Being in Jiangsu, I overlooked Yangzhou. I only heard that Yangzhou has great morning tea and beautiful Shouxi Lake, but I never thought of going there. Coincidentally, my husband was on a business trip and it happened to be in mid April (the ancient Chinese month of Yangchun in March), so I decided to take the high-speed train together to go there.

On April 12th at 7:35am, I took a bus from Suzhou North Station and arrived at Yangzhou East Station around 9:05am. With high-speed rail, it's really convenient. Otherwise, taking a bus from southern Jiangsu to northern Jiangsu would take at least 3 hours.

Play plan: On the afternoon of April 12th, Shouxi Lake;

On the morning of April 13th, Daming Temple; Afternoon He Yuan; Strolling through the surrounding streets and alleys such as Dongguan Street in the evening;

On the morning of April 14th, the individual park; Take the high-speed train back to Jiangsu in the afternoon.

1、 Skinny West Lake

This is the Great Hongqiao scenic spot, which is one of the 24 scenic spots in the Qing Dynasty. Founded during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, spanning the Baohu Lake, the original bridge was a wooden red railing, hence the name Red Bridge. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt as a stone bridge. Crossing this bridge leads to the entrance of the south gate of Shouxi Lake.

Skinny West Lake South Gate (Admission fee 100 yuan/person)

When entering, the first choice is to take a rowing boat (8 people sharing, 100 yuan/person). You can listen to the explanation while enjoying the scenery. At this time, the spring breeze is rippling and the green fields on both sides are the most comfortable season.

The Left Bank is famous for its long embankment of spring willows. Unfortunately, on that day, the sky was not beautiful and the atmosphere was gloomy. Therefore, in the slim West Lake in March, we couldn't enjoy its famous March fireworks (the fluttering willow catkins. The boatman told us that the willow catkins would only fly like fireworks under sunny conditions), leaving us with regrets!

It is said that people in Yangzhou like to grow bamboo and raise geese.

The slow-moving rowing boat passed by shoulder to shoulder with a black swan!

The boatwoman told us that as long as we imitate the duck's call, wild ducks will swim over. In our "quack" sound, four wild ducks are chasing after us with all their might!

To the left of the bridge is the Xu Garden scenic spot.

To the right of this bridge is the scenic spot of Xiaojin Mountain.

Ahead is the Tingtai (also known as Diaoyutai) scenic spot, where the boatwoman tells a story about Emperor Qianlong fishing here.

Diaoyutai architecture is a classic work of Chinese garden "framing" art.

In 2014, Shouxi Lake was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

Professor Mao Yisheng, a bridge expert, once said, "The oldest bridge in China is the Zhaozhou Bridge; the most magnificent bridge is the Lugou Bridge; and the most beautiful and artistically representative bridge is the Wuting Bridge in Yangzhou.

The Wuting Bridge has a total of fifteen bridge openings.

Passing through Lin Xiangxie!

Passing by Wangchun Tower!

We are about to enter Xichuntai!

Get off the ship at Xichuntai!

According to legend, salt merchants in Yangzhou once celebrated the birthday of Emperor Qianlong here, so the Xichuntai scenic spot is also known as the "Spring Terrace Celebration"!

Du Mu's poem goes: "The green mountains are faint and the water is far away, the autumn is over and the grass in Jiangnan has not withered; on the night of the bright moon at the Twenty Four Bridges, where can the jade man teach to play the flute.

Overlooking the lake from Xichuntai!

The Twenty Four Bridges scenic spot is composed of a combination of a falling sail boardwalk, a single arch bridge, a nine curved bridge, and a blowing pavilion; This bridge is a single arch bridge.

There are 24 White Marble railings for the single arch bridge; The bridge is 24 meters long; The bridge is 2.4 meters wide and has 24 steps up and down.

The Falling Sail Plank Road is constructed by piling up yellow stones.

The wisteria flowers on the boardwalk!

Standing on the mountain stream boardwalk overlooking Xichun Terrace and the Wangchun Tower across from it, the scenery is pleasant!

Unknown plants captured simultaneously!

This place showcases the royal style of Xichuntai architecture!

Jiuqu Bridge and Chuxiao Pavilion

Standing on the Nine Curve Bridge to enjoy the scenery is another kind of beauty.

The only photo taken by Shouxi Lake!

The leisurely black swan by the lakeside!

In front of this is the direction of the north gate of Shouxi Lake, and you can vaguely see the resting tower of Daming Temple! I'll save the scenic spots of Jinquan Huayu and Shibi Liucong in that direction until next time (mainly because I don't want to get too tired).

On the way to Jingxiang Bookstore, I took a picture of the city flower of Yangzhou - Qionghua, which is as big as a plate and as white as jade.

It is said that Emperor Yang of Sui excavated the Grand Canal in order to visit the beautiful flowers in Yangzhou. It's a rather absurd legend.

A plum forest in front of Jingxiang Bookstore!

Jingxiang Bookstore is an old building built by salt merchants during the Qianlong period, and one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, Jin Nong, often visited here.

·Leaving Shizuka Bookstore, I saw a pair of wild ducks playing in the water along a small stream branching off from a lake!

The wild ducks I saw in Shouxi Lake seemed to be paired up, and for the first time in my life, I saw ducks flying very high on the lake surface.

There are many varieties of flowers by the lake. Only by coming to Yangzhou can we know that the Guangling peony and Luoyang peony in Yangzhou are equally famous.

Intangible Cultural Heritage: Paper Cuttings

Intangible Cultural Heritage: Xiangfen

Intangible Cultural Heritage: Mingfan

Hike to Wuting Bridge - White Pagoda - Fuzhuang Scenic Area

Ascend the Wuting Bridge and experience the beauty of the ancient bridge up close!

Climbing the bridge and looking into the distance

The exquisite small garden in front of Wuting Bridge is surrounded by water on all sides, like wild ducks floating in the water, hence the name Fu Garden!

Is the stone carving on this Wuting Bridge still an old object from the past?

Take another photo with a different look!

From here, there is a slight smell of Beijing Beihai Park!

The White Pagoda was first built in the 49th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1784 AD) and is one of the few representative works of brick built lama pagodas in China!

The advantage of Fuzhuang is that it is surrounded by water on all sides, so when you step into Fuzhuang, you will explore the surrounding lakes and mountains in detail.

From a distance, the small soil reefs on the lake surface resemble Fu Zhuang, surrounded by water on all sides and floating on the surface!

Looking at the wild ducks in pairs, they are also surrounded by water on all sides, floating on the surface of the water!

Here, you can admire the beauty of the Bridge Pavilion and enjoy the pleasure of swimming fish!

Platform carved railing, overlooking by the water!

After leaving Fuzhuang, I found that my phone was almost out of battery. I quickly took the last photo of the tall and straight tree inside the Slender West Lake!

2、 Daming Temple

Both bus routes 1 and 2 can reach Daming Temple, but the stop is Shouxihu North Gate Station.

It takes about 6 to 7 minutes to walk from the station to Daming Temple, and the scenery along the way is pleasant

Arriving at Daming Temple (admission fee 45 yuan/person). Daming Temple was named after its initial construction during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Song Dynasty (457-464 AD). For over 1500 years, the names of temples have undergone many changes, such as being called "Qiling Temple" and "West Temple" during the Sui Dynasty, and "Chengping" during the late Tang Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, due to the taboo of using the name "Daming", it was once referred to as "Qiling Temple". In the 30th year of the Qianlong reign, the emperor personally inscribed the title "Imperial Edict for Fajing Temple".

The Qiling Pagoda, which was rebuilt and laid the foundation in 1988, has a total of nine floors and is equipped with an elevator to the seventh floor (the ticket price for climbing the pagoda is 26 yuan/person), offering a panoramic view of Shouxi Lake!

Climbing the tower and taking a bird's-eye view of Slender West Lake!

In the first year of Emperor Wen of Sui's Renshou reign (601 AD), the Qiling Pagoda was built inside the Daming Temple. The pagoda is nine stories high and stands tall on the Shu Hill. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the political and economic development of Yangzhou was very rapid. Therefore, famous Tang poets such as Li Bai, Liu Yuxi, and Bai Juyi all climbed this tower. Unfortunately, in the third year of Emperor Wu of Tang's Huichang reign (843 AD), this famous site was turned into scorched earth.

The Pingshan Hall in Daming Temple was first built in the eighth year of the Qingli reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (1048 AD) when Ouyang Xiu was the governor of Yangzhou. It was named Pingshan Hall because it stood in front of the hall and looked at the mountains from afar, resembling a flat hall.

The church was rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty.

The well behind Pingshan Hall is Gulin Hall, which was built in the seventh year of Yuanyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1092 AD) during Su Shi's tenure as the governor of Yangzhou.

Named after the two characters "valley and forest" in Su Shi's poem "Under the deep valley, graceful and graceful, high forest and fu shu".

Further back, there is a Ouyang Temple, built by Yangzhou people to commemorate Ouyang Xiu's virtuous governance!

In his later years, Duke Ouyang adopted the self proclaimed title of 'Liuyi Jushi'.

This leads to the West Garden (also known as the Imperial Garden) inside the Daming Temple, which was first built during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. During Emperor Qianlong's southern tour, he wrote poems several times in this garden, which includes famous historical sites such as Kangxi Imperial Stele Pavilion, Qianlong Imperial Stele Pavilion, the Fifth Spring of the World, Huangshi rockery, and Crane Tomb.

Kangxi Imperial Stele Pavilion

Qianlong Imperial Stele Pavilion

Huangshi rockery

The temple and garden scenery of the imperial garden have unique characteristics

In the pond inside the garden, there is actually a large "blue and white porcelain" fish.

Borrowing the Jingqi Spirit Pagoda

People walking in the painting

The tomb of Qing Dynasty painter Shi Tao is located here.

The Jianzhen Memorial Hall in Daming Temple was designed by Mr. Liang Sicheng and is known as a "century old classic building". Worth a visit!

These are two ancient Qionghua trees at the exit of Daming Temple!

Daming Temple is definitely worth visiting, as it has the footprints of two literary governors, Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi; There are also poems by poets such as Li Bai, Liu Yuxi, and Bai Juyi climbing high; There are also imperial traces of Kangxi and Qianlong emperors; There are excellent designs by modern architectural master Liang Sicheng; There is a tomb of the great Qing Dynasty painter Shi Tao

3、 He Yuan

There are "The First Corridor Under Heaven", "The First Mountain Under Heaven" and "The First Pavilion Under Heaven" inside.

Entrance of Heyuan East Gate (Admission fee 45 yuan/person)

Taking the artistic conception of Tao Yuanming's "leaning against the south window to express pride, climbing the east high to let out a soft whistle", the theme park of the garden is named "Sending Roar Mountain Villa".

Why is there a corner of the backyard garden

The building with brick carvings of "Phoenix Blows Peony" embedded on the mountain walls in the backyard is called the Peony Hall.

This is the main building in He Yuan Dong Yuan - the boat hall.

The fine glass windows in the ship hall are transparent and bright.

The ground in the south of the ship hall is paved with cobblestones and tiles in a water wave pattern.

Experts are amazed by the construction technique of the ship hall building, which features windows on all sides and corrugated flooring.

The walls around the ship hall are surrounded by rocks, and the ground has evolved from ripples to other symbolic patterns. The following picture is a close-up photo of other patterns, allowing you to unleash your imagination!

There is a "Near Moon Pavilion" behind the ship hall.

The Path to Heyuan West Garden

This is the main scenery of He Yuan West Garden

This is the "Number One Pavilion in the World" - Shuixin Pavilion, which is the only remaining "water stage" in ancient Chinese opera pavilions and also the most charming part of Xiyuan.

I choose to sit inside the Water Heart Pavilion and experience the feeling of being calm on top of the 'small square pot'.

The corridor that these tourists walk on is the "Number One Corridor in the World" - the Fudao Corridor, with a total length of 1500 meters. This section is located in the West Garden, and the left side of the corridor offers a beautiful view of the West Garden of Shuixin Pavilion; On the right side of the corridor, you can view the beautiful scenery of the courtyard from afar through each flower window, and enjoy the scenery through the flower window with endless aftertaste!

This is the place where the park owner and their family live their daily lives. It is named "Yuxiu Building" because of the towering magnolia tree and hydrangea tree. It is a western-style building, similar to a courtyard in Beijing, and is surrounded by a duplex corridor, creating a unique blend of Chinese and Western architecture.

This is the Moon Viewing Tower, with a western-style fence, but the pattern resembles ancient coins and has four Chinese characters for "longevity". It is the residence of the owner's mother!

This is currently the largest and most complete preserved Nanmu Hall from the Qing Dynasty in Yangzhou, serving as a place for the host to receive guests. On both sides of the main entrance of Nanmu Hall, Western architectural techniques are integrated, using a whole piece of glass that is 4 square meters large and 9 millimeters thick, providing excellent lighting effects.

There is a beautiful cloisonn é chandelier in the hall

Yuan Yu Xiao Jia Nong

The calligraphy of the great painter Shi Tao in the Qing Dynasty depicts "Pianshishan House".

This protruding stone peak is the "Number One Mountain in the World" - Pianshi Mountain House! It is a precious "rare book on earth" created by the painter Shi Tao during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

In this pool of blue waves, there is an astonishing "moon in the water", indicated by the red line.

There is a square mirror embedded in the wall here, which can illuminate the flowers blooming in the opposite mountain and stone cluster. Therefore, at this "Pianshi Mountain House" scenic spot, people can simultaneously
You can see the 'moon in the water' and the 'flower in the mirror' during the daytime.

The flowers blooming among the rocks in the garden.

4、 Individual Garden

The name of Geyuan comes from the abundance of bamboo throughout the park, which resembles the Chinese character "ge" in shape. This is the northern entrance (admission fee 45 yuan/person).

The garden is famous for its layered stone art. The rockery made of bamboo shoots, lake stones, yellow stones, and Xuan stones in the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter is praised by the garden master Mr. Chen Congzhou as a "unique example in China".

Northern Bamboo Garden

You can enter the residential area in the southern part of the park from here.

Ground pattern in the park

Featured flower window

Five Blessings and Auspicious Patterns

The West Fire Lane in the courtyard is wide in the south and narrow in the north.

This well is located at the southern end of Xihuo Lane, adjacent to the houses on both sides and the front gatehouse, making it convenient for residential use during normal times. In case of a fire, water can be taken in time to extinguish the fire. The wall near the well is also specially arched to prevent long-term water intake from causing the wall to sink. It is evident that the architectural design is meticulous and meticulous.

Residential courtyards and flower windows are different from Suzhou mansions.

You can reach the central garden of a garden from here

This is the spring scenery of the rockery in the garden: bamboo shoots and stones in the bamboo forest resemble spring bamboo shoots unearthed, and the earth returns to spring.

spring is in the air.

This is the summer view of the four seasons rockery in the garden: the blue and gray the Taihu Lake Lake stones are stacked in front of the pond, and the the Taihu Lake Lake stones are used to symbolize the scenery of Jiangnan in midsummer.

The the Taihu Lake Lake stone in this summer scene is thin and transparent. From a distance, it looks like the moon and ugly characters. What a good stone!

This is the autumn scenery of the rockery in the garden: the rockery peaks are made of stacked yellow stones, and the autumn red color of the plants adds a strong autumn atmosphere to this place!

Yellowstone highlights the towering mountains of autumn.

A wisp of autumn sentiment!

In the spring of March, the scent of deep autumn is captured here.

This is the winter scenery of the four season rockery in the garden: stacked with Xuan stones (also known as snow stones) from Anhui Xuancheng, this white colored snow stone can highlight the cold feeling of un melted snow in winter.

There are also twenty-four wind sound holes chiseled on the south wall here, and when the wind is too strong, there is a whistling sound. So if it's summer, this place must also be full of coolness!

At the foot of the rockery, there are ice cracks on the road surface, combined with a group of intentionally sculpted snow stone lions of all sizes, creating a beautiful scene of "lions playing in the snow".

This is Baoshan Tower. On the second floor corridor of Baoshan Tower, you can enjoy the summer and autumn scenery in the garden.

Standing on the second floor of Baoshan Tower, enjoying the autumn scenery in the park!

Standing at Baoshan Tower overlooking the garden - Qingyi Pavilion.

Standing at Baoshan Tower overlooking the garden - Yiyuxuan.

The building on Qiushan is called "Zhuqiu Pavilion".

Yiyuxuan "is located in the center of the four season rockery in the garden and is the place where the owner receives guests.

The colored glass on the wall of Yiyuxuan was imported from France at a high price back then.

The hexagonal "Qingyi Pavilion" is surrounded by many the Taihu Lake Lake stones. The the Taihu Lake Lake stones are also surrounded by a bend of green water. Here, you can look around the park.

One of the bonsai in the garden

The second bonsai in my garden

Leaving the south gate of the garden, you will enter the top ten famous streets in China - Dongguan Street.

5、 Street Scene Photography in Yangzhou City

The mansion on Dongguan Street - Yiyuan!

Zhang Yuliang Memorial Hall on Dongguan Street

Fuyuan on Dongguan Street (including Xie style old house, backyard, and Fenzhuang Fang, a rare three in one residential, garden, and workshop complex).

There is no fragrance powder like Yangzhou in the world, "referring to the fragrance powder industry in Yangzhou represented by Xie Fuchun.

These three ancient peonies in Fuyuan Garden were planted by the owner in the first year of Tongzhi, more than 130 years ago.

The "Imperial Horse Head" was built in the Qing Dynasty and was a necessary route for Emperor Qianlong to visit various scenic spots in the northern suburbs during his southern tour.

This water route during Emperor Qianlong's southern tour was also developed into the 'Qianlong Water Upstream Cable'.

Tianning Temple Palace Ruins!

Yangzhou Tianning Temple is one of the eight famous temples in Yangzhou during the Qing Dynasty.

6、 Yangzhou flavor

At the restaurant Tianxiang Pavilion next to Siwang Pavilion, I ordered this clear stewed crab roe and lion head dish. The pork is fatty and suitable, and there is crab roe inside, which is very delicious. The vegetables are added to the broth, and the dish is fresh and light.

This crab roe Wensi tofu is white, green, and yellow in color, with a delicious broth and smooth and tender tofu. The most amazing thing is that the tofu is as thin as a hair, showing its knife skills
Exquisite!

Silver carp is a food with a strong fishy smell, but this dish of red grilled silver carp head is also flavorful due to its salty and fresh taste. Not as fresh and sweet as Suzhou cuisine, but also delicious.

Yangzhou fried rice with rich contents, although ordered in small order, it is still in large quantity! The taste is also good.

*In addition, we have tasted crab yolk soup buns, boiled dried silk, wuding buns, and Steamed dumplings with moon buds in Yechun Tea House. Crab yolk buns are not as delicious as we thought. The wuding buns were ordered wrong. In fact, ordering three ding buns is Yangzhou's "treasure of buns".

*This time in Yangzhou, we also had Wonton with pure shrimps. It was really delicious. Five or six shrimps were wrapped in the skin of Wonton. The shrimp meat was very fresh, elastic, delicious, and without extra seasoning.

*Yangzhou Old Goose is also good. It looks like the salted duck cooking method in Suzhou, but personally, I think the meat of the old goose is more fragrant and the taste is salty and fresh.

*The lotus root balls on the old street are also very distinctive. The skin is lotus root powder, and the filling is a combination of peanut paste, sesame paste, jujube paste, etc. The lotus root balls have a fragrant and slightly sweet aroma.

In short, the taste of Yangzhou suits my taste very well. I didn't expect that because of eating, Yangzhou is still the place I want to come to again!