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WHAT TO SEE IN ZHENJIANG
With some 300 factories employing
well over a third of its population of 390,000,
Zhenjiang is now indisputably industrial. Yet
it sti1l enjoys the appellation 'City of Forests
and Hills', which was coined by the celebrated
landscape painter Mi Fu (1051--1107) because
it is flanked on three sides by tree-clad mountains.
The busiest area of the city is
within the confines of Zhengdong Lu, Jiefang
Lu and Renmin Lu. The old city is further west,
near Boxian Park. The foreign concession was
there, its British consulate is now the Zhenjiang
Museum. On Boxian Lu an old American church
still Retains the stone plaque set into a wall
which reads, though not clearly:
First Baptist Church
Organized
... D 1885
Rebuilt 1921
XIAO MATOU JIE (SMALL JETTY STREET)
Take this charming little cobbled
street through the oldest part of town. The
rows of Qing-drpasty (1644--1911) buildings
are intersected by stone arches at regular intervals.
One of these is the Zhaoguan Stupa--five metres
(16 feet) high rising behind a stone archway
which dates from the Yuan dynasty (1279--1368).
The names engraved on either side commemorate
those who were officials of the prefecture when
the stupa was restored in 1583.
The cobbled pathway was once lined
with shops selling incense to devotees at Jin
Slian Temple. West of the stupa is the Western
Ferry Crossing (Xi Jindu Jie). Its stone steps
once led straight down to the riverside, where
there was a ferry service to Jin Shan and the
other side of the Yangtze. Marco Polo is said
to have come ashore at this very spot.
JIN SHAN (GOLDEN HILL)
The 44-metre (144-foot) Golden Hill,
with its famous temple, was an island in the
centre of the 
Yangtze until it merged with the
river bank in the middle of the last century.
Visitors used to take a ferry from the Western
Feny Crossing, and then rode mules to the top.
Jin Shan Temple was first built over 1,500 years
ago. In its heyday,the temple was looked after
by 3,000 Buddhist monks.
Visitors may be shown the most interesting
of the several sights and relics on Jin Shan.
Jin Shan Pagoda was first built 1,400 years
ago and rebuilt many times:in the Song dynasty
as two pagodas, in the Ming as a single tower
and three times in the Qing period. Fa Hai or
Pei Gong Cave is identified by a statue of the
monk Fa Hai,son of a Tang-drpasty prime minister.
Fa Hai lived here when he came to the temple,having
first studied at Lushan. It is said that when
the monk discovered a pot of gold,he gave it
to the local officials. The emperor ordered
that the gold be returned to Fai Hai, to rebuild
the temple, thereafter named Golden Hill Temple.
The extraordinary folk tale of
the White Snake is connected to Fa Hai. The
story tells of a 
1,000-year old white snake,
Bai Suzhen, who, longing for a life among mortals,
changed herself into a beautiful maiden. She
married a young herbalist, Xu Xian, whom she
first met on the famous Broken Bridge on the
West Lake in Hangzhou. The happy couple set
up business dispensing medicines, but Suzhen's
magical cures aroused the anger of the powerful
Buddhist monk, Fa Hai. His machinations put
the couple through many trials and tribulations,
including imprisonment of Xu Xian, before he
was eventually defeated. At one point Xu Xian
escaped through the Bai Long Dong (White Dragon
Cave) on Jin Shan, for though narrow it is said
to lead to Hangzhou, Where the herbalist and
Suzhen were reunited.
In the temple, a bronze drum, presented
in the Qing dynasty (164~l911), is one of the
treasures of the Four Precious Rooms (Sibao
Shi). It is believed to have belonged to Zhuge
Liang (181--234) and to have doubled as a cooking
pot when not being beaten in war. Another is
Su Dongpo’s official mandarin belt of
20 jade pieces.Su apparently had to forfeit
his belt when he lost a debate on Buddhism with
his friend, the monk Fo Yin.
The scroll-adorned Fo Dian (Buddha
Hall), with its 18 Iuohan (disciples of Buddha)
statues, is where the monks hold their services.
West of Jin Shan, along the road that runs beside
an artificial lake, is Zhongling Spring, the
'Foremost Spring under Heaven'. It was graded
by the Tang scholar, Lu Yu, whose Book of Teas
listed and classified seven springs in China
according to the water's compatibility with
tea. Zhongling's water was judged the sweetest
for brewing tea. The bubbling spring trickles
into a small pool enclosed by bamboo groves,
but today its water is anything but sweet.
BEIGU SHAN
Rising from the Yangtze the steep
cliff face of the 53-metre (174--foot) high
Beigu Shan was a natural fortification and was
chosen by the King of Wu, Sun Quan, as the site
of his capital, Tiewangcheng, in the third century.
The Martyr's Monument now stands Where the great
Wu general, Zhou Yu, made his headquarters.
The novel Roomette 0l the Three Kingdoms contains
many stories concerning Beigu Shan.
The exquisite Iron Pagoda dates
from the Song dynasty (960--1279) and has an
extraordinary history of survival. Erected in
the 11th century on the site of an earlier pagoda,
it had nine tiers. In the Ming dynasty (1368--1644),
a tidal wave estroyed seven tiers, which were
later replaced. In the Qing (l644--1911), the
upper tiers were again destroyed, this time
by lightning. Several 
Ming tiers were discovered
nearby during restoration in 1961 and replaced
in position above the only two remaining original
Tang tiers. Over 2,000 Tang (618--907) relics
were also found at that time. The Ganlu (Sweet
Dew) Temple buildings now house painting exhibits.
The Hen Stone was carved into the
shape of a Tam at the end of the last century
let is believed that the King of Wu sat on this
stone when planning his strategy for the great
Battle of the Red Cliff The pretty Duojing Lou
(Tower of Many Views) is said to have been the
dressing room of Liu Bei's wife, the sister
of Sun Quan. Song-dynasty literati frequently
held banquets in it.
Liu Bei's wife is said to have committed
suicide from the Jijiang Ting (Sacrificing to
the River 
Pavilion). She threw herself into
the river upon hearing of the death of her husband
at Baidi Cheng , after his defeat by her brother,
the treacherous Sun Quan.
The two Shijian Shi (Sword Testing
Stones), each split neatly in two, were reputedly
cloven by the swords of Liu Bei and Sun Quan,
who were at that time outwardly in alliance
over regaining the city of Jiangling (present--day
Jingzhou)but each secretly plotting to betray
the other.
The three characters liu ma jian-"Hold
back the horse from the cliff"- on the
face below the hill, are associated with a story
that also involves Liu and Sun. At a banquet
together, Liu, who being from the northwest
was an expert cavalryman but was less adept
at naval warfare, said to Sun, 'Now I know why
southerners can row boats so well, and northerners
manage their horses.' Sun took offence at what
he considered a backhanded compliment, and challenged
Liu to a race. ln a drunken state they leapt
on to their horses. As they reached the cliff
edge Liu reined in his horse, but Sun could
not and was saved from death only at the last
moment by Liu.
• ZhengJiang
• What to See in ZhengJiang (1)
• What
to See in ZhengJiang (2)
• The Grand
Canal
