Yangzhou--Moonlit Night over the Twenty-Four Bridges

Author: Zhao Chunning
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Yangzhou boasts numerous historical sites and exquisite gardens, with its picturesque landscapes and serene beauty, making it a renowned cultural hub and prosperous city. You can immerse yourself in the gardens, mountains, and waterways, exploring the traces of this beautiful land, while also indulging in Yangzhou's cuisine and specialty snacks. Additionally, you can enjoy Yangzhou Opera and Yangzhou Storytelling. If you visit Yangzhou in May, don't miss the Qionghua Festival, held every two years, where you can admire the fragrant Qionghua flowers, light displays, and cultural performances. If you visit in late autumn, you can participate in the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night event, enjoying traditional folk songs, folk tunes, and other performances. And if you visit during the New Year, you can head to Daming Temple to hear the melodious chimes and receive New Year's blessings.
"As the saying goes, 'The world's three brightest moonlit nights are divided into two parts, with one part belonging to Yangzhou.'" The ancient city of Yangzhou, located at the eastern end of the middle-lower Yangtze Plain in central Jiangsu, borders the Yellow Sea to the east, adjacent to Nantong and Yancheng. To the west, it connects to Nanjing, neighboring Liuyi and Tianchang. To the south, it faces the Yangtze River, overlooking Zhenjiang and Wuxi across the water. To the north, it borders the Huai River, adjacent to Huaiyin. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through it from north to south. Historically, it has been a crucial water and land transportation hub, the throat of the southern grain transport route, and an important gateway to northern Jiangsu.
Yangzhou, known as the "Famous City of the Left Bank of the Huai River" and "the richest city under heaven," has a history of nearly 2,500 years. In the ninth year of the Kaishao era during the Sui Dynasty, Wu Prefecture was renamed Yangzhou, and the Yangzhou Military Command was established. By the ninth year of the Wude era during the Tang Dynasty, the seat of Yangzhou was moved to Jiangdu County, which then gained the exclusive name "Yangzhou." In the ninth year of the Yongzheng era during the Qing Dynasty, Jiangdu County was divided into Jiangdu and Ganquan counties. During the Republican era, the two counties were merged back into Jiangdu County, under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province until liberation.
On January 1, 1949, Yangzhou was liberated, and the former Jiangdu County was divided into Yangzhou City, Jiangdu County, and Hanyang County. Over the centuries, through the rise and fall of countless dynasties, the people of Yangzhou have created a splendid culture and left behind numerous cultural relics and historical sites. Today, Yangzhou is not only a world-renowned tourist destination but also the cultural and educational center of northern Jiangsu. Since ancient times, Yangzhou has been described as a place where "talented people thrive and the land is blessed." In the tide of reform and opening up, the city has flourished and undergone a remarkable transformation. As more and more domestic and international visitors stop here, they hope to find the tranquility and depth of the "Moonlit Night over the Twenty-Four Bridges" in this highly modernized city.