Nantong Prefecture, North Tongzhou, and North Tongzhou connects north and south. This is the first couplet of a couplet given to civil and military ministers when Emperor Qianlong went to Jiangnan. It may seem popular, but it does clearly outline the characteristics of the two place names in the north and the south. A Grand Canal connected the two Tongzhou states in the north and south, becoming an important waterway in the Gyeonggi at that time.

The Beitongzhou here refers to what is now Tongzhou District in Beijing. This important node in the northern part of the ancient movement has also taken on a new look with the relocation of the Beijing City Government.

Eighteen years ago, I lived in Tongzhou for some time. During the seven-day National Day holiday, I chose to avoid the crowd and return to my hometown to see the new Beijing.
After responding to that sentence, I walked out of Metro Line 6 with a flick of my fingers and found that I didn't recognize Tongzhou at all. The crowded streets at that time had still become a new place. Only the Diandeng Ancient Tower standing on the street could vaguely recall the changes at the beginning.

This one-day tour of Tongzhou starts from the famous three temples and one tower and ends at Canal Park. In just one day, it takes hundreds of years to travel in a trance.

Tongzhou's Three Temples and One Pagoda, also known as the Sanjiao Temple, include the Confucian Temple of Confucianism, the Taoist Ziqing Palace (also known as the Red Boy Temple), and the Buddhist Youshengjiao Temple and the affiliated Dandeng Pagoda.
Compared with the crowded attractions during the National Day, Sanjiao Temple in the autumn rain seems a little deserted, and only the lighthouse still in the distance seems to tell everyone how prosperous it was once.

First of all, what comes into view is the Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple. This Confucian Temple in Tongzhou was built in the second year of the Yuan Dade (1298 AD), four years earlier than the well-known Confucius Temple in Beijing. At present, it can be counted as the oldest Confucian Temple in Beijing and the only remaining Confucian Temple in prefectures and counties.
After entering the Confucian Temple, the central axis is Jimen, Panqiao, Confucius Statue, and Dacheng Hall.

Related exhibitions about Tongzhou and the Grand Canal are held in turn in the two-story auxiliary halls on the central axis.

Beyond the Confucian Temple, behind it are Yousheng Jiao Temple and Ziqing Palace juxtaposed in east and west, forming a "pin"-shaped arrangement with the Confucian Temple in front.
The Ziqing Palace is on the east side of Yousheng Temple. Unfortunately, the door was closed tightly. I asked the administrator and told him that because there were no Taoist priests to take over it, it was currently in a suspended state. What a pity. According to the introduction in front of the Taoist temple, because the murals in the Taoist temple have the image of Nezha, it is also called the Red Boy Temple. This is still rare based on the existing Taoist temples in Beijing. I look forward to the early development of the temple and receiving visits.

At present, the most lively ones in the entire Sanjiao Temple are Yousheng Temple in the west and the Dandeng Buddha Pagoda behind them.

The entire Youshengjiao Temple consists of Tianwang Hall, Buddha Burning Hall, Guanyin Hall and Diandeng Pagoda in the side courtyard.

This Diandeng Buddha Tower in the West Courtyard is said to have been established during the Northern Zhou Dynasty. At that time, it was known as one of the eight scenic spots in Tongzhou, namely the "Ancient Tower Lingyun". The tower is 56 meters high and octagonal in shape. It is a dense eaves type 13-story brick and wood solid tower. It is said that the purpose of this pagoda was built to suppress river demons in the rivers in Tongzhou. This stupa is also one of the four famous stupas on the Grand Canal. It is only a few hundred meters away from the Grand Canal. Imagine sailing at night and seeing this ancient tower, you will know that you have arrived in Tongzhou.

It could have been directly connected to Xihaizi Park from Sanjiao Temple. Unfortunately, because the Beijing and Tongzhou District governments were building an overall image of the canal, they still had to detour and had to give up. I found a few photos from the website and put Mr. Li Zhuowu's tombstone below. (The following 5 pictures are downloaded online and will be deleted immediately if any infringement is notified)

After exiting Sanjiao Temple, we walked around the community and entered Xinhua Street. I remember that this was the main road of Tongzhou back then, and many commercial and cultural facilities were on this street. The most famous of these is Tongzhou Museum.

When I was in Tongzhou, whenever I passed by car, I often thought about entering. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity, and it was not until 18 years later that I was able to enter.
The entire Tongzhou Museum is small and exquisite, with three courtyards. Although it is not as magnificent as the National Expo and the Capital Expo, its exquisiteness clearly outlines the history of Tongzhou and even the history of the entire canal.

I traveled to several destinations to see the history of Tongzhou and even the Grand Canal, and wanted to see what the Grand Canal looks like now.
Leave the Tongzhou Museum, walk straight down the street, reach the Dongguan Bridge, and you will come to the Canal Scenic Area. Unfortunately, due to the sudden cooling in Beijing that day, the canal cruise ship that had just opened was suspended and had to come back another day.

I had no choice but to walk along the East Binhe Road of the North Canal to watch the scenery on both sides of the canal. With the improvement of the canal environment, the coast of the North Canal is now a leisure route with unique scenery. I really feel happy for the people living on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

I walked the section from Dongguan Bridge to Yudai River Bridge. On one side is the advancing Beijing City Sub-center, and on the other side is the leisure and sports venues provided to citizens. There are also some unique sculptures along the canal, introducing the scenery on both sides of the canal from Hangzhou to Beijing.

Leisure time is short, and is not bound by time and society. When you happily wander around where you like, you can do whatever you want in a short period of time and become free. In just half a day, I walked from Tongzhou's past to the sub-center of the city. The ancient canal complemented the surrounding scenery, making the tired mood more comfortable.