A Guangxi Travelogue: Liuhou Park in Liuzhou
On October 23, 2023, we had breakfast at the hotel at 7:00 am, checked out at 9:10, and walked to Guilin North Station. We boarded the 10:23 am K1557 train to Liuzhou, arriving at Liuzhou Railway Station at 12:20 pm. We took bus No. 33 from the station, got off at Minxin Market, and checked into the Home Inn. The room cost 116 yuan, breakfast included. After dropping off our luggage, we had lunch outside, then took bus No. 25 to the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital stop; a short walk brought us to Liuhou Park in Liuzhou.
Liuhou Park is one of Liuzhou's time-honored parks and a must-visit attraction for any traveler to the city. Located on the north bank of the Liujiang River in Liuzhou, Guangxi, the park was built to commemorate Liu Zongyuan, a great literary master of the Tang Dynasty who once served as the prefectural governor of Liuzhou. It is also one of the most famous historical and cultural sites in Guangxi. The park was first established in the first year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1909). Within its grounds are such historical relics as the Liuhou Temple, Liu Zongyuan's cenotaph, Luo Pond, and the Ganxiang Pavilion. In 2002, it was rated a national AAAA tourist attraction by the National Tourism Administration. On December 7, 2009, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced the third batch of National Key Parks, and Liuhou Park was included on that distinguished list.
When Liu Zongyuan served as the prefect of Liuzhou during the Tang Dynasty, he did many good deeds for the city. For over 1,100 years, the people of Liuzhou have held spring and autumn ceremonies to honor him, never forgetting his contributions. (Echoing Han Yu's words: "Our people will never cease to serve you from the very start; from now on, reverence will be passed down through the ages.") Luo Pond was a scenic spot that Liu Zongyuan greatly enjoyed in his lifetime. His subordinate later said that Liu Zongyuan appeared in a dream, saying, "Lodge me by Luo Pond." Following this, the people of Liuzhou built the Luochi Temple by the pond, which is now known as the Liuhou Temple. (A cenotaph was erected where his coffin rested, and the temple was built in front of the tomb.) The park contains the cenotaph of Liu Zongyuan (he died in 819 and the tomb was set up in 820), the Liuhou Temple (built in 822), Luo Pond, the Ganxiang Pavilion, and the Siliu Pavilion, all cultural attractions related to Liu Zongyuan, as well as precious cultural relics like the Sanjue Stele, the Luochi Temple Stele, the Longcheng Stone Inscription, and the Yuan Dynasty stone carving of Liu Zongyuan's portrait. There are also ancient auxiliary structures and remains such as the Tang Dynasty Kaiyuan Temple ruins, the Ming Dynasty Liu Xianliang Shrine, the Eight Worthies Shrine of Liuzhou, the Guanyin Pavilion ruins, and the Qing Dynasty Liujiang Academy.
Entering Liuhou Park and walking along a shaded path, visitors soon come upon a stretch of clear, crystalline water, beside which stands a stone tablet inscribed with two characters: "Luo Pond." When the moon rises above Dongtai Mountain, its reflection on the pond's surface creates one of the eight famous scenes of Liuzhou, the "Night Moon over Luo Pond."
Skirting the flower-lined path around Luo Pond, one arrives at the Liuhou Temple. Originally built in the Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty, its main gate features a couplet handwritten by Guo Moruo. The couplet is a transcription by Yang Han of the Qing Dynasty of a poem by Tang poet Han Yu: "Mountains and waters return, yellow plantains and red lychees; in spring and autumn we offer sacrifices, blessing our people with longevity." The temple is a three-entry ancient structure with red pillars and beams. The first hall gathers over thirty stone inscriptions from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the walls are adorned with materials about Liu Zongyuan's life and calligraphy and paintings by later artists, a dazzling and delightful display. In the central hall, there is a Yuan Dynasty stone-carved portrait stele of Liu Zongyuan, and among the steles nearby, the "Lizhi Stele" is the most renowned.
The third entry is the main hall. In its center sits a statue of Liu Zongyuan, wearing a brown turban-like headdress (futou) and Tang official robes, holding a brush in his hand, absorbed in study.
To the left of the Liuhou Temple, across Luo Pond, stands a hexagonal long pavilion—the Ganxiang Pavilion. It was here that Liu Zongyuan once planted fragrant oranges and wrote the widely celebrated poem "Planting Oranges." Later generations built this pavilion in his memory. With its green tiles and red pillars, upswept eaves, elegantly carved lattices, and exquisite floral decorations, the pavilion nestles among osmanthus groves, exuding a distinctive charm.
Liuhou Park also features an artificial lake, a bonsai garden, rockeries with pavilions, winding bridges and covered walkways, and a children's playground—all providing spaces for leisure and recreation. A thorough visit to the park takes about two hours. At 4:10 pm, we left Liuhou Park, took bus No. 25, and returned to the hotel to rest.
