Antelope Self-Guided Travel Guide — Jiangsu Zhejiang

Author: Huang Xuejian
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: This book takes you on a journey following the footsteps of countless literary geniuses and beauties, exploring the fragrant powders and autumn winds recorded in ancient historical scrolls, as well as the delicate tunes and boat songs. Every step you take in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is filled with a carefree and romantic warmth where leisure and romance dance together. In this misty, water-covered region, wild ducks roam among the lush reeds. At this moment, you can no longer tell whether you are returning home or traveling, nor can you distinguish between joy and sadness. The signs along the way indicate that you have been softened by the scenery before you. Yes, you are not on a trip because you are moved by a long-lost nostalgia. The oil lamp deep in your heart, representing your childhood, is being lit again by the cobblestone streets with small puddles beneath your feet. The drizzle washes the dust off your body, carrying it into the river under the small bridge, flowing further and further away. Where is this place—a water town in a water country. Do you have the spirit of a hero? Or do you long for the days of eating meat with large bowls and drinking wine freely? Did you know that when Liu Bang was still struggling to make a name for himself, he often ate dog meat in the Pei County area? Without chopsticks, he ate with his hands. If someone saw your poor eating habits, you must have been eating alligator soup dog meat in Cuizhai Township, Xuzhou. Sitting gracefully in a small pavilion, leaning on the ornate armrests, you resemble a delicate and refined beauty. Meanwhile, the lotuses by the water’s edge have bloomed, and the flowers in the courtyard attract bees and butterflies. The stones and lush bamboo create a vibrant landscape. After passing several winding stone bridges, someone urges you to move on. Oh! So this isn’t your home—it’s the Suzhou Gardens. Yes, the gardens of Suzhou, though a place as ordinary as can be, are irresistible. Just like the saying goes, "You’re not a true hero until you’ve climbed the Great Wall," if you’re in this area, you naturally must visit them. So, have you arrived in Suzhou? Look, the Tiger Hill Pagoda is the symbol of Suzhou. Legend has it that King Fuchai of Wu buried his father here, and the treasures beneath it must be numerous. Due to its complex structure, it has never been robbed. Don’t you want to explore it? And the bell of Hanshan Temple, along with the melancholic atmosphere by Fengqiao, where you can reflect on sorrow and trace the boat that pursued the moon’s fall and the crow’s caw.
You climb a hill and discover some poetry. Someone once boasted here that they were on par with the emperor in terms of power and territory. This is the Pingshan Hall on Shugang in Yangzhou. The Pingshan Hall in Yangzhou was where Ouyang Xiu once climbed high to gaze at Jinling, desiring to be on par with the imperial court. It was a place of feasting, drinking, and revelry, where he engaged in midnight drinking games like passing the drum and flower.
There’s more—Yangzhou’s snack alleys are even more full of life’s charm. A place with a bold and domineering aura, a city with deep and painful memories. The emperors have left, but their tombs remain for you to ponder why they were so tyrannical both in life and in death. Within the broken walls, the questions echo like the expressions of the ruins themselves. The old lanes once raged with war but are now fewer and fewer. The broad leaves of the trees fall year after year, and the old houses are torn down daily. This is a of the bustling market life and the plight of old houses at the edge of the former Nanjing city near Jiqing Gate, Hu Family Garden.