After our sumptuous, scrumptious Huaiyang cuisine dinner at Zhenjiang Restaurant, we took a leisurely walk at the historic Xijindu Ancient Street 西津渡古街.
It's a fascinating short 1,000 metres walk but we experienced an amazing 2,000 years of China's long history.
Xijindu 西津渡 or Xijin Ferry is located in the west of Zhenjiang city along the eastern stretch of the Yangtze River 长江 (one of the cradles of civilisation and mother rivers of China) as it flows towards the East China Sea.
Another ancient city, Yangzhou is across the river in the north. You must have heard of, or tasted Yangzhou fried rice.
However, we are not able to see the Yangtze River from Xijin Ferry Ancient Street today. Since Qing Dynasty days (1644 - 1911), the river bank had shifted 300 metres away from the original jetty due to siltation.
The Xijindu area is witness to more than 2,000 years of, oftentimes tumultuous, Chinese history. Over the past thousands of years, hundreds of important battles and events have took place here - yes, right under your feet in the river of time.
By Bairuilong - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Before China was unified for the first time under the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, it was a chaotic melee of feuding kingdoms - a violent period known as the Spring and Autumn (770 to 481 BC) and the Warring States (475 to 221 BC).
💡Sun Tze wrote 孫子兵法 The Art of War around 500 BC during the Spring and Autumn period. It amazes me that by that time, Sun Tze had already seen enough wars to distill a treatise that is still taught in military academies and business schools around the world today.
You can imagine how chaotic that era was.
During the Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280 AD), Xijindu was named “Suanshandu,” as the adjacent mountain on the west was covered with garlic and was known as Suanshan Mountain 蒜山 or Garlic Mountain. The little pavilion on top is called "Suanting" (mentioned in Zhang Hu's poem - more later). Today, this historic site is the Suanshan Tourism Park (at the western end of Xijindu Ancient Street).
Garlic Mountain is a small hill, but it has huge historical significance.
During the Three Kingdoms period nearly 2,000 years ago, Cao Cao 曹操 led one million troops to the south. The combined forces of Sun Quan 孙权 and Liu Bei 刘备 totalled only 50,000, so the situation was desperate for the defenders.
In the Suanting pavilion on the top of Garlic Mountain, the two legendary figures calmly plotted their next move. They agreed to each write a word on the palm of their hand to decide the strategy to deal with Cao Cao.
When they opened their palms, they both coincidentally had the word "fire" 火 written on them. This is the Battle of Burning Red Cliff 火烧赤壁 in 208 AD, in which Cao Cao was defeated.
The crossing route across the Yangtze River here was established during the Six Dynasties period (220 - 589 AD). The 1,000 metres long Xijindu Ancient Street was also founded during this time and went through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties till today.
Known at first as Suanshandu or Garlic Mountain Crossing, it became known as Xijindu during the Song Dynasty (960 -1279).
Besides great battles and events due of its strategic location, Xinjidu also inspired poets because of its natural beauty.
The great poets Li Bai and Meng Haoran of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Anshi, Lu You and others of the Song Dynasty all waited at Xijindu for ships to cross the river, and left many moving poems.
Among them, a popular one is "Inscribed on Jinling Jin Ferry" by Zhang Hu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty.
金陵津渡小山楼，一宿行人自可愁.
潮落夜江斜月里，两三星火是瓜洲.
Jinling Jindu has a small mountain pavilion, where a solo traveler can feel sad, if he spends a night there.
In the setting moon of the river at night when the tide is falling, two stars and three stars are like Guazhou (island).
京口瓜洲一水间, 钟山只隔数重山.
春风又绿江南岸，明月何时照我还。
Jingkou Guazhou is separated by water, and Zhongshan is only separated by a few mountains.
The spring breeze is greening the south bank of the river again, when will the bright moon shine on me again?
(The movie "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" was based on Han Suyin's novel and autobiography.) Han Suyin, a renowned British-Chinese authour, said of Xijindu Ancient Street:
"Walking on this simple and elegant ancient street is like walking in a natural history museum. Take a walk. This is the real gold mine for Zhenjiang tourism".
I can't agree more. So, let's take a walk together 👣
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| Photo with thanks to 卡书晶 |
Life Saving Society 水上救生会. During the Sui Dynasty, the Yangtze River at Zhenjiang was more than 40 miles wide, and during the Tang Dynasty it was still more than 20 miles wide.
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| Photo with thanks to Kong Ling |
The river crossing was extremely treacherous. Many boats, boatmen and passengers were lost to strong winds, currents, waves and storms. Meng Haoran, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, left a poem:
江风白浪起，愁煞渡头人
The wind on the river is rising with white waves, and the people crossing the river are sad.
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| Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda |
Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda / Stupa 昭关石塔 is a protected provincial cultural relic. Top archaeologists in China believe that the Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda is the oldest street-crossing stone stupa in China. Fortunately, it is well preserved and in good condition.
According to Buddhist interpretation, the stupa is the Buddha, so when we pass through the gate under the stupa, we are bowing to the Buddha and paying homage to the Buddha. Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda / Stupa was built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368).
Guanyin Cave 观音洞. In the old days, people of Zhenjiang say, "The Yangtze River has three feet of waves without wind." The currents are strong and it is filled with hidden dangers.
According to legend Guanyin Bodhisattva passed by Zhenjiang and witnessed the how Yangtze's waves destroyed a boat and killed many people. The merciful and compassionate Guanyin rescued the victims from the merciless waves.
In gratitude for the kindness of Guanyin, people built the Guanyin Cave next to the Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda. Guanyin Cave was closed when we were there (at night), so I don't have a picture of the inside of the cave.
Fifty-three Slope 五十三坡. According legend, Shancai Boy 善财童子 was enlightened by the teachings of Manjushri Bodhisattva, so he decided to travel all over the country to seek advice from 53 wise people. Finally, under the enlightenment of Guanyin Bodhisattva, he attained enlightenment and became Guanyin's left attendant.
So every time we go up a step at 五十三坡, it means that we are paying homage to a sage. After walking up the 53 steps, it means that we have completed seeking advice from 53 masters. Like 善财童子, it cultivates one's character and purifies one's thoughts.
Waiting Pavilion 待渡亭. The Waiting Pavilion is a place where ancient people greet people sending them off or take a rest, sheltered from the rain while waiting for the ferry.
Legend has it that Emperor Qianlong (reign 1736 - 1795) once stayed in this waiting pavilion. The ministers were afraid that the emperor would be bored, so they prepared fishing gear for the emperor to keep him entertained.
Emperor Qianlong's luck was amazing that day, and fishes frequently took the hook, so his haul was abundant. Emperor Qianlong was naturally very happy.
It turned out that his men secretly set up a large net under the water, and put a large number of fish in the net. It is not surprising that Qianlong succeeded again and again. Therefore, calling Daidu Pavilion Diaoyutai 待渡亭钓鱼台 (fishing platform) is worthy of its name.
Zhenjiang Museum 英国领事馆旧址. In the aftermath of the Second Opium War (1856 - 1860), the area at the foot of Yuntai Mountain along the Yangtze River, including today's Xijindu Ancient Street, was designated a British concession. Built in 1864, the former British Consulate is a relic from the last days of the Qing Dynasty. Today, the former Consulate is a part of Zhenjiang Museum, housing a collection of over 30,000 artefacts spanning various historical periods of China.
Yuntai Pavilion 云台阁, perched on Yuntai Moutain overlooking Xijindu is the largest historic building in Zhenjiang. It is home to the Zhenjiang City Development Theme Museum. From the fourth floor, visitors enjoy an unobstructed panoramic view of Zhenjiang.
Walking all the way west along the 1,000 metre ancient street, the rows of two-storey buildings on both sides of the street take us back to the era of singing and dancing. Many of the buildings on the ancient street are relics from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The brick and wood structures and the window rails with carved cornices are all painted in vermilion. According to the memories of old residents, there are more than 150 shops of various types on this short street from Guanyin Cave to the current Changjiang Road.
Judging from the types of industries, they were related to food, lifestyle, and culture. Of course, there were also many shops serving boatmen, such as carpentry shops, cable shops, etc. A police station was set up here.
Today, new trendy bars, cafes, restaurants and retail shops bring back some of the old colour reminiscent of the ancient street's heyday.
Walking on this bluestone road with deep tracks carved by wheels, we hear the echoes of thousands of years of history.
We had dinner at Zhenjiang Restaurant. Our first meal for this trip to Jiangsu, and it was an excellent introduction to Huaiyang cuisine, Zhenjiang, Xijindu edition.
Xijin Du Ancient Street is attracting the attention of domestic and foreign tourists as well as archaeologists with its unique charm. Definitely, you should not leave Zhenjiang city without visiting Xijindu.
For this trip, I only spent a couple of days in Zhenjiang city and a couple of hours at Xijindu Ancient Street. I need to return for a longer stay to explore Zhenjiang more for its rich history, culture and cuisine (e.g. wok cover noodles).
If you are a history buff like me, then you have to make a special trip to Xijindu Ancient Street.
Attraction name: Xijindu Ferry Ancient Street 西津渡古街
Address: 6C8J+7F2, Xijindugu Street, Runzhou District, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China, 212032
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