Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang: A Three-Friend Free-and-Easy Tour
This was another spur-of-the-moment journey. Three old friends who had known each other for years, using a quick errand in Shanghai as a springboard, stretched it into a four-day trip.
Having grown up in Jiangsu, we had already explored most of the nearby sights, so on the road we racked our brains for places we hadn’t seen, or places we’d visited so long ago that memories had faded. I settled on five stops: Beigu Mountain in Zhenjiang, Jinxi Ancient Town in Suzhou, Zhujiajiao Ancient Town in Shanghai, and Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang. Just as the trip was winding down, someone invited us to Mao Mountain in Zhenjiang. I had been to Mao Mountain at least three times before, but this time the biggest draw was that the Mao Mountain Daoist master would personally receive us, and even show us the temple’s four legendary treasures. So mysterious and enticing, there was simply no reason to refuse.
Beigu Mountain, one of the three famous scenic hills of Zhenjiang, stands close to the Yangtze River. Its steep, precipitous rocks and craggy cliffs give it the name “Beigu” (North-Firm). Flanked by Jinshan and Jiaoshan, the three peaks form a tripod, with Beigu Mountain looking especially rugged and strategically commanding over the ancient lands of Chu and Wu.
The Three Kingdoms story “Liu Bei’s Marriage at Ganlu Temple” is set here. Every pavilion, terrace, rock, and stream on the mountain is tied to legends of the Sun–Liu alliance and marriage alliance of that era. Ganlu Temple sits high on the summit, creating a “temple crowning the mountain” effect. Its construction is said to date to the first year of the Ganlu era (AD 265) of Eastern Wu. It was repeatedly ruined and rebuilt through the centuries; the main hall, Laojun Hall, Guanyin Hall, Jiangsheng Pavilion and others, though modest in scale, enjoy immense fame.
We climbed the stone steps along the Eastern Wu path.
The “Ruthless Stone,” also called the Stone Ram: legend says when Cao Cao led his million-strong army south, Sun Quan sat on this stone ram with Liu Bei to plan the defense.
Jijiang Pavilion, with its flying eaves and bracket sets, is elegantly poised—also known as Lingyun Pavilion.
“Unwittingly the body soars above birds; with drooping hand one could almost hook a giant turtle.”
Legend has it that Lady Sun Shangxiang, upon hearing of Liu Bei’s death, made a distant sacrifice here and then threw herself into the river. The Southern Song patriotic poet Xin Qiji climbed this pavilion, watched the mighty Yangtze rolling eastward, and poured out his feelings, using the past to criticize the present and condemn the Southern Song rulers’ impotence and failure to recover the lost Central Plains. He wrote two immortal masterpieces here: “Song of the Southern Country: Thoughts at Beigu Pavilion in Jingkou” and “Joy of Eternal Union: Recollecting the Past at Beigu Pavilion in Jingkou.”
“Where can I gaze upon the Central Plains? Beigu Tower offers boundless views. How many dynasties have risen and fallen through the ages—time flows endlessly, like the Yangtze rolling east. Young Sun Quan commanded tens of thousands, held the southeast in endless campaigns. Who in the world could rival such a hero? Cao Cao and Liu Bei. O, to have a son like Sun Zhongmou!”
“In this land of eternal hills and rivers, no trace of heroes like Sun Zhongmou remains. The singing stages and dancing pavilions have all been swept away by wind and rain. Setting sun on grassy woods, common lanes where, they say, the northern hero once lived. In those days, clad in armor, astride his steed, he swept through miles like a tiger. Then Yuanjia’s hasty campaign, boasting of sealing Langjuxu, led to a panic-stricken flight north. Forty-three years have passed; I still remember the beacon fires along the Yangzhou road. It’s unbearable to recall, beneath the Foli Temple, crows and drumming worship still go on. Who still asks, though Lian Po is old, can he still eat heartily?”
East, west, and north, the water is vast and the sky high, with an air of swallowing heaven and earth.
“The Finest Scenery Under Heaven”
Legend says during the Three Kingdoms, when Liu Bei came to Eastern Wu for his marriage alliance, Sun Quan hosted a banquet and then accompanied him to admire the river scenery. Seeing Beigu Mountain standing majestically by the great river flowing eastward, boundless and imposing, Liu Bei couldn’t help exclaiming: “Beigu Mountain is truly the finest scenery under heaven!” During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang climbed Beigu Mountain, was struck by the magnificent view, and enthusiastically wrote the six big characters “天下第一江山” (The Finest Scenery Under Heaven) on the spot—unfortunately that inscription has been lost. In the Southern Song, the prefect of Runzhou (Zhenjiang), the famous calligrapher Wu Ju, rewrote those six characters. In the Kangxi era of the Qing, Vice Prefect Cheng Kangzhuang of Zhenjiang copied them onto stone. Since then Beigu Mountain has rightfully borne the title “The Finest Scenery Under Heaven.”
It is said that at the end of the Western Jin, the north was in chaos and the Eastern Jin found precarious peace south of the Yangtze, making its capital at Jianye (today’s Nanjing). Northerners flocked south, so the Eastern Jin established a Xu Prefecture, with its seat at Jingkou (today’s Zhenjiang). Under the Liu-Song dynasty it was formally named South Xu Prefecture, and thereafter “Nan Xu” remained an alias for Zhenjiang.
A friendship tree planted by the sister cities of Zhenjiang, China, and Tempe, USA.
The Iron Pagoda, also called “Weigong Pagoda,” is a key cultural relic of Beigu Mountain. It is one of only six surviving iron pagodas in China, the sole iron pagoda in Jiangsu Province, and a provincial-level protected heritage site.
Ancient Ganlu Temple sits on the highest northern peak. First built during the Ganlu years of Eastern Wu (265–266), its plaque was personally written by Zhang Fei. To commemorate Zhenjiang’s days as the capital of Eastern Wu and to remind people never to forget the Three Kingdoms history, the relics of the Sun–Liu alliance and their marriage legend were gathered onto the mountain. The traditional Beijing opera “Ganlu Temple” (also known as “Dragon and Phoenix Presenting Auspiciousness”) has thus taken deep root in popular culture. The ancient temple was once huge, housing over 500 monks in the Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing it reached its heyday with more than 200 buildings. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong both had temporary palaces here. Ganlu Temple is one of China’s famous ancient Buddhist monasteries. Its architecture differs from Jinshan and Jiaoshan, using a technique that “suppresses the mountain with the temple,” hence the effect of flying pavilions soaring into the air, creating the distinctive “temple crowning the mountain.”
Jinxi Ancient Town, blessed with a typical Jiangnan water-town landscape and over two thousand years of history, is renowned as “the home of Chinese folk museums.” It preserves numerous cultural landscapes, historic sites, and countless Ming- and Qing-style buildings. Notable spots include the Tongshen Imperial Temple, the Water Tomb of Consort Chen, and the Lotus Pond Zen Temple. Canals and waterways crisscross, the town is ringed by marshes, streets and lanes hug the water, and bridges connect one alley to the next. Most existing houses were built in the Ming, Qing and Republican periods, perched by the water—mostly one- or two-storey brick-and-wood structures with grey tiles and white walls, opening doors and windows right onto the water or onto waterfront quays. The two riverside streets form the main commercial arteries. It has been honored as a National Historic and Cultural Town, a Town of Chinese Folk Culture and Arts, a National Beautiful Environment Town, a recipient of the China Habitat Environment Example Award, a National Distinctive Scenic Tourist Town, and a National AAAA Tourist Area.
At the entrance stands a stone memorial archway bearing the words “Water Town, Buddhist Realm,” flanked by a couplet:
“Long dike reflects the moon, water tomb fragrance scatters, white gulls on shimmering lake seek old friends; / Soaring pavilions pierce clouds, drifting cloud-bells chime in the Zen temple with new sounds.”
A waterside gallery that seems a signature landmark of Jinxi.
The Consort Chen Water Tomb sits in the middle of Wubao Lake south of the town. In the first year of the Longxing era (1163) of the Southern Song, when Jurchen troops invaded, Emperor Xiaozong fled south with his household to Lin’an; on the way, Consort Chen fell ill and died, so she was buried in a water tomb. Jinxi was once also called Chenmu (Consort Chen’s Tomb) Town.
Stone-paved streets, stone-protected embankments, shady trees, small boats drifting gently—famous writer Shen Congwen described it as “a maiden in her dreams.”
A waterside corridor shelters from rain and sun: you can stroll or rest, a home for those who live by the water.
The ancient town’s waterways stretch six kilometres, giving rise to many old bridges, earning it the reputation of “36 bridges, 72 kilns.”
Zhujiajiao lies at the junction of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, within Shanghai’s Qingpu District. It is a quintessential Jiangnan water-town and claims to be “the largest town in Shanghai.” Its old streets include Beida Street, Dongjing Street, Xijing Street, Daxin Street, Dongshi Street, Shengli Street, Caohe Street, Donghu Street, and Xihu Street; among them, Beida Street was named one of “Shanghai’s Ten Great Leisure Streets” in November 2005.
It took shape as a small market settlement during the Song and Yuan, called Zhujiacun. Water routes: to the west lies Dianshan Lake, horizontally there’s Dianpu River, vertically there’s Zhumao River, connecting upstream to the Taihu Lake system and downstream directly to the Huangpu River. The waterways are broad and navigable in all directions. In the 40th year of the Wanli reign (1612) of the Ming Dynasty, thanks to convenient water transport, trade gathered here, and it became famous throughout Jiangnan for its cloth industry, reputed to “clothe and cover the world,” growing into a major town. In the late Ming and early Qing, Zhujiajiao’s rice trade suddenly boomed, driving all businesses to prosperity: “A three-li long street with a thousand shops.” Old and famous stores lined the street, dealing in all kinds of goods from north and south, with trade spanning a hundred li into both Jiangsu and Zhejiang—so the saying went: “The three Jings (Zhujing, Fengjing, Sijing) are no match for one Jiao (Zhujiajiao).”
A thousand-year-old Jiangnan water-town – Zhujiajiao
Small bridges over flowing streams, ancient streets and camphor trees, shops lining the lanes, swaying boat lanterns, stone quays and whitewashed walls with grey tiles—all these elements together paint a picture of a water-town landscape.
Various ration coupons from the planned-economy era.
The weather didn’t cooperate; it began to rain, washing the streets clean and tidy, making the old-time charm even more intense.
The Yuanjin Zen Monastery beside Caohe River.
Caohe River and Tai’an Bridge.
Handalong Soy Sauce Garden on Beida Street, founded in 1915.
The most famous Fangsheng Bridge (Setting-Life-Free Bridge) is the largest five-arch stone bridge in the Shanghai region, spanning the Dianpu River.
A dazzling array of local snacks. The streets are full of such small eateries, where you can sample famous Grandma’s Zongzi, ancient town rice dumplings in soup, soy-braised pork trotters, and all kinds of delicate pastries.
The rain grew heavier; visitors either took shelter or left, and pedestrians thinned out.
Afterwards, we went to Shanghai to take care of some business.
Tianmu Mountain, anciently called Fuyu Mountain, is famed for “giant trees whose crown shade is known across the nine provinces.” It lies in Lin’an District, Zhejiang, at the boundary between Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. Its main peak, Immortal Summit, rises 1,506 metres. The name “Tianmu” (Heavenly Eyes) dates to the Han Dynasty: there are eastern and western peaks, each with a pool that never dries up, like a pair of eyes. It is also the largest veneration site of Skanda (Weituo) Bodhisattva in China. Tianmu Mountain is stacked with emerald peaks and ancient trees; it has the drama of bizarre rocks and crags, and the beauty of cascading springs and waterfalls. It has long been celebrated as “The Kingdom of Giant Trees” and “A Cool World,” a perfect place for sightseeing and spiritual retreat. The mountain’s layered beauty and deep forests have bestowed an inexhaustible brilliant culture and unique natural charm.
Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong of the Liang Dynasty, Li Bai and Bai Juyi of the Tang, Su Shi of the Song, and Zhang Yu of the Yuan all left exquisite poems and timeless works. Over one hundred Ming Dynasty literati climbed Tianmu Mountain to explore its mysteries, leaving more than 160 poems and travelogues.
Tianmu Mountain is a famous mountain blending Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism—a site of historic and cultural significance. In the Southern Liang Dynasty, Prince Xiao Tong compiled the Wen Xuan (Selections of Refined Literature) here; Zhang Daoling, the grand master of Daoism, was born and cultivated himself here in the Western Han; the Eastern Han text Dongyuan Ji lists Tianmu Mountain as the 34th blessed grotto of Daoism. Buddhism entered the mountain in the Jin Dynasty; there were once over 50 temples and monasteries, with more than a thousand monks at the peak. It is the cradle of the revival of the Japanese Rinzai school’s Eigenji and enjoys wide influence in Southeast Asia.
It once rivalled Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple in fame, set amid surrounding hills with scenery of the utmost elegance. During the Second Sino-Japanese War it housed Zhejiang Provincial No.1 Middle School, and when Zhejiang University retreated inland, it temporarily stopped here. In 1939, Comrade Zhou Enlai gave a speech on united resistance against Japan at the Baizi Hall of Chanyuan Temple.
Though battered by war and weather, some remains still survive.
All the way, babbling streams kept us company, and mossy ground followed at every step, like a set from a green fairy tale, brimming with primeval ancientness. The photo shows an old stone bridge we passed.
On the thousand-year-old path, giant trees tower into the sky like guardian sentinels.
When Emperor Qianlong of the Qing toured the Western Tianmu Mountain, he granted this tree the title “King of Trees.” Legend says its bark could cure all ailments, so visitors and pilgrims eagerly stripped it, causing the tree to die in the 1930s. Yet even after more than 90 years dead, the King of Trees still stands proudly, and a green sapling has sprouted from its dry trunk.
On the left, a “King of Trees” stele was inscribed by the Kuomintang elder Yu Youren; Zhou Enlai once wrapped his arms around this tree with others.
The New King of Trees stands not far from the old one, a rising star among the cedar forest, now a unique wonder of China.
Five Generations Under One Roof: This is the world’s oldest ginkgo tree, over 12,000 years old, a contemporary of the dinosaurs and the ancestor of all ginkgos. Around its base, 22 young shoots have sprouted—who knows how many generations now share the same root!
Kaishan Old Hall, built during the Yuan Dynasty, was already recorded in Li Daoyuan’s Northern Wei classic Shuijing Zhu (Commentary on the Water Classic). With a history of over 700 years, it now houses a display hall of Zen culture. A couplet in Hu Shi’s own handwriting is especially intriguing: “Say only as much as the evidence allows; be a monk for a day, strike the bell for a day.”
We stayed at an international hotel in Liyang. Right in front of the hotel lay a large park; from a distance the scenery looked endless, so we rose early and went for a stroll.
Mountains and water, scenery shifting with every turn.
Elegant curves and refreshing greenery.
A man-made waterfall where mountain and water merge.
Arched flower gate beside the fitness trail. It was a huge park; we walked a full circuit, skipping only the children’s play area.
Mao Mountain straddles the border between Jintan in Changzhou and Jurong in Zhenjiang. It is the foremost blessed land and the eighth grotto-heaven of Daoism. Rich in historical relics and cultural sites, Mao Mountain Daoism, over two thousand years of development, venerates the Three Mao True Lords as founding patriarchs. It is the birthplace of the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) school and known as the “ancestral altar of Shangqing.”
“Embracing wondrous peaks and ravines, long called a blessed land; / Holding three palaces and five temples, transmitting the grotto-heaven.”
The Mao Mountain New Fourth Army Memorial Hall.
Above are photos of the memorial hall and some artifacts.
The Southern Jiangsu Anti-Japanese War Victory Monument, with statues of Chen Yi and Su Yu, its calligraphy by General Zhang Aiping.
In late April 1938, the Red Army entered the Mao Mountain area and established the Southern Jiangsu Anti-Japanese Base Area centered on Mao Mountain. The base served as a dagger, a base, and a hub, making a tremendous contribution to the final victory of the national war of resistance. A curious phenomenon: when firecrackers are set off at the steps climbing the hill, the sound of a Red Army bugle call echoes from the peak—“Set off firecrackers in front of the monument, and bugle calls ring in the air”—now a unique wonder of the world.
I had visited the Mao Mountain scenic area several times before; the main purpose of this visit was to admire the temple’s treasured relics.
The cousin of our traveling companion was a Daoist priest, who was well acquainted with the Mao Mountain master; he opened the door for us to view the treasures.
The sightseeing shuttle took us up to Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace. A Daoist friend welcomed us into a lounge beside the temple, brewed tea, and we waited for the master. After the master arrived and exchanged a few pleasantries, he took out a key, opened a safe, brought out a box, opened it, and began to explain each piece. Finally, he gave each of us a sachet containing a paper talisman stamped with the jade seal.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhezong’s mother, Lady Meng, accidentally swallowed a silver embroidery needle. The imperial physicians were helpless, and she was left to await death. The emperor issued a nationwide call for help. On Prime Minister Wang Anshi’s recommendation, the 25th Mao Mountain patriarch, Liu Hunkang, was summoned to the palace. He used a secret Daoist talisman and elixir to save Lady Meng (she drank a mixture of talisman ash, elixir, thread and water; when she vomited, the thread had passed through the needle’s eye). Overjoyed, Emperor Zhezong deeply admired the Daoist’s miraculous medical skill, bestowed on Liu Hunkang the title “Master of Profound and Penetrating Magic,” appointed him to preside over the Shangqing Chuxiang Temple in the capital with the right to correspond directly with the emperor, and rewarded him with gold and silver, decreeing the construction of Yuanfu Wanning Palace. Later, Emperor Huizong succeeded the throne and again invited Liu Hunkang to the capital, bestowing eight treasures: a jade seal inscribed “Seal of the Lord of the Nine Immortals Capital” of Mao Mountain Daoism, a jade talisman inscribed “United with Heaven and Earth, Edict of the Sun,” an imperial jade tablet for the ancestral altar, a Ha inkstone, an imperial jade target, twelve scrolls of the Shangqing Great Grotto Secret, twelve scrolls of the Shangqing Great Grotto Bamboo Slips, and a scroll of King Liao’s Poems. Liu Hunkang was unwilling to remain in the capital and returned to Mao Mountain after one year. These treasures became revered as the “mountain-guarding treasures” of Mao Mountain Daoism. Due to wars and upheavals over the centuries, the last four items were lost, leaving only the jade seal, the jade tablet, the jade talisman, and the Ha inkstone preserved in Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace.
The jade seal: carved in relief with the six characters “九老仙都君印” (Seal of the Lord of the Nine Immortals Capital). Legend says it was made from leftover jade of Qin Shihuang’s imperial heirloom seal, or from a piece of the Warring States “He Shi Bi.” It is said to “consume four liang of cinnabar at night and stamp a thousand sheets of yellow talisman paper by day.” Another story goes that Zhu Yuanzhang took the seal to his palace intending to recarve it into an imperial “Accepting Heaven’s Mandate” seal, but after three attempts the characters “九老仙都君印” still remained on the jade. Frustrated, he returned the seal to Mao Mountain in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign (1379).
The Ha inkstone: a jade inkstone. When you breathe on it, water droplets form; dip a brush and the ink turns cinnabar red. There are two tiny streaks on the inkstone, resembling two fish-dragons. The most magical part was that every noon and midnight, the two fish-dragons would meet in the nest on the stone—called “the meridian return to the nest.” Later, when Zeng Guofan’s son was playing with it at Mao Mountain, he accidentally dropped it, damaging the upper left corner; the meridian-return phenomenon has never occurred since.
The jade talisman: also known as the Heart-Pacifying Talisman, carved in white jade with the incised characters “合明天、帝日敕” (United with Heaven’s Tomorrow, Edict of the Sun). It is said to ward off evil and safeguard peace.
The jade tablet: Mao Mountain is the Shangqing ancestral altar, so this is the Altar Jade Tablet. It can only be held when offering sacrifice to Heaven, Earth and the Daoist patriarchs. This 34-centimetre-long tablet, when viewed from afar, its upper texture resembles a fluttering bat; up close, it looks like a flying dragon in the sky. The middle seems shrouded in clouds and mist, the bottom like layered peaks. It can change colour with the seasons and show different jade hues; in spring and autumn it often “sweats” moisture.
Here’s a closer shot of the four treasures.
Imperially Bestowed Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace stands at the highest point of Mao Mountain and is its most influential Daoist temple. Because it sits atop the main peak, Da Mao Peak, it is commonly called the Top Palace. It was founded by imperial decree in the Wanli period of the Ming.
Imperially Bestowed Yuanfu Wanning Palace is also called the Seal Palace, for this was originally where the mountain-guarding treasure—the jade seal—was kept. Hence the saying on Mao Mountain: “A stick of incense at the Top Palace, a seal at the Seal Palace.”
Looking back at the Gate of All Wonders, I felt the deep, secluded mountains, dense forests and sparkling waters, the long and venerable history. Encountering such an affinity by chance is rare indeed, a delight beyond words—truly wondrous!
