Park of China
Overview
| Name | Shaoxing 绍兴 |
| Web address | https://parkofchina.com/en/cityshaoxing.html |
| Province | Zhejiang |
| Location | Zhejiang |
| Latitude, longitude | 30.00, 120.58 Google Maps |
| Top sights | Lu Xun’s former home, Shen Garden, Orchid Pavilion, Mausoleum of Yu the Great, East Lake, Anchang old town |
About
Shaoxing lies in northern Zhejiang on the south shore of Hangzhou Bay, on the Ningshao plain criss-crossed by waterways, a typical water town of the south. Known in the past as Kuaiji and Yuezhou, it is one of the first National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities. See also Cities of China.
In the Spring and Autumn period this was the capital of the state of Yue, where King Goujian “slept on brushwood and tasted gall” until he destroyed Wu. Yu the Great is said to have gathered the lords on Mount Kuaiji after taming the floods and to be buried here; his mausoleum is south-east of the city. In the Eastern Jin, Wang Xizhi and his friends held a gathering at the Orchid Pavilion south-west of the city, where he wrote the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Poems, making it a holy place of calligraphy.
Shaoxing produced many famous people: the Southern Song poet Lu You, the Ming painter Xu Wei, and in modern times Qiu Jin, Cai Yuanpei and Lu Xun. Lu Xun’s former home in the city keeps his ancestral house, his family home and the Sanwei Study where he went to school as a child, with the Hundred-Grass Garden. Nearby Shen Garden is where Lu You met his former wife Tang Wan again and wrote the poem “Phoenix Hairpin”.
Water-town life is everywhere: black-awning boats on the canals and many stone bridges. East Lake, east of the city, is a lake and cliff left by ancient quarrying, and Anchang keeps an old street along its canal. Shaoxing rice wine is famous throughout China.
Travel tips
Getting there: Shaoxing North high-speed station is about twenty minutes from Hangzhou and an hour and a half from Shanghai.
Sightseeing: Lu Xun’s former home and Shen Garden are close together in the old city; the Orchid Pavilion, Yu’s mausoleum and East Lake are outside the city and need a ride. A trip in a black-awning boat is the local experience.
Photo credits: Bazi Bridge historic district: Zhangzhugang (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons); Lanting (Orchid Pavilion): Siyuwj (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons); Shen Garden: 猫猫的日记本 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)