Weekend in Jiande: Seeking the Millennial Ginkgo, Appreciating Millennial Stories

[Travel Musings]

Autumn is the best season for ginkgo trees.

The leaves start out yellow with a touch of green, then become yellow-green, and by late autumn, the whole tree turns golden.

The brilliant yellow leaves gleam dazzlingly in the sunlight.

A gust of autumn wind blows, and the ground is covered with a thick golden carpet, as fallen ginkgo leaves dance merrily with the breeze.

When the sky is full of golden ginkgo leaves, why not come to Jiande to encounter a graceful late autumn?

1. Daciyan Scenic Area

Daciyan is located south of Jiande City, next to Xinye Ancient Village. Known as the "Little Jiuhua of West Zhejiang," it is famous for its "Jiangnan Xuankong Temple, Long Valley Stream, and the No. 1 Natural Standing Buddha in China."

On this clear and breezy day, a 40-minute taxi ride from the high-speed rail station brought me to the main entrance of Daciyan Scenic Area. The upright, antique memorial archway was not overly carved with dragons and phoenixes; its rouge-like color contrasted beautifully with the blue tones of the scenery behind, making it particularly striking.

Climbing step by step along the bluestone stairs, past the archway and upward, we reached the cable car that saved us much effort. As the cable car ascended, the full view of the mountain pass gradually came into sight. The verdant mountains in the distance reflected on the horizon with a touch of blue. The mountain, the water, the sky—it was truly refreshing.

The cable car stopped halfway up the mountain, and from there we had to climb on foot. At the entrance to the mountain path was a couplet: "Immortals gather from Zhou, Qin, and Han; the root of morality lies in heaven, earth, and man," with a horizontal inscription "Feng De" (Moral Virtue). The calligraphy was bold and imposing. Behind this gate lay the Xuankong Temple that I was about to explore.

The winding plank path was built along the cliff, sometimes disappearing into the rock, sometimes rising into the air, coiling upward. Who knew where it led? Along this seemingly endless path stood several temples with blue-green tiles and grey bricks, decorated with vermilion paint and simple patterns. Solemn and ancient, they perched amidst these steep ridges, seeming to murmur about endless years.

This Xuankong Temple has a similar ingenuity to the Xuankong Temple in Hengshan, Shanxi. The main hall, the Dizangwang Hall, stands 3 meters high and 60 meters long, half embedded in the rock face, half suspended in mid-air—a truly spectacular sight. Standing in the main hall and gazing out, the mountains and rivers in the distance unfold before your eyes, giving you a floating sense of looking down upon the world.

Past the main hall is Zhaixinglou (Star-Picking Tower), standing proudly between two razor-sharp cliffs, its flying eaves reaching upward like two hands trying to pluck stars from the sky—hence the name Zhaixinglou. Also known as Tianshi Hall, it was a grand hall where ancients prayed for favorable weather and national prosperity. Imagine the ancients holding swords, leaning against Zhaixinglou, conducting ceremonies—the flickering bonfire suspended between heaven and earth, like a bridge through which simple people sent their prayers to the heavens, to the ears of the gods, hoping for a year of good weather and peace. What a magnificent scene that must have been.

After passing the Xuankong Temple, I looked back. The temple still stood proudly among the towering, precipitous peaks, continuing to tell its endless stories to those who follow.

Beyond the Xuankong Temple, I saw a golden double-faced Buddha. Skirting the Buddha and continuing forward, I came to Xingxiangzhai (Apricot Fragrance Hall). This was originally the vegetarian hall for monks and pilgrims, built in 1986 along the mountain contour.

The ginkgo tree here is 39.5 meters tall, with a trunk diameter of 1.3 meters. It is over 700 years old, deserving the title of the King of Ginkgo in Jiande. Every autumn, when the wind blows, golden ginkgo leaves dance in the air like a golden rain. "Ciyan Autumn Colors" has gradually become a golden calling card of Daciyan Scenic Area.

We arrived at just the right moment. The golden leaves had already spread a thin layer on the ground, the old ginkgo's highest form of hospitality. Stepping on the soft ginkgo leaves, I felt as if I was disappearing into this sea of gold, becoming a mere speck, so insignificant in this infinite universe. I scooped up fallen leaves and tossed them into the sky, as if trying to merge myself into the infinity.

The branches sprawled out, shading the sky, tinged with just a hint of gold in this clear autumn season. Leaves swayed in the breeze, occasionally detaching like grown children celebrating as they journeyed far away—instantly beautiful.

Among our group was a hanfu enthusiast who couldn't wait to put on her makeup and change into her splendid attire. She danced gracefully amidst this limitless scene, every frown and smile deeply moving, etching itself onto the memory like a porcelain plate—unforgettable.

After visiting Xingxiangzhai, the next attraction is the trendy glass skywalk. Do you dare to walk on it? The entire walkway clings to the cliff, undulating with the terrain. Stepping on it, you feel the boldness of having mountains beneath your feet. Of course, the timid should avoid it. So... are you the timid one?

2. "Jiang Qing Yue Jin Ren" (The River Clear, Moon Near)

I moored my boat by the misty shoal;

At dusk the traveler's sorrow grows anew.

In the wilds, the sky seems lower than the trees;

In the clear river, the moon appears near to man.

After visiting Daciyan during the day, of course you shouldn't miss the immersive historical performance "Jiang Qing Yue Jin Ren" in the evening.

This grand production is directed by teacher Mei Shuaiyuan, founder of China's landscape live-action performances, a renowned director and national first-class screenwriter. The show consists of five acts: [River · The Beginning of the Hunt], [Clear · Delighting in Mountains and Waters], [Moon · A Journey Through Tang Poetry], [Near · Returning in the Wind], [People · Past and Present Lives]. It tells the story of the people of Jiande through the ages and is a must-see on any Jiande travel list.

Arriving at the cruise dock as dusk fell, I took a boat to Moon Island. Along the way, I enjoyed the magnificent night view of Jiande, with a cool breeze carrying the unique charm of the Xin'an River.

"Jiang Qing Yue Jin Ren" is a large immersive live-action performance set on Moon Island in Jiande, inspired by the famous Tang Dynasty poet Meng Haoran's poem "Staying at Jiande River." The audience moves around the island, experiencing the show in a progressive immersive viewing format. The five performance areas—"Jiang," "Qing," "Yue," "Jin," "Ren"—together form a series of interconnected yet standalone live-action scenes.

Here, ancient "Jiande people" hunt deer amidst clear rivers and blossoming fields; the transcendent Yan Ziling fishes alone through the four seasons; the graceful Meng Haoran and Li Bai dance and toast the moon; the frustrated Chen Youliang sighs to the sky with endless nostalgia; the Nine Surnames fishermen of the Xin'an River, in the difficult fulfillment of a romantic dream, become a beautiful landscape bridging past and present.

As music began, neon-colored lights lit up, coating the grass and trees in brilliant hues, dazzlingly beautiful. Just as I was captivated by this grand scene, a white mist drifted in from somewhere, swallowing everything up.

Then spring thunder rumbled, and plants began to grow, swaying in the wind. A few deer appeared from somewhere, looking around cautiously, then sprinting lightly through the greenery until they vanished into the distant deep darkness. The sounds abruptly stopped; only a few bird calls and flowers blooming like flowing water unfolded before my eyes, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful sea of colorful flowers. Faint human voices murmured, and a group of Jiande people, holding short sticks and long spears, moved through the flower sea. A bonfire slowly lit up, illuminating a man and a woman beside it. The man, dressed as a chief, held his pregnant woman close, whispering. Gradually, others surrounded them, dancing. In the spotlight, a few wild deer ran past again. The chief at the center let out a cry and led his people to chase the deer disappearing into the vegetation. This origin of the Jiande people faded away with the hunting of wild deer.

The lights dimmed, and after a brief darkness, a beam of light shone on the chief from earlier, now carrying a long fishing rod, walking alone. Suddenly, a curtain of rain appeared before the audience. After he walked through the thick rain, he transformed into Yan Ziling, the famous Han Dynasty scholar, wearing a bamboo hat and straw cape. "Great hermits dwell in the court, small hermits hide in the hills." The hermit sentiment of the Jiande people was expressed by this renowned hermit Yan Ziling. A group of washerwomen and an old fisherman completed a dialogue about Yan Ziling and Han Emperor Guangwu sleeping on the same mat and returning to Xin'an River without official rank.

Nearby, Yan Ziling remained motionless as the surroundings cycled through spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The washerwomen and the old fisherman seemed transfixed, quietly listening to Yan Ziling's conversation with egrets by the river. Time seemed frozen in this frame. The Ming-Qing historian Zhang Dai once wrote in "Watching Snow at Heart Lake Pavilion": "Don't say the gentleman is infatuated; there are even more infatuated ones like him," capturing the scholar's sentiment of seclusion among nature. This scene of Yan Ziling fishing by the river was simply wonderful.

Since ancient times, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have produced many talented scholars. As the white mist receded, it brought the connection between Jiande and Tang poetry. The previously motionless Yan Ziling stood up, slung his fishing rod over his shoulder, and walked away. Through the mist, a bold voice rang out across the sky: "I moored my boat by the misty shoal; at dusk the traveler's sorrow grows anew. In the wilds, the sky seems lower than the trees; in the clear river, the moon appears near to man." The immortal poet Li Bai appeared, waving his sleeves like a deity, and large Tang poems spilled out like serpents, filling the stage with a glowing light. Then Meng Haoran and Li Bai, separated by the river of time, raised their cups and danced, laughing together, sharing a deep spiritual kinship despite the ages. At that moment, a group of "Jiande people" gradually merged with them, fading into the long river of history.

Suddenly, battle cries erupted, fires blazed, water columns soared, and the clash of swords and spears was incessant. The recently appearing poets Li Bai and Meng Haoran, now changed into panicked refugees, fled through the city wall and disappeared in the flash of swords and fire. A line of Hui merchants urged their horse team forward in alarm. On the city wall, a general stood with a sword, his tattered red cape fluttering, looking up at the sky with desperation and tragedy. This was Chen Youliang, the hero who once vied for the realm with Zhu Yuanzhang. How had he fallen to such a state? Thinking of how he once commanded armies and sent Zhu Yuanzhang scurrying, what heroic bearing! But now, the victor becomes king, the loser a bandit—such desolation was truly heartbreaking and thought-provoking.

A meteor streaked across the sky, and an infant's cry pierced the air. This little girl born under a meteor was destined for an extraordinary life. After Chen Youliang's defeat, the nine surnames—Chen, Qian, Lin, Li, Yuan, Sun, Ye, He, and Xu—who fought alongside him were exiled to the water, forbidden forever to set foot on land, spending their lives on fishing boats and never allowed to marry with those onshore.

Eighteen years later, the meteor-born girl Chen Yingniang had grown up. She fell in love at first sight with Liu Siwen, a scholar from the onshore school. They would defy the official ban that decreed "the Nine Surnames fishermen shall not intermarry with shore folk." Again and again, their passions overcame them; again and again, official obstacles parted them; again and again, they waved farewell... Finally, they resolutely eloped to a distant place, leaving all hindrances behind. Despite the furious roar of officials and clansmen echoing through heaven and earth, lightning flashed, wind howled, torrential rain poured, and towering waves threatened to swallow everything. Yingniang and Siwen swayed on a small boat. A haunting song about past and present lives rang out. A full moon rose from the water, and Yingniang and Siwen walked from the water into the moon, performing an exquisitely beautiful love pas de deux.

With this, the performance came to an end, and the audience's racing hearts slowly settled. It was breathtaking; the spectators sat there, still in awe.

3. Xin'an Radisson Resort Hotel

The Xin'an Radisson Resort Hotel, built along the Xin'an River and backed by Nanshan Park, enjoys the foothills of Nanshan Mountain on one side and the river view on the other. The sound of the Xin'an River hydropower station's rushing water can be heard from time to time, giving one the feeling of being deep in secluded hills and waters.

Before entering the hotel, I was drawn to a uniquely shaped European-style building beside it. It resembled Gothic architecture, with flying buttresses and a soaring dome, the white structure cutting a beautiful silhouette against the sky.

Continuing inward, I arrived at the hotel's main entrance. A sloping roof with a suspended beam structure preceded an English logo, neat and fitting with the building behind. In front, aluminum tubes bent into mountain shapes rose from the water, reflecting the retro architectural style and modern materials in harmony.

Entering the lobby, white crystal leaf shapes hung high from the ceiling like countless stars in the vast sky. Warm yellow lights made the surroundings resplendent. Cloud-like floor tiles spread endlessly, complementing the nearby reception desk and decorative bookshelves, giving the space an air of unparalleled grandeur.

After a day of traveling, my stomach was rumbling. A good dinner to reward myself was essential. So I strolled into the restaurant, which had a Chinese retro style. Wenge wood was used unadorned throughout, and slightly stylish chandeliers hung in the center, casting a lovely glow on the white marble of the round dining tables.

The menu was not extensive, but each dish was characteristic of Jiande. Dry bamboo shoots with braised pork were golden, fatty but not greasy; the soy-marinated duck had an even, glossy sauce that whetted the appetite.

After eating and drinking my fill, it was time to visit the realm of dreams. The quality of a room directly affects sleep, and the rooms at Xin'an Radisson Resort Hotel are of a piece with the overall architectural style. The space uses warm, goose-yellow tones to create coziness, as if to live up to the phrase "feel at home."

Neat beds, spotless bathrooms—every detail reflected the hotel's consideration for travelers away from home.

What I liked most were the pale green curtains, bed runners, and lounge chair. That touch of soft green always calms you, making you want to simply lie back comfortably and welcome a brand new day with full energy.