run forward into the dancing yellow lights and jump straight up into a gravity well. If you're not quick enough or positioned properly, you'll fall back down to your death. Otherwise, you can grab the edge at the top of the shaft and pull out through a still-closed trap door. Lara will look up at something to her right but first, shoot the jar to the left and stoop to pick up the GOLD (2). Go to the table near the NE corner, stand at an angle and pick up a large medipack.

Climb the adjacent ladder, transfer Lara to the ceiling by holding down the jump and walk keys at the same time, monkey swing around the room to a jump switch, release to activate it and a small explosion allows you to face S and pull the MEMORIAL TABLET PART 1 from the column. Shoot the stacked carpets to get them away from the SW wall switch that opens the gate back to the open desert. Run back E to retrieve your torch and continue S along the wall until you reach an open E gate. Go inside for a level change.

Level 1: UNDERGROUND TOMB (revisited)

Leave the torch here for now so you can open the crowbar door to your left. Enter the small room, pull down the NW wall switch to open the cell gate and run inside to avoid the sword traps at the entrance. Pull the skeleton away from a small medipack and a YELLOW PAPER marked with signs of the zodiac. Return to the first room and use the Prison Key in the W key hole to open the trap door behind you. Drop down, shoot a scorpion and save your game in front of the timed NW wall switch. Pull it down, turn around right and sprint S down the corridor to a lowered block. Stand on it and it will bring you up to a storage room. Grab 2 x flares, shoot the jars for a small medipack and stand at the SE corner of the broken central column. Reach up for revolver ammo and hop over the debris into the N corner. Stoop for GOLD (3) as Lara starts losing health due to contact with the spiked device and back flip away from the hazard.

Find a wall switch in the E wall and pull it down (Lara will again start losing health) to retract spikes in a room you visited much earlier during your first visit. For a secret, stand at the higher corner of the sloped column facing E. Jump up and down with the action key depressed, and if you're positioned correctly Lara will land on the corner, turn and jump N so you can grab the hanging vines. Climb up through the ceiling hole, walk forward but be careful not to slide down the other side. Hop to the plants on the ledge slightly to your left for SECRET #6. Slide or drop down near the crowbar door where you left your torch, but leave it there if you wish to go on an excursion for the next secret.

Head E and follow the passage to the opening leading outside. Turn left and follow to the opened gate. Just before you reach it, turn right and climb the familiar ladder to an upper ledge. Take a running jump SW to the jutting ledge, take a running jump to grab the E slope, shimmy right to the corner and pull up. Run forward to the crest of the ledge and look up NE. Locate the lion's head in the distance and use the combined revolver and laser sight to shoot the gem in its mouth. You hear what sounds like a released boulder rolling down a slope. Turn around, jump back W to the previous ledge, take a running jump NE and climb back down the ladder. Continue E into the room with the floor lever, turn to face E (with the floor lever in front of you) and jump up to grab a ladder in the ceiling shaft.

Pull up into a higher passage and run forward for SECRET #7. Drop back down, exit W to the outdoor area, continue through the W opening and turn right at the wall switch. Continue to a crossing, turn right and grab the torch you left near the crowbar door. Go back SE into the sneakily hidden corridor, follow to a floor hole and hop down into a prison cell you visited earlier. The unmarked spike trap noted during your first visit has been neutralized, so walk up to the chained skeleton and take the HALF OF MOJIN AMULET 1 from it.

Go with your torch to the W wall opening, slide down left and come to a familiar underground cavern with a small pool. Go across to the E opening and continue to the wooden gate in the next room. Heed the onscreen advice and light the huge pot beyond the fence to make it (the fence) explode. Leave your torch here and for a secret, turn left and go to the N passage past the opened ceiling trap door to a room you visited earlier. You now have explosive ammo, so invest an explosive arrow to shatter the large vase and cause the W door to open. Go inside for SECRET #8, hop into the NW corner for GOLD (4) and grab the flares before leaving.

Back at the exploded fence, enter the E room and stand between the two tables and lighted candles. Combine the Memorial Tablet halves and place the MEMORIAL TABLET in the vacant spot to cause a panel ahead to move aside. Go around, push the timed E wall button to turn off the flames in the huge pot for a few seconds, run around to your right, hop into the pot and pick up the TOMB KEY. Jump away before the flames return and retrieve your torch. Go back the way you came, making those standing jumps up the slope as you did during the timed run much earlier, and in the next room use the Tomb Key to lift the S door. Go down the winding steps with your torch, and when you enter the next room bars will rise in the entrance to prevent your escape.

Lara will look up at the sign of the zodiac in the ceiling. Leave the torch on an elevated ledge rather than on the ground (possibly to avoid a reported glitch in this room), go behind the coffin against the W wall and activate the crowbar switch (facing N). Two of the statues in the room will move apart, so go around to the SW corner and pull up into a crawl space. Crawl left past the skeleton (being careful not to get caught in its collision, from which there's no escape), flip out into a lower passage and locate another crowbar switch. Activate it with the same result as before, return to the previous room and go to the NE corner. There's a pushpiece on the blue-tinted tile, so move it along the path suggested by the ceiling stars: Two times S, two times W, four times S, one time E, two times S, two times W and one time S. Go to the NW corner to find another pushpiece on a red-tinted tile. Move this one two times S, two times E, three times S, two times E and one time N.

After the last placement two bars with Chinese characters will slide down the N wall and an onscreen message will bid you to kneel three times. If you disobey and wait a few more seconds, the wall coffins will explode to release a half dozen guards. They don't drop anything, but they'll occupy your attention for a while. When all is quiet, go up onto the ledge between the pushpiece posts, stoop three times on the round yellow mat and the coffin against the N wall will move aside. Grab your torch and hop down onto some steps. Proceed carefully into a dark passage and you'll trigger blade traps ahead. Make sure you have ample health, as you'll likely not get past them unscathed. Continue to a closed gate at the end of the N passage, leave your torch here and go back a bit to find a crawl space high up in the W wall.

Jump up to grab it, pull inside and shimmy past a floor hole (spikes below). Continue W and flip out into a room filled with jars. Fight your way to the N wall, note the pile of torches in the corner and use the reach-in switch to deactivate the spikes in the floor hole. Return there and drop down for the METAL KEY. Pull out E, return to the corridor with the blade traps and use the Metal Key to open the gate. Enter with your torch and go N past a closed gate to a partially flooded room. Use an explosive arrow to shatter the obelisk between the two stone jars and pick up the GOLD (5). Enter the next room N, go to the SW corner and jump up to grab the vines. Turn to face E, transfer Lara to the ceiling (down and right arrow keys) and monkey swing to the NE corner. Drop next to a crowbar switch and activate it to hear what sounds like a door opening while a cut scene shows lowering bars.

Don't drop down, but carefully take a curved walking-running jump over to the NW corner for GOLD (6). Hop to the floor and rather counter-intuitively fire an explosive arrow at the N door to open it. Go on through, loop around right and crawl under the vines into a triangular opening for more GOLD (7). Go down the E side passage and see a closed gate on your right. Go back a bit to a corner trigger tile that turns on a light at the end of the passage. However, as you approach the light turns back off. Continue a bit further and it turns back on, then turns off when you take a few steps more. I'm not sure if there's a repeatable way of doing this, but what worked for me was to take standing jumps from different spots in the last dark section (the two floor blocks separated by a wall-to-wall line) until the light came on and I heard the chimes of SECRET #9. Search the chest behind the lighted urn (facing S) for the RU YI.

Return to the main hallway, walk into the sand-filled opening in the W wall and loop around left to find a buried crowbar switch in the SE corner. Activate it to demolish a nearby coffin, enter the E room on the other side of the hallway and take the GOLD nestled in the skeleton's arms. Continue down the hallway, go up the W steps and around the far corner to find a pushblock. Pull it two times S, turn right and loop around to find a second pushblock. Push it to reveal a third pushblock, which you can push to reveal a passage. Push the button in the W alcove, return to the main hallway and go up the N steps to find a MAZE MAP next to a skeleton. Back down down the steps, enter the E opening and go past the lowered bars to find a ladder. Climb up to a higher room and hear the sound of a door either opening or closing.

Facing W, push the wheel handle to shift the position of gates. Go back down the ladder, return to the main hallway, go N past the skeleton into the room below, turn left past the opened gates and loop around right to find button that lowers a ceiling trap door. Enter the S alcove, turn around and jump straight up to activate a high jump switch that lowers the bars behind you. Pull up into the pushblock room, pull the nearest pushblock one time W, hop down left and loop around right through the hallway and back up to the pushblock room. Push the block you just moved so that it drops down into the room below. Hop down after it and move it four times N so you can later access a ladder beneath the lowered trap door.  

But for now, return to the main hallway, run down the steps, loop around left past the lowered bars and climb the ladder to the upper room. Facing W, push the wheel handle (which seems to have returned to its original position), then push it one more time for further adjustment of the gates. Go down to the main hallway, across to the W pushblock room, hop down N past the lowered bars and get up onto the pushblock you moved a bit earlier. Jump up to grab the ladder and climb past the opened trap door to a new room.

Go E past a shifted wall into the next room, drop down through a gap in the floor tiles and in the room below pull a pushblock away from a button that opens the S gates. Go to the NE corner and activate the crowbar switch hidden behind the storage bin. Another trap door lowers, so head S to the main hallway, turn left at the bottom of the steps and loop around to a now-familiar ladder. Climb to the upper room, face W and push the wheel handle two times. Go through the N opening, turn right into a passage with hanging vines and continue to the lowered trap door. Safety drop to a treasure room and look for the METAL KEY near the NE corner. All the way in the NW corner is GOLD (9).

Exit W and come to a wall button that opens the gates around the corner. Proceed into the hallway, turn left and run all the way to the S end to retrieve your torch. Take it back into the E side passage where you acquired Secret #9 and open the gate in the S wall with the Metal Key. In the next room, turn left past the statue guards and light the urn in the back corner (note the pile of torches nearby). Go to the other end of the room, light the urn there and watch two of guards turn their heads toward each other. You may also have noticed that one of the guards is headless. Stand behind the NE guard, give him a push in the back and the S gate opens. Enter the next room with more guard statues to light three more urns.

There are three buttons in the S wall of this room. This may not be the intended way, but when I pushed only the middle button the S wall gates opened. Go in with your torch, light the final urn and the three guards in this room will come to life. Beat a hasty retreat to give yourself some fighting room, and if you're lucky the guards will all get stuck in walls so you won't have to deal with them. In either event, go past the SE opened gate in the final room and go around to a sand-filled room. Go to the NE corner where two rivers of sand are falling, stand facing NW and pull a completely buried skeleton from the sand pile. Hop forward to pick up a new entry for My Diary. 

Note the S closed doors and return to the statue guard rooms. Go through them with your torch to the E side passage, turn left to the main hallway, turn right and follow the main hallway up and down the steps to turn left into the room with the pushblock. A rock slab has moved away from the NW corner, so hop up into the opening, go left up the ramp and near the top you'll experience another level change.

Level 2: YUMEN GUAN (revisited)

You won't be here long. Pull down the wall switch to open the gate, note that the builder has considerately provided a torch with a flame source here (just in case), pull the skeleton toward the gate and stoop to pick up the LIGHTER. Run with your lighted torch NW to enter the fortress once again.

Level 3: TEMPLE OF MIRROR (revisited)

Leave the torch on the ledge surrounding the pool and go stand behind the guide, who has been idle for entirely too long. Press the action key (again, a bit counter-intuitive) to solicit an offer from him (no, not that kind of offer). Since you've accumulated a wealth of Gold during your efforts to date, you should accept his offer and invest three of them by stepping forward and pressing the action key again. The guide will then offer to sell you a STAR MAP, so spring for two more Gold. For a secret, retrieve the torch, go up the NW ramp, turn left and go around to the cannon in the S wall. Hop up onto the triangular ledge to the right of the cannon, look down to find the watchtower below and stand jump down into it at the cost of some health (but don't restore it now).

Pick up the RU YI, which is the only way you can get SECRET #10 to register, then hop out of the watchtower with torch in hand for another level change.

Level 2: YUMEN GUAN (revisited)

Note that your health has been fully restored and run E to the wall opening. Go past the opened gate for yet another level change.

Level 1: UNDERGROUND TOMB (revisited)

Run down the ramp to a familiar room, go E and S down the main hallway. Turn left into the E side passage just before the opened door, go past the opened S gate into the statue guard rooms, go all the way to the back SE passage and continue to the sand-filled room. Leave the torch on a solid portion of the floor outside this room (just in case), go the SE corner near the closed doors, face E and use the sand pile there to take a tricky curved running jump to land on the N ledge (it may take several tries).

Once there, take a running jump W to a wall switch that opens the S doors below. Safety drop to the ground, be sure to combine the Mojin Amulet halves before you enter (just for fun, you can save now and run down the S passage to see what happens if you don't) and follow the S passage to a floor hole with poisonous gas down below. Hop down to the block and follow around to an intermediate ledge section with multiple buttons that function to adjust the position of six mirror lamps scattered throughout the area. Don't push any of them yet. Instead, go to the W wall and left toward the SW corner. When you get to the sand pile, turn to face the W wall, hop back to land in the poisonous area below, turn left and hop into the floor hole, use the reach-in switch to lift gates on the E side of the room and side flip right out of the hole. Hop back and jump up to grab the ledge. Pull back up to the safe zone and go along the outer ledge to the middle of the E wall where the gates lifted.

Stand in front of the button between two gargoyle heads and save your game for a timed exercise that lasts 100 seconds. When you push the button a laser emits from the gargoyle head on your right, and your objective is to get the mirrors properly aligned so that the laser beam bounces from one to the other around the room and winds up at the other gargoyle head. The button on either side of each mirror will move the mirror a one-eighth turn each time it is pushed. The builder appears to have set things up so that the mirrors are re-adjusted in random fashion when the start button is pushed, so it's not possible to provide step by step instructions for completing the timed exercise. If you consult the posted videos, you'll see what I mean. However, JesseG has provided this map that shows the correct position of the mirrors. (The four corner mirrors face inward, the two inner mirrors next to the central column face outward.) As he has also suggested, you can adjust the mirrors to their correct position before starting the exercise. Even though the mirrors will still move when you push the start button, in my case I had to make only a few adjustments and was able to align them properly with time to spare.

Once you succeed, you'll be rewarded with a flyby of the area down below, from which the poisonous gas has now been cleared. Slide down the sand piles on the W side to the floor or go down the steps near the E wall and note the trench filled with freezing water. On either side is a closed gate. Jump into the water and quickly pull down the ceiling switch facing SE to open the S gate. You need to swim forward and around the corner before you can pull out, so waste no time doing so. Continue S toward the wall, jump into the water and swim past the opened gate to pick up the SNAKE KEY. Flip turn, swim back out and pull up left.

Pull up left again onto a ledge, go over to the SE corner where you see a triangular wedge and place the Candle on it. Pull out your Lighter to light the candle and hop down to the floor. Jump over the trench and loop around right toward an elevated ledge opposite a small gold shrine in the center of the room. Stand between the shrine and the ledge facing NE and save your game for a timed escape. Jump forward into a triangular floor hole at the center of the ledge to start the timer. Take a rolling back flip and run slightly to your right (W) toward a gap in the sand, run up to the apex of the slope and jump straight up to grab the upper ledge. Save in a different slot while pulling up if you've done all this smoothly thus far. Turn left and follow the laser beams while sprinting along the ledges to the central column, turn right and hop up left onto the block where you first entered this area. Pull up left into the passage, sprint N past the opened doors (if you don't make it in time you'll catch fire and die wherever you might be) and loop around left toward the rooms with the guard statutes.

Retrieve your torch (it should be close by), go through the guard statue rooms and turn left to exit to the main hallway. Turn left again past the opened door and continue S through the partially flooded area. Lara looks left in the next room, so drop the torch, pull down the N wall switch to open the nearby gate and go inside for the METAL KEY. Side flip right for flares, exit and go with the torch S past the next opened gate and follow the passage to two rows of guard statues, where the torch is inexplicably extinguished. Not to worry, as it's no longer needed. Continue into the W room, drop the torch and use the Metal Key (SW key hole) to open the S gate. Go on through to a scenic underground area with rushing water with a strong current (so don't jump or fall in).

Turn right, walk to the W edge, stand right and jump with grab at the last instant to glide into the opening below. Leave the wall switch alone for now, go to the SW corner and pull up S. Run along the waterfall toward a closed gate, but before you get there look down left into the water, save your game and take a running jump down toward the SE alcove. Fight your way past the current into the lower E opening and continue through the triangular opening ahead. Swim around until you can surface and step out into a partially flooded passage. Loop around right and enter the last alcove where the statue inside is facing the wall. Squeeze past it and use the reach-in switch to hear the sound of something breaking and a door opening.

Continue along the passage to a room with twin waterfalls and a huge reclining statue. Go to the pushpiece at the statue's feet, note the bar-protected wall switches to your left and move the pushpiece all the way W, then push it one time S onto a rising tile in a shallow floor depression. The bars lower, allowing access to the wall switches. Go back to where the pushpiece was, enter the SE passage and find another statue facing the alcove wall. Use the reach-in switch to raise the pushpiece and attach it to the ceiling. In my game, without my doing anything else, a second cut scene then showed the raised block lowering and the pushpiece moving forward along the ceiling track.  

Go to the wall switches and number them 1 - 4, counting from the left (ignore switch 5 in the SE corner for now). If the block is still raised, pull down switch 1 to lower the block and move the pushpiece forward. If the block has already lowered and the pushpiece has already moved forward, nothing will happen when you pull down switch 1 (but pull it down anyway, just in case). To move the pushpiece to its desired destination, continue as follows: Pull down switch 2, push switch 2 back up, pull down switch 4, pull down switch 3, push switch 4 back up and pull down switch 2. The pushpiece will arrive over the SE corner of the central pool and lower slightly in front of a battering ram. Go back through the SE passage and around the corner to trigger nearby flame blowers.

The now flaming stove is surrounded by three statues. The outer statutes have buttons in their backs that must be pressed. Do so while being wary of the flames, and chains attached to the stove will shatter. Stand to the right or left of the center statue, and when all three flames have temporarily subsided, hop onto the stove, turn to face W and stand jump to activate the jump switch before the flames return. The flames at the N end of the passage go out, enabling you to go up the steps to where an apparently meaningless gate has opened (the steps to your left lead to another closed gate that will be opened later from the other side). However, if you turn around at the entrance, you can jump up to activate a jump switch that in turn activates a flame blower in the previous pool room. The pushpiece is ignited and drops onto a tile at the corner of the pool.

Instead of returning there immediately, continue a bit W along the passage and turn right into the alcove where another gate has opened. Push the button to release the battering ram in the pool room, which pushes the pushpiece forward through a waterfall instead of demolishing it, and doing this also conveniently causes the flame to go out. Now you can return to the pool room and move the pushpiece N, E and S along the pool ledge, ultimately pushing it W into the water. Two cut scenes show a ceiling trap door opening and underwater bars lifting and lowering. Hop up N into the left opening, drop down the other side and pick up the UNKNOWN KEY. Return to the pool room, jump into the water and swim E past the raised and lowered bars to a place where you can surface and pull out left.

Walk forward to trigger a long flyby (or maybe not, as in my case)and pull up either right or left, as both passages lead to the same partially flooded room. Wade just past the SW corner of the surrounding trench and pick up TOWER PART 2 among the submerged debris near a stone table. Go back toward the passages and up the W stairs past the opened door. Continue to a closed gate that lifts upon your approach. Step out onto a balcony and take a running jump N over the railing onto a ledge down in the water. From the NE corner of this ledge, take another running jump to grab the block jutting from the wall. Pull up two times and save your game for a tricky curved running jump into the higher opening in the N wall.

Vault up into the next room, squeeze between the stone table and wooden railing to your left and walk to the far corner for TOWER PART 1. Return to the entrance where you can see a jump switch,   activate it and get prepared for perhaps the most hazardous exercise in the entire game. Platforms lower from the ceiling of the underground cavern while a dragon makes its appearance. The platforms rise and fall sporadically, and your task is to make your way around them in a clockwise direction while avoiding the dragon and the deadly flames that spew from its mouth. Wait for the one in front of you to lower, stand jump down to it and start making your circuit. Be careful not to start your jumps until you have room to avoid bumping into the ceiling. When you reach the platform beneath the ceiling trap door you saw earlier in the cut scene, jump to grab the ladder in the shaft and climb up to the top.

savegame.1

Shift right, drop into the passage and wait at the corner until the floor trap door opens and a boulder drops down into it. If you look up you'll see that another boulder lurks above, but you can also see a wall switch down in the floor hole. The second boulder poses no danger, so drop down beside the first boulder, pull down the wall switch to open a gate, turn to your left and back flip out of the floor hole, jump over the hole and go around the corner to the opened gate. In the small room activate the book switch in the NW corner (the jar is empty) to close the trap door and release the second boulder. Go back there and push the boulder so that it rolls down the slope and destroys the dragon. A block also rises in the water, so return to the ceiling shaft and jump to grab the rope that has appeared there.

Slide to the bottom, drop onto the ledge and pick up the STRIKER. Use the raised block to reach the W ledge with a running jump and grab, hop N and go up the ramp to the dark room where you left your extinguished torch. Go to the E column and use the Unknown Key to lower the obelisk to your right. Hop down where it was for SECRET #11 and go past the opened E gate to the left of the keyhole. Continue past the two rows of statues to the E wall. Turn left and locate the high crawl space in the W wall. Pull up into it, shimmy past the floor hole and flip out at the far end into the room filled with vases. Fight your way to the NW corner, combine the Tower Parts and place the TOWER on the vase there to ignite the nearby device.

Take a TORCH from the pile at the NW corner, light it and go over to the closed S gate. Use the wall switch to open it and go with your torch into the dark room ahead. Loop around right into the next room and find two urns to light. More torches appear on the floor nearby after you've done so. Go back a bit S, hop over the chains and light the central pot. Drop your torch, continue S past the opened gate to the underground cavern, hop to the ledge in the water and take a running jump E onto the raised block. Jump to the next ledge where you dropped from the rope and walk up to the SW corner. Take a running jump to grab the pot (thought you'd have to get it out of the way first, didn't you?), pull up and hop down into the room where you moved the pushpiece around earlier.

In my game the way to the SW passage was clear, but you may find that the raised block is still raised. If so, just climb up onto it, face W, stoop and flip out in front of the passage. Follow around to the flooded section, turn left at the shrine and jump to grab the ladder. Climb to the upper room, face S and give the bell a good whack with the Striker. The huge reclining statue in the pushpiece room moves aside. However, a boulder is poised over the entrance just past the opened E gate, so trigger it by stepping carefully down into either corner. When the boulder stops moving, go forward and push it N into the water. Go back W to the entrance, where a pole has appeared. Climb it and back flip into an upper passage. Push the button to move a statue, climb back down the pole and return to the pushpiece room.

Go through the SE passage once again to find the moved statue around the corner. You can now pull the giant pot away from a closed door in the wall and move it N along the corridor and into the NE alcove. The door opens back in the E wall, so return and enter a short passage. Loop around left and pull down the wall switch to lower the bars at the end of the passage. Turn around, loop left around the passage to find another wall switch, but ignore it. Loop around right from the second switch to find a third switch. Pull this one down, go around right into the S passage and pull the first switch back up. Turn to your right, pull down the E switch, turn left and go through the NW passage. Stay left and you'll come to an opening that overlooks the rushing water.

Stand jump NW to grab the jutting ledge and pull up. Turn right, mind the low ceiling and take a running jump N to grab the longer ledge. Pull up, go around to the floor hole and take an angled running jump with grab to land inside the opening below. Light a flare, jump up to grab the ceiling and monkey swing along the track (if you veer off you'll drop to your death) to the S opening and drop into the root-lined passage. Run forward for an overhead camera shot and take the LEFT GAUNTLET from the plinth. A cut scene shows a door exploding open. Use the nearby book switch to open the S gate and proceed through the passage to the section with the bars and wall switches.

Stay left and you'll emerge through the opening with the three statues. Turn right, go up three flights of stairs to the balcony and jump over the railing down to the ledge below. Make your way as you did earlier W and N to the opening and up the ramp. Retrieve your lighted torch and go back the way you came. Return to the ledge in the water where you picked up the Striker earlier and take a running jump NE to the corner block. Jump up to the higher block and save your game for that tricky curved jump into the N opening. Hop up into the room, turn around and note that the jump switch you activated earlier is now back up in its original position. You now have to repeat an abbreviated version of the rising platform run with torch in hand, but this time without the dragon to distract you. 

Stand jump down to the first platform, jump to the second one, and when you reach the third one jump into the S opening to the pushpiece room. Go behind the reclining statue that obligingly moved out of the way not long ago, continue to the shrine against the wall and light the two green candles. Something appears on the nearby plinth, so step back and pick up the ZEN STAFF while a cut scene shows the small gold shrine back in the timed escape room, followed by another cut scene showing a block rising nearby. You can leave the torch behind for now. Return to the ledge along which you moved the pushpiece earlier.Stand at the NE corner and stand jump to grab the pot in the alcove. Pull up and drop down the other side onto the raised block.

Push the pot S so that it falls down into the water and a cut scene shows a door lifting not far away. Go back behind the reclining statue to retrieve your torch and continue through the now-familiar SE passage. The opened door is at the SW alcove, so drop your torch long enough to squeeze past the statue and take the BUDDHA KEY from the plinth. Pick up the torch, go through the opening in the E wall near the three statues and this time stay right as you return to the room with the book switch. Light two sets of roots in the N passage and watch the cut scenes.

Return to the three statues and turn right into the corridor. Go up three flights of stairs, turn right at the balcony and follow the long passage E until you come to the partially flooded room. Go down the steps and wade to your left. Light three urns on the N side of the room, watch the cut scene and do the same thing with the urns on the S side of the room, resulting in a similar cut scene. Leave the torch in a safe place where you can find it easily, stand in the water facing S and jump up to grab the higher ledge. Locate and pull two chains but leave the SW wall switch alone. Blue sparks are spurting from two columns in the central section. Go over to the N side, pull up onto the higher ledge there and find three chains and no wall switch. Pull only the two outer chains and an explosion will destroy something in the central section, open the N and S doors down below and turn off the spurting sparks.

Drop down, go through the N doorway and enter the next room. There's a button on the column behind the urn on either side of the steps. Push them both and watch the resulting cut scenes. Return to the partially flooded room, go across to the opened S door and see a closed gate ahead with flames on the other side. Pull up onto the E or W ledge and take a tricky angled jump to grab the S crack. Shimmy to the middle and pull up into a crawl space. Crawl forward and safety drop on the other side into the room with flames beyond the closed gate. 

Note the buttons on either side of the gate and the two wall switches at opposite corners of the room. The button in the left demolishes the device you saw in the previous cut scene, while the button on the right opens the gate. The flame at the NE goes out intermittently, so stand facing W and wait for the right time to run off the edge onto a safe spot down near a turn wheel. Save your game, and when the flame goes off again quickly push the NE button while turning left and get out of harm's way.  Facing W, push the wheel handle two times, climb back out NE (just to the left of the button) and exit N past the opened gate.

Turn left into the W passage, where another flame blower has been activated in the SW floor hole. Around the corner is another floor hole where you need to raise a trap door. Stand at the edge of the SW floor hole facing N and save your game for multiple timed exercises. When you see the flame go out behind you, hop down, pull down the wall switch to raise the trap door, hop back and stand jump out of the hole. Of course, the trap door is timed, so you need to run to the other floor hole, pull down the wall switch there and hop back quickly before you fall to your death.

Exit, sprint across into the E passage and loop around left to the next timed trap door. Pull down the wall switch, rush to the opposite corner, pull down the wall switch there and exit. You're not done yet. Turn left past the opened gate, loop around left into the NE alcove, pull down the wall switch and make your way diagonally across the room (jumping over the flames to save precious time) into the SW alcove and pull down the final wall switch to complete the timed exercise. Whew.

savegame.2

Exit again past the opened N gate and continue across through the flooded room and past the opened N door. Go up the steps toward the area with cascading water and note the sunken floor tiles at the near corners. Stand in one of them, jump over the railing onto the tile (not sunken) with a similar design, jump over the railing onto the other sunken tile, jump back toward the second tile and a rope should appear within the falling water. Jump to grab it facing W, climb up one rung from the bottom, swing and jump to land on the ledge near two crowbar switches. Activate the SW one to raise two platforms. Activate the NW one to lower one of the platforms and raise a third one. Go around and activate the NE crowbar switch, and all four platforms will be raised. Leave the SE crowbar switch alone, go stand on the S raised slab and a block will rise in front of you. 

Step off the raised slab and take a running jump to land on the raised block. Light a flare, hop up onto the ledge and note the valve wheel blocked by an ice wall. Push the E button to raise a shorter block below, drop to the floor and go up the N steps to the cascading water. The central trap door has lowered, so jump over the railing to fall down into a partially flooded room. Facing E, push the wheel two times, go to the W opening and down to deeper water. Swim forward, open the W door, follow the passage to the end as a block rises and wade out in front of a wall switch that lowers nearby bars. You've been here before, so sidestep left or right, jump up to grab the ledge, pull up and go around left to the floor hole.

Take an angled running jump with grab to land safely inside the opening below, light a flare, jump up to grab the ceiling and monkey swing along the tracks to the SE opening where you set fire to the roots earlier. Drop down and follow the passage to the W wall, turn left and return to the three statues hallway, turn right and go up three flights of steps to the balcony and continue through the E passage to the partially flooded room. Loop around right or left past the opened N door and go down to find an opened E gate. Hop inside over the floor hole and grab CHIME BELLS 1 from the SE corner. Turn around, hop W with grab over the floor hole into the room with the turn wheel. Facing E, push the handle two times to lower a ceiling structure that bears a striking resemblance to the star map in My Diary. Hop over the floor hole into either side passage and go back up to the partially flooded room.

Go N past the opened door and loop around right to the shorter block you raised earlier in this room. Use it to reach the higher block W and find that the ice wall on the S ledge has somehow been made to disappear. Hop up there and turn the valve wheel on the wall,  not once but four times, waiting for the cut scene that follows each turn. (The final cut scene should show the distinctive oval star pattern on the upper left corner of your screen.) Drop to the floor, go across the flooded room past the opened S door and pull up right or left onto the upper ledge. Repeat that tricky angled jump to grab the S crack, shimmy as appropriate, pull up and crawl until you can stand up. Walk forward and see the dancing yellow lights above the flaming pot below. Take a running jump over the lights and a gravity well will carry you safely past the flames and onto the S ledge across the room.

Turn the valve wheel two times to rotate the outer ring of the ceiling structure. A door opens, so push the E button to raise a block down below and safety drop from the ledge onto it. Hop to the floor, exit N and continue to the flooded room. Turn left, go W up the steps and continue to the balcony overlooking the rushing water. Take a running jump N over the railing onto the ledge down below. Make your way as you've done twice already to the N opening near the NW corner and go up the ramp to the raised slab where the huge pot formerly reposed. In its place is the HEAVENLY KING MACE, so hop over the railing to pick it up. Return S to the room with rushing water, retrace your steps to the ledge where you picked up the Striker earlier, but this time take a running jump onto the higher E ledge.

Enter the alcove where the bars have lowered, take the CHIME BELLS 2 from the plinth and jump back down to the previous ledge. Take a running jump SW into the opening that leads to the pushpiece room, go through the SE passage next to the reclining statue and run past the three statues. Go up three flights of steps and turn right into the E passage. (Does it also seem to you that there's a whole lot of repetitive activity in this level?) Go through the flooded room and up the E steps into a new room featuring clustered black and white pushpieces.

At the entrance are two white pushpieces. Push the only one you can four times N to the corner, then move it five times E. The other white pushpiece near the entrance can now be moved, so pull it one time E, push it one time S, pull it seven times E, push it two times S and push it one time E against the wall. A cut scene shows chains breaking around a nearby plinth. Hop up onto the E ledge and take from the plinth the SAN ZU WU, which looks like an ornamental rooster. Return to the exit steps W, but instead of leaving, pull up left (S) next to a wall switch and pull it down for a cut scene in the flooded room.

Hop down, return to the flooded room and retrieve your torch where you left it some time ago near the S doorway. Take it with you up the W steps and drop it somewhere in the corridor. Return to the flooded room once more and jump up N at the water's edge to grab the intermediate ledge. Pull up, go to the NE corner where you'll find a ceiling hole and pull or hop up W to the higher ledge. Go to the far wall. turn left and take a running jump onto the ledge with the cascading water. Walk past it, locate the jump switch on the S wall ahead and take a running jump to activate it. Go back N and get back up to the highest ledge as described earlier in this paragraph, but this time, when you get to the ledge with the cascading water, take a running jump onto the ledge at the SW corner.

Follow the ledge to the SE corner where a gate has opened. Follow around to what looks like two skeletons playing a board game and pick up the JADE CHESS PIECE. Exit to the ledge, drop down into the flooded room and go to the central pagoda. Facing E, place the Jade Chess Piece on the board for a remote camera view and the sound of a door opening, following which the room becomes completely flooded. Hit the look key to restore camera control, swim up to the top of the pagoda for the HEAVENLY KING SWORD and continue laterally to the E urn for the METAL KEY. Flip turn and swim across laterally to the W side of the room. Look for a wall opening near the ceiling, swim past it while bars lower ahead and continue around the corner until you can surface for air.

Note three underwater chains. The SE one functions only to provide access to an additional crossbow and explosive arrows if needed, but which are otherwise unattainable due to a strong current. Pull that chain to turn off the current for a few seconds, turn to your right and swim S to the skeleton in the far corner. Turn right again and pick up the CROSSBOW (for some reason Lara's grabbing animation wouldn't work in my game if she was facing S). Repeat for the explosive arrows (I was able to face S to pick those up) and surface to survey the lay of the land in this section.

Above the N and W alcoves are lion head statues. On the NE wall next to the entrance is a jump switch. On the S wall and inside the entrance passage are platforms that need to be raised. Ready your crossbow, swim down to pull the NW chain to raise the platform on the S wall, turn left, swim to the platform, draw your crossbow while pulling up, reverse roll and shoot before the platform falls. With an explosive arrow the gem in the lion's mouth will shatter regardless of your aim. Go to the SW chain, pull it to raise the platform behind you in the entrance passage, flip turn, swim there and repeat what you did before. A block will rise in the center of the room, so climb up onto it and take an angled running jump to activate the jump switch.

A ceiling hole is created following a slight earthquake, so swim up and pull out into a familiar area visited much earlier. Head W and navigate the sloped steps once again up to the prison cell. Go to the NW corner, pull up E, hop up SE and follow the passage staying left to the opened W gate. Go on through for a level change.

Level 2: YEMEN GUAN (revisited)

Turn right and head N past the watchtower to the device you lighted with the torch much earlier. Go behind the large Buddha statue to find a receptacle that fits your Buddha Key, which in turn opens an overhead trap door. Turn left, walk behind the smaller statue and hop up SW onto a triangular ledge with a prayer mat. Jump up to grab the ceiling and monkey swing toward the opened trap door. Make sure you're directly above the center of the flaming device below (the Buddha's smiling mouth should be directly in front of you as you face N), hold down the down and right arrow keys to make Lara turn around and jump up inside the trap door shaft so she can activate the jump switch there.  

A section of the nearby E gate has opened, and as you enter more sections spontaneously explode. Deal with the ninja and pick up the UNKNOWN KEY he dropped. Grab the small medipack from the stone table, note the nearby statues, exit and you may or may not trigger a flyby on your way out. If not, go to the flaming device and note the wall design representing small images of different people. Face E, just to the right of the designer wall, hop up onto a triangular sand ledge between the images and the scruffy plant and look up NW past the opened trap door. You should see an artifact perched high up on a ledge. Use an explosive arrow to shatter it and you'll hear what  sounds like a door opening but is actually the two statues moving aside.

Return to where you encountered the ninja and find that a wall switch formerly blocked by one of the statues is now accessible. Pull it down and watch something float down to the burning device. Go there and pull out the ZEN STAFF, then run all the way in a clockwise direction W, N and E to the opening in the cliff wall. Continue past the opened gate for a level change.

Level 1: UNDERGROUND TOMB (revisited)

Go down the long ramp to a section you visited long ago and return to what I then called the main hallway. Run all the way S past the partially flooded room and to the opened gate in the far left corner. Continue S and turn right between the two rows of statues, continue W past the next opened gate, turn left past the next opened gate (S) to the area with rushing water. You know the drill by now. Jump the ledges to the two NE blocks, take that tricky curved running jump up into the N opening, vault up into the next room and find that the gate ahead is still closed.

However, you can place the Chime Bells in the vacant spots in the wooden rails on either side to open double doors elsewhere. As you turn to leave you'll see that the jump switch is again up in its ready-to-use position, but you'll be glad to learn that another trip along the rising and falling platforms is not necessary. Stand right facing SE at the edge of the lower opening and carefully stand jump with a left curve down to the lower block. Take a running jump SW onto the ledge in the water and jump to the S opening that leads to the pushpiece room.

Take the familiar route through the SW passage past the three statues, up three flights of steps to the balcony and W along the corridor to the flooded room. Go left past the opened N door and up the steps into the room with the cascading water. Hop N over the railing into the room with the laser beam and the rotating mirrors. Safety drop from the ledges to the floor where you see that gold relic noted earlier near the center of the room. Go to the W end of the water trench, save your game and drop into the water next to the closed gate. Use the Metal Key to open the gate, flip turn and pull out N to warm up. Jump back into the water, swim past the opened gate and grab SECRET #12 from the plinth, retreat and pull out N again. 

Turn right and locate a second gold relic identical to the other one. Stand next to it facing SW, affix a Zen Staff to it and jump over the water trench. Stand next to the first gold relic facing NE and affix the other Zen Staff to it. There's an explosion between the two relics, so hop up to the exposed coffin and take a second HEAVENLY KING MACE from the dearly departed one. Get back up to the laser beam ledge, exit S through the cascading water room to the flooded room and go up the W steps to a familiar corridor. When you reach the balcony, turn right and jump N over the railing onto the ledge in the room with rushing water. Yes, you again must make the circuit along the ledges to the opening in the N wall.

Go up the ramp, turn right past the opened E gate, run past the two rows of statues, turn left and follow the corridor N past the partially flooded room and to the far end of the main hallway, turn left and go to the NW passage and up the ramp for another level change.

Level 2: YEMEN GUAN (revisited)

This is just a pit stop, so pick up the TORCH at your feet, light it and head NW to the entrance to the fortress. Go on through for your final level change.

Level 3: TEMPLE OF MIRROR (revisited)

Leave the torch on the ledge surrounding the pool and go up the NW ramp to the upper ramparts. Turn right, run past the burning structure and around the corner to the E connecting bridge. Go across and turn left just past the closed floor trap door. Pull up onto the first raised rampart on your right and take a running jump SE down to a flat spot next to the fortress wall. Enter the crawl space there and flip out into a confined area with three snakes. Open the gate with the Snake Key (clever) and take SECRET #13 from the plinth.

Exit, slide down to the ground and look for the monkey bars overhanging the N wall. Go there, turn to face S and jump up to grab the bars. Monkey swing to the edge (not at a corner) and press the down and right arrow keys to make Lara turn in place and jump up to grab the top of the ledge. Pull up, jump S to the ramparts and climb down the nearby vine ladder to find a keyhole that fits your Unknown Key. Use it to lower the bars to your right, hop up next to the skeleton and stoop to pick up SECRET #14. Climb back up to the ramparts and return W to the main fortress.

You can get down the quickest way by taking a running swan dive down into the pool. Pull out onto the central block facing N and place the San Zu Wu on the plinth. All of a sudden the pool is replaced by a deep, hazardous pit, and a lingering flyby will give you a preview of the entire area awaiting your exploration. Run off E onto a lower ledge, go around right to the SE corner, face the S wall a bit away from the corner and hop back to grab the ledge, drop, slide and grab the edge of the slope below. Shimmy left to the corner, pull up and take a rolling back flip with a right curve to land on a jutting block. Stand right, save your game, take a running jump N onto the slope and jump without sliding to land in an alcove with a wall switch that lowers a trap door.  

Turn around, make sure you're at full health, save again and run off the edge. You'll land on a slope, but allow Lara to drop onto the next two slopes before jumping over a spike trap to land on the steps with a significant loss of health. If you're lucky, you'll trigger the spikes without being killed and drop a lesser distance onto the steps with only a slight loss of health. In any event, run up the winding steps to a ramp and continue up to the same surrounding ledges you navigated a bit earlier. Once again, go to the SE corner, hang from the edge at the corner, drop, slide, grab, pull up and take a rolling back flip with a right curve to land on the same block as before.

This time, however, turn around and run off S onto a corner ledge below. Hang from this ledge, shimmy around to the crack in the S wall and shimmy right as far as you can. Drop to grab the crack below, shimmy left as far as possible and drop to grab the next crack below. Shimmy right around the corner past a sneaky spike trap and pull up onto a safe ledge. Walk up to the W wall and stand jump SW into an alcove with a statue. Take a HEAVENLY KING SWORD from the statue, step down and hop down NE onto the flat spot. Turn to face W, side flip right onto the slope, slide and grab and safety drop onto an invisible floor.

Note the symbols on the floor and run across to stand on the one closest to the E wall. Go SW to the next symbol and a flame will shoot forth. Stand jump N onto the next symbol and another flame appears. Save your game (you need to be positioned near the SW corner) and stand jump SW onto the symbol closest to the W wall without making the other two flames go out. You'll know you've succeeded if you hear a burst of action music when you land. There should now be three active flames, so stand jump E (the flames will go out), run to the wall and jump up to grab the steps. Pull up to a remote camera and go left around the corner down the ramp and stop near the bottom. A nasty squishy block trap will be triggered when you step down onto the flat spot, so save your game first, step down and continue with an immediate standing jump to a safe spot.

Save again, take another standing jump seemingly through the next block and land inside a passage guarded by a scorpion. Pick up 6 x shotgun ammo around the skeleton, together with the SHOTGUN, then proceed along the passage to a crossing and go down either ramp. The figures in the W wall mural each has an invisible button in its belly, but push only (counting from the left corner to the right) these four: 2, 3, 5 and 7. Doors will open and six ninjas will attack at once. Your best strategy is to reverse roll and run E down to the ramp to await their arrival. When all is quiet, search the bodies for 5 x revolver ammo and a large medipack. If you like, you can blow up the bodies with explosive arrows for additional like pickups.

Go all the way down the ramp to the opened E doors and enter a new room that you saw briefly in the earlier flyby. There are four large pushpieces scattered throughout this room, so go first to the one between the statues near the N wall and move it two times W in front of the statue on the left. Hop onto the pushpiece and equip the statue with a Heavenly King Sword. Run across the room and move the S pushpiece two times W, place a Heavenly  King Mace in a similar manner and go to the golden pushpice between the E statues. Equip each statue with the remaining Sword and Mace (the order doesn't matter), and the Buddha behind the E barrier will slowly lower out of sight.

Go to the last pushpiece tucked away near the SE corner and pull it S so you can use it to pull up to the roof of the Buddha structure. Turn around and take a running jump S, walk forward to drop into a trench and pull the chain two times (watch the cut scene and hear a click after each pull). Return to the roof of the Buddha structure, walk forward and stand jump N from the lower ledge onto the slope, slide and grab, shimmy left around two corners to the E wall, pull up and back flip onto the far ledge. Walk to the N end of the roof and take a running jump into the corner to find another trench with a chain. Pull this one two times as well, and after the second click the door to the Buddha structure will open down below.

Drop to the floor, go to the SW pushpiece, move it around the statue to the W wall and push it laboriously N so you can use it to access the ledge hanging over the entrance to this room. Locate the jump switch on the nearby ceiling block, face E halfway back from the edge, side flip left and jump off the slope to activate the jump switch. Keep the jump key depressed so that Lara will slide through the narrow gap to the floor. Run across the room into the Buddha structure and into the E side room. Loop around left into the NW alcove, light a flare and pull up N into a small triangular opening.

Hop up E into a passage and follow around to an obstacle. Save your game before attempting the next jump, because if Lara gets caught in the collision you'll be stuck and will have to reload. Face NW with your right shoulder against the wall, back flip through the opening onto the E slope, slide and grab. If you're not perfectly positioned you won't reach the E slope and will jump off the S slope to the floor below. Shimmy right, release to activate the jump switch and torches will be ignited in front of you as you land. Walk forward to the now safe plinth and take the BONE MIRROR. Enter the SE alcove past an opened gate for SECRET #15.

Return to the large room with the Buddha structure and the four statues will come to life and aim deadly bolts at you. At the same time the corner dragon heads will start rotating while flames spew from their mouths. Your best strategy is to run quickly toward the middle of a wall where you can engage the statues without fear of being engulfed with flames. If you do happen to catch fire, there are floor holes with icy water you can jump into for quick relief. Tip: I was able to take a few steps into the room and trigger the statues and flame traps without the doors closing behind me, enabling me to retreat and deal with the first three statues from a position of relative safety. When the last statue is conquered (it takes an inordinate amount of firepower to bring him down), save your game and head for the W exit to begin a timed exit sequence.

savegame.4

Watch for falling debris at the exit portal as the timer starts, jump over the debris on the left side to trigger two boulders coming down from your right, loop around left up the ramp and stay left as another boulder is triggered and immediately swerve right to avoid the next boulder. Turn left at the top of the ramp, take a quick right and then a left and another quick right, continue E and take refuge in the alcove to your left as a boulder rolls toward you. When it passes by, continue E up the ramp while debris continues to fall from the ceiling at various places. However, once you reach the steps it's basically clear sailing until you emerge safely at the ledges just below the former pool, where the guide is still patiently waiting.

savegame.5

Pull out, stand behind the guide and he'll start running toward the opened N gate. Follow him across the desert sands, where he'll stoop to light something at the base of the far wall. Go stand in the dancing yellow lights and the stone door in the wall will lower. Go on through toward an elegant and colorful structure. If you run underneath it, the game will come to an end. If you wish to divert for the final secret, turn left just in front of the structure look for an opening in the W wall. In my game the opening appeared to be clear, and I wondered why Lara was consistently unable to make what seemed to be a simple jump into the opening. It turns out that the opening is blocked by bars which may be invisible to you. Nevertheless, they're there, as you might see if you save and reload in front of the opening, and I can only attribute my experience to a visual bug of some kind.

For the secret, turn back S past the guide and opened gate into the fortress and loop around right up the NW ramp to the ramparts. Go around to the bridge leading to the E fortress. Go past that closed trap door (looks like it's destined never to open) and up the ramp to the trap door where the boulder dropped down much earlier. Face W with your right shoulder against the wall, jump up to grab the ledge and pull up near a wooden structure. Get up onto a rampart, fire an explosive arrow at the structure to ignite it and see the bars lowering back at the W opening noted in the previous paragraph.

Return W to the main fortress, get down to the interior floor via one of several available means and exit N past the opened gate into the passage opened by the guide. You can now hop up into the W opening, pull up three times and continue around the corner to a plinth with SECRET #16. Hop down N with an irrelevant loss of health and run forward to conclude your adventure. Hit the escape key for the concluding credits, a soothing ballad sung by a female voice and the promise of an upcoming second chapter.