A Spontaneous Journey for Three through Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang
It was another spur-of-the-moment trip: three longtime friends, on the pretext of some business in Shanghai, embarked on a four-day tour.
Having been born in Jiangsu, I’d already visited most nearby attractions, so during the journey I racked my brain for places I hadn’t yet seen—or had visited so long ago they’d faded from memory. That’s how 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 Maoshan in Zhenjiang. I’d been there at least three times before, but what lured me this time was the promise that a Maoshan Daoist master would receive us personally and show us the mountain’s four sacred treasures. So mysterious and enticing—we had no excuse to say no.
Beigu Mountain, one of Zhenjiang's three famous hills, stands near the Yangtze River with steep and rugged cliffs, hence the name 'North-Solid Mountain.' Together with Jinshan and Jiaoshan, it forms a triangular stronghold; in terms of commanding the former states of Chu and Wu, Beigu Mountain is the most imposing and strategically vital.
This is where the Three Kingdoms tale of 'Liu Bei’s Marriage at Ganlu Temple' took place. The pavilions, terraces, halls, rocky paths, and streams all resonate with the legend of the Sun–Liu alliance through marriage. Ganlu Temple perches on the summit, creating a unique ‘temple-crowns-the-mountain’ effect. Tradition says it was first built in the first year of the Ganlu era of Eastern Wu (AD 265) and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. Though not large, it’s renowned—its halls include the Main Hall, Laojun Hall, Guanyin Hall, and Jiangsheng Pavilion.
We climbed the stone steps along the ancient Eastern Wu path.
The 'Fierce Stone,' also called the Sheep Stone—legend says when Cao Cao marched south with a million troops, Sun Quan sat on this stone sheep to discuss strategies with Liu Bei for defeating Cao Cao.
The River-Sacrifice Pavilion, with upturned eaves and bracket sets, elegantly poised; also known as the Cloud-Topping Pavilion.
Body light as a bird unbeknown,
Hand hangs down as if to hook a giant sea turtle.
Legend has it that Lady Sun Shangxiang, after hearing of Liu Bei’s death, performed a distant memorial here before throwing herself into the river. The Southern Song patriotic poet Xin Qiji climbed this pavilion, saw the endless Yangtze rolling eastward, and, moved by the view, composed poems that used the past to satirize the present—condemning the Southern Song rulers’ decadence and passivity, their failure to recover the lost Central Plains. His two masterpieces, 'Song of the Southern Country: Thoughts at Beigu Pavilion in Jingkou' and 'Eternal Happiness: Reminiscence at Beigu Pavilion in Jingkou,' brim with hope for the nation’s future:
Where can I gaze upon our sacred land?
From Beigu Tower, a boundless view of wind and light.
How many great events have risen and fallen through the ages—
endless and remote.
The Yangtze flows ever on, wave after wave.
Young and in command of a thousand helmets,
he held the Southeast and fought without pause.
Who among the heroes of the world could match him?
Cao Cao? Liu Bei?
A son should be like Sun Zhongmou!
In this eternal land, no hero can be found in Sun Zhongmou’s domain.
The towers of dancers, stages of singers—all gallant glamour is beaten away by wind and rain.
In the slanting sun, among grass and trees, along humble streets,
men say the Slave-Soldier once lived here.
Recall those days, with shining spears and armored steeds,
he devoured ten thousand miles like a tiger.
The ill-planned Yuanjia march tried to seal the Wolf’s Den,
only to flee in panic, glancing north.
Forty-three years on, I still see in my mind’s eye
the beacons burning on the Yangzhou road.
How can I bear to look back?
By the Buddha shrine,
sacred crows feast, drums beat in the village ritual.
Who will ask: Old Lian Po, can you still eat well?
To the east, west, and north, boundless waters and vast skies seem to swallow heaven and earth.
Number One Mountain-River Under Heaven
According to legend, during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei came to Eastern Wu to seek a bride. After a banquet, Sun Quan accompanied Liu Bei to admire the river scenery from Beigu Mountain. Seeing the mountain standing grandly by the riverside, with the great river flowing eastward into infinity, Liu Bei marveled, 'Beigu Mountain is truly the number one mountain-river under heaven!' In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang climbed the mountain, was awe-struck by the magnificent view, and inscribed the six characters ‘天下第一江山’ (Number One Mountain-River Under Heaven) on the spot. The original was lost. Later in the Southern Song, the governor of Runzhou (Zhenjiang) and famed calligrapher Wu Ju rewrote the text. During the Kangxi era of the Qing, the inscription was carved into a stone tablet by Cheng Kangzhuang, a local official. Since then, Beigu Mountain has rightfully borne the title.
It’s said that towards the end of the Western Jin, chaos in the north forced the Eastern Jin to settle south of the river with its capital at Jianye (present-day Nanjing). Many northerners migrated south; the Eastern Jin established Xuzhou Prefecture, whose administrative seat was at Jingkou (Zhenjiang). By the Liu Song period, it was officially named South Xuzhou, and thereafter ‘Nanxu’ remained an alias for Zhenjiang.
Friendship trees planted by 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 and the only one in Jiangsu Province, a provincial protected cultural site.
Old Ganlu Temple sits on the summit of Beigu Mountain’s northern peak. Built during the Ganlu era of Eastern Wu (265–266), the temple plaque was handwritten by Zhang Fei. To commemorate that Zhenjiang once served as the Eastern Wu capital, and to ensure the historical alliance between Liu and Sun was never forgotten, relics and legends of the Sun–Liu marriage were moved up here. The Peking Opera classic 'Ganlu Temple' (also known as 'Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious') has deeply rooted itself in folk culture. The temple was once grand, housing over 500 monks in the Song Dynasty. Its heyday came during the Ming and Qing, with more than 200 temple rooms, halls, and monastic quarters. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong built temporary palaces here. Ganlu Temple is one of ancient China’s renowned monasteries; unlike Jinshan and Jiaoshan, its architecture employs a 'temple-suppresses-mountain' approach—soaring towers create the illusion of a flying pavilion, forming the distinctive 'temple-crowning-the-mountain' feature.
A classic water town with over two thousand years of history, it is known as the 'Hometown of Chinese Folk Museums,' preserving many cultural landscapes, historical sites, and buildings with distinctive Ming and Qing features. Famous spots include Tongshen Imperial Court, Chenfei Water Tomb, and Lianchi Zen Temple. The town is crisscrossed by canals, encircled by waterways; streets and alleys hug the water, bridges link to lanes. Most surviving houses were built during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, constructed beside or over the water—typically one- or two-story brick-and-wood structures with grey tiles and white walls, with doors and windows opening onto the water, or private docks. Two riverside streets form the main commercial thoroughfares. It has earned titles like National Historical and Cultural Town, Hometown of Chinese Folk Culture and Art, National Environmentally Beautiful Township, Exemplary Human Settlement in China, National Scenic Tourist Town, and National AAAA Tourist Attraction.
At the entrance stands a stone archway inscribed 'Water Town, Buddha’s Realm,' with a couplet on both sides:
On the long dike, moonlit waters; fragrance wafts from the water tomb; white seagulls seek old friends
Pavilions soar to the clouds; a bell floats by on a wisp of cloud; the temple’s chanting brings a new voice
A seemingly iconic waterside corridor in Jinxi.
In the center of the lake lies Chenfei Water Tomb, in Wubao Lake south of the town. In the first year of the Longxing era of the Song Dynasty (1163), when Jin troops invaded, Emperor Xiaozong fled south with his household to Lin’an; on the way, his consort Chen died of illness and was buried in the water tomb. Jinxi was once also called Chenmu (Tomb of Consort Chen) Town.
Stone-slab streets, revetted banks, shady trees, and skiffs gliding slowly—the celebrated writer Shen Congwen compared it to 'a maiden in slumber.'
Waterside covered corridors offer shelter from rain and sun, perfect for strolling or resting, with houses nestled against the water.
The town’s waterways stretch six kilometers, giving rise to many ancient bridges; it’s praised as having '36 bridges and 72 kilns.'
Zhujiajiao lies where Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai meet, in Shanghai’s Qingpu District. A quintessential Jiangnan water town, it’s reputed as 'Shanghai’s largest ancient town.' Its old streets include North Street, East Well Street, West Well Street, Daxin Street, East Market Street, Victory Street, Caohe Street, East Lake Street, and West Lake Street. In November 2005, North Street was named one of Shanghai’s Top Ten Leisure Streets.
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, a small settlement formed called Zhujia Village. To the west lies Dianshan Lake, horizontally crossed by the Dianpu River, and vertically by the Zhumao River; upstream it connects with the Taihu water system, downstream to the Huangpu River. The broad waterways made it a transport hub. In the 40th year of the Wanli era (1612), thriving waterborne trade drew merchants and cloth dealers, earning fame throughout Jiangnan and the saying 'Clothes for all under heaven.' It became a giant market town. In the late Ming and early Qing, the rice trade boomed, pulling up all other industries. 'Three li of long streets, a thousand shops'—venerable stores, north–south goods, every trade represented, business reaching a hundred li into Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Hence the saying: 'Three Jing (Zhujing, Fengjing, Sijing) can't compare with one Jiao (Zhujiajiao).'
The millennium-old Jiangnan water town—Zhujiajiao
Small bridges, flowing streams, ancient camphor trees, streetside shops, lantern-lit rocking boats, stone quays, whitewashed walls and grey tiles—these elements weave together the look of a water-town ancient landscape.
Various coupons and ration tickets from the planned-economy era
The weather wasn’t on our side; it started raining, but the streets were washed clean and tidy, making the ancient ambience even more pronounced.
Yuanjin Zen Temple by the Caogang River
Cao River and Tai’an Bridge
Handalong Sauce Garden on North Street, founded in 1915.
The most famous Fangsheng Bridge (Life-Releasing Bridge) is the largest five-arch stone bridge in the Shanghai area, spanning the Dianpu River.
All kinds of delicacies dazzle the eye. The streets are lined with snack shops where you can try famous Grandma’s Zongzi, ancient town tangyuan (glutinous rice balls), soy-braised pork trotters, and a variety of exquisite pastries.
As the rain intensified, visitors either took shelter or left; the crowds thinned out.
Afterwards, we headed to Shanghai for our business.
Tianmu Mountain, anciently called Fuyu Mountain, is famed for its 'great trees whose canopy shades all under heaven.' Located in Lin’an District, Hangzhou, at the border of Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, its main peak, Xianren Ding (Immortal’s Peak), rises to 1,506 meters. The name 'Tianmu' (Heavenly Eyes) dates to the Han Dynasty: from the east and west peaks, each has a pool on top that never dries up, like a pair of eyes. It is also the largest manifestation site of Skanda Bodhisattva in China. With layer upon layer of lush peaks, ancient trees, bizarre rocks, and cascading waterfalls, it has long been called the 'Kingdom of Giant Trees' and a 'Cool World'—a perfect place for sightseeing and spiritual refreshment. 'Tianmu’s thousand-fold beauty, its sacred mountains ten li deep'—it bestows an inexhaustible wealth of brilliant culture and unique natural charm.
Crown 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 elegant poems and timeless works here. In the Ming, more than 100 literati climbed Tianmu to explore its depths and sang of its wonders, leaving over 160 poems and essays.
Tianmu Mountain is a renowned historical and cultural mountain that integrates Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Here, Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang edited the Wenxuan, and Zhang Daoling, the great Daoist master of the Western Han, was born and practiced here. The Eastern Han text Dongyuan Ji lists Tianmu as the 34th Daoist Grotto-Heaven. Buddhism entered in the Jin Dynasty; at its peak, over 50 temples and hermitages housed more than a thousand monks. It became the cradle for the revival of the Rinzai school’s Eigenji Temple in Japan and holds broad influence in Southeast Asia.
Historically, it ranked alongside Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple; surrounded by mountains, the scenery is exquisitely tranquil. During the Anti-Japanese War, it housed the Zhejiang Provincial No. 1 Middle School, and Zhejiang University relocated here temporarily. In 1939, Comrade Zhou Enlai gave a speech on united resistance at the Baizi Hall of Chanyuan Temple.
Despite the ravages of war and weather, some relics survive.
The path was accompanied by babbling streams and carpets of moss, like something out of a fairy tale, deeply primal and weathered. The photo shows an ancient stone bridge along the way.
On this thousand-year-old trail, towering giant trees stand like silent guardians.
When Emperor Qianlong visited West Tianmu Mountain during his southern tour, he named this the 'King of Great Trees.' Legend claimed its bark could cure all ailments, so visitors and pilgrims stripped it away until the tree died in the 1930s. Yet, dead for over 90 years, the King still stands proud, and from its withered trunk sprouts a small, green new branch.
On the left, a stone tablet reading 'King of Great Trees' was inscribed by veteran Kuomintang member Yu Youren; Zhou Enlai once linked arms to encircle the tree with companions.
The New King of Great Trees, not far from the old one, is a rising star in the cryptomeria forest and now a national marvel.
Five Generations Under One Roof: the world’s oldest ginkgo tree, 12,000 years old, a contemporary of dinosaurs, and the ancestor of all ginkgos. Around its base, 22 saplings have sprouted—who knows how many generations coexist now!
Kaishan Old Hall, built in the Yuan Dynasty, was already recorded in Li Daoyuan’s Commentary on the Water Classic of the Northern Wei period—over 700 years of history. Inside, there’s a Zen culture exhibition hall, and a couplet handwritten by Hu Shi: 'With how much evidence, speak how many words; Be a monk for a day, ring the bell for a day.'
We stayed at an international hotel in Liyang. A large park lay just to the right front, promising boundless scenery from a distance. After an early start, we strolled over.
With hills and water, the scenery unfolded with every turn.
Elegant curves and soothing greenery.
An artificial waterfall merges mountain and water.
Arched flower gates along the fitness trail. It’s a huge park; we walked a full loop, skipping only the children’s play area.
Maoshan, straddling the border between Jintan in Changzhou and Jurong in Zhenjiang, is the foremost blessed land of Daoism and its Eighth Grotto-Heaven, rich in historical and cultural relics. Over two millennia, Maoshan Daoism reveres the Three Mao True Lords as its founding patriarchs and is the birthplace of the Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) Sect, known as the 'Shangqing Patriarchal Platform.'
Embracing wondrous peaks and ravines, long hailed a blessed land;
Housing three palaces and five temples, passed down as a grotto-heaven.
Maoshan New Fourth Army Memorial Hall
Above are photos of the memorial hall’s exhibits and artifacts.
The Monument to the Victory of the Anti-Japanese War in Southern Jiangsu features statues of Chen Yi and Su Yu; the inscription was written by General Zhang Aiping.
In late April 1938, the Red Army entered Maoshan and established a southern Jiangsu anti-Japanese base centered here. The base played a dagger-like spearhead role, a stronghold role, and a pivotal role, contributing greatly to the final victory. A magical phenomenon occurs: when firecrackers are set off at the steps going up, the echoes sound like bugle calls from the mountain top—so 'crackers in front of the monument, bugles in the air' has become a world wonder.
I’ve visited the Maoshan scenic area several times; this trip’s main goal was to see the temple’s sacred treasures.
A friend’s cousin is a Daoist and acquainted with the Maoshan master, which opened the door for us to view the treasures.
We took the scenic shuttle up to Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace, where a Daoist friend invited us into a lounge beside the temple, served tea, and we waited for the master. After a few words of welcome, the master took out his key, opened a safe, removed a box, and began to explain each item. Finally, he gifted each of us a sachet containing a talisman stamped with the jade seal.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, Empress Dowager Meng, mother of Emperor Zhezong, accidentally swallowed an embroidered silver needle. The imperial physicians were helpless, and she awaited death. The emperor issued a nationwide call for talent. Prime Minister Wang Anshi recommended Liu Hunkang, the 25th patriarch of Maoshan, who answered the summons. Using secret Daoist talismans and elixirs, he saved Meng (by having her swallow ash, elixir, thread, and water; when she vomited, the thread had threaded the needle’s eye!). Zhezong was overjoyed, gave Liu the title ‘Master of Cave Profundity and Wondrous Magic,’ appointed him abbot of the Shangqing Chuxiang Temple in the capital with direct access to the emperor, and bestowed gold, silver, and the Yuanfu Wanning Palace. Later, when Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, he again invited Liu to the capital and presented him with eight treasures: a jade seal of Maoshan’s Nine Elderly Immortals, an ‘Uniting Heaven-and-Earth Day Edict’ jade talisman, an imperial jade tablet for the patriarchal altar, a ‘Ha’ inkstone (jade inkstone), a royal jade sword target, the twelve-scroll ‘Shangqing Grand Cavern Secret Talismans,’ twelve-scroll ‘Shangqing Grand Cavern Certificates,’ and one scroll ‘Poems of the Prince of Liao.’ Liu refused to stay; after a year, he returned to Maoshan, and these became the mountain’s sacred treasures. Due to war and turmoil, the latter four were lost; only the jade seal, jade tablet, jade talisman, and the Ha inkstone remain in Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace. Among them:
Jade Seal: Inscribed in raised seal script with 'Seal of the Nine Elderly Immortals of the Capital of Immortals.' Legend says it was carved from leftover material after Qin Shihuang’s imperial seal was made; others claim it’s from a piece of the Heshi Bi (He’s Jade Disc) of the Warring States period. It’s said to 'consume four liang of cinnabar at night and stamp a thousand sheets of yellow paper by day.' Another story tells that Zhu Yuanzhang once took the seal to the palace, intending to recarve it into his own imperial seal, but after three attempts, the original six characters always reappeared. Helpless, he returned it to Maoshan in 1379.
Ha Inkstone: A jade inkstone; breathing on it produces water droplets, and a brush dipped in the ‘ha’ turns ink cinnabar-red. Two fine lines on the inkstone resemble a fish and a dragon. Most miraculously, at noon and midnight, the two would meet inside the inkstone pool—a phenomenon called 'Returning to the Trough at Zi and Wu.' Later, when Zeng Guofan’s son visited Maoshan, he accidentally dropped it, damaging the upper left corner, and the miracle never occurred again.
Jade Talisman: Also called the Heart-Calming Talisman, made of white jade, inscribed in intaglio seal script with 'Unite Heaven and Earth, Day Decreed by the Emperor.' It is believed to ward off evil and keep peace.
Jade Tablet: Since Maoshan is the patriarchal altar of the Shangqing Sect, this is called the Patriarchal Jade Tablet, used only when making offerings to Heaven, Earth, and the Daoist ancestors. At 34 cm long, the upper part’s patterns resemble a fluttering bat from afar, or a dragon soaring in the sky up close; the middle looks like swirling clouds, the base like layered peaks. It changes color with the seasons and often 'sweats' in spring and autumn.
We took a few more close-up photos of the four treasures.
Imperial Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace sits at the highest point of Maoshan and is its most influential Daoist temple. Perched atop the main peak, Damao Peak, it’s also commonly known as the Top Palace, built under imperial decree during the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty.
Yuanfu Wanning Palace, also called the Seal Palace, was originally where the mountain’s treasure—the jade seal—was kept. Hence the saying: 'At the Top Palace, a stick of incense; at the Seal Palace, a seal.'
Looking back at the Gate of All Wonders, the Dao is profound, the mountain serene, the forest dense, the water beautiful—a place of deep roots and long history. Such a rare encounter, a meeting of causes; joy to the utmost, ineffable!
