Wuxi, Flourishing with Waters

Nestled on the northern shore of Tai Lake, China’s third-largest body of fresh water, Wuxi lies on the southern border of Jiangsu Province, about 128 kilometers (79.5 miles) northwest of Shanghai. Covering an area of 4,785 square kilometers (1847.5 square miles), it borders Suzhou to the east, Zhejiang Province to the south and Changzhou to the west. There are six districts and two county-level cities (Jiangyin and Yixing) under its prefecture with a total population of 4.578 million.

Wuxi is a city richly endowed by nature. Owing to its pleasantly warm and moist climate, it boasts a reputation of the ‘Land of Fish and Rice’. Relying on the near-by Yangtze River and ancient Grand Canal, Wuxi had been a port city with the busiest rice and cloth market in China before 19th century. In modern times, with its rapidly developing industry, Wuxi became one of China’s top 50 cities with broad strength and is thus called the ‘Little Shanghai’ for its prosperous economy.

With a splendid history of over three thousands years, Wuxi claims to be ‘the Pearl of Tai Lake’. Early in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC – 476 BC), it had been the economic and politic center south of Yangtze River. Lots of outstanding people rose from that time, leaving many related historical and cultural relics, such as Li Lake named for the famous general Fan Li of Yue Kingdom, the Donglin Academy remained from the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) and the former residence of the renowned Chinese geographer, Xu Xiake.

Grand Buddha Statue

The Grand Buddha at Ling Shan situated in the small Ling Shan area in the south of the Maji Mountain, Wuxi. The Grand Buddha and the historical famous “Xiangfu Temple” nearby are the well-known scenic resorts in today’s Wuxi.

With more than 80 meter high, the Grand Buddha at Ling Shan is a bronze Sakyamuni standing Buddha outdoors and built in the end of 1996.

The Grand Buddha lies in the Small Ling Shan named by the famous Great Monk Xuanzang in Tang Dynasty, this is how the Grand Buddha in Ling Shan got its name. The Grand Buddha are made in tin, bronze, created, and completed according to the record of the Buddhist scriptures Tathagata 32 images.

The Grand Buddha is pleasing to the eyes and very kind, widely looking at all the living creatures. The left and right hands have hand print with “wish”, wishing the world happy and welfare and the mark before the chest represents solemn.

The whole Buddha is not only rounded and strong, but also solemn and auspicious, created very carefully and vivid, appears the image of Buddha’s mercy. When you stand before the Grand Buddha, you cannot help praising how prefect the Chinese Buddhist work it is!

The Grand Buddha is standing straight near the Taihu Lake in Wuxi. Its establishment is one of the biggest occasions in Chinese Buddhism field for about one hundred years.

Li Garden

In the Qingqi Village in Wuxi City, is located the Li Garden which is one of the major scenic spots in China. It lies by Li Lake and covers an area of 8.2 hectares (approx. 98,071 square yards). It is said that Fan Li who was a prime minister of the Yue State in Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC – 476 BC) was very meritorious in helping the king to conquer another state. However, he has decided to live in privacy with Xi Shi (one of the Four Beauties in ancient China) after the big success was achieved. They lived in this area and boated in Li Lake. In order to commemorate Fan Li, the lake was named after his name. However, the garden was named after the lake.

The garden is surrounded by water on three sides. You can see green hills in the distance, and at close range the dike, long corridor, and rockery. The scenery in the garden can be divided into three sections: Man-made hills in the middle section, the scenic spots such as long dike and Four Seasons Pavilions in the west section and abundant spots including Spring and Autumn Pavilion and long corridor in the east section.

In the middle section, man-made hills were piled high in various shapes and styles. Some are sharp and angular, of which some are purely magnificent. There is a stone path which is wide in some sections but narrows in others, also are bright in some sections but obscure in others. Walking along the path can be just like being in a maze. The man-made hills are endowed with more vitality by the lake. The two seem to form a whole unit and bring us a great enjoyment of nature’s beauty.

Four Seasons Pavilions are in fact four pavilions – Spring Pavilion, Summer Pavilion, Autumn Pavilion and Winter Pavilion. They were built all in the same style. The pictures of flowers in four seasons are painted on their pillars. Beside each pavilion, a special kind of flower was planted. Plum blossoms are planted beside the Spring Pavilion, and Oleanders are planted beside the Summer Pavilion. Sweet-scented osmanthus can be found by the Autumn Pavilion and Calyx canthus by the Winter Pavilion. Therefore, tourists can enjoy beautiful flowers here in any season.

Spring and Autumn Pavilions are three stories high, with the eaves cocked upwards. The pavilion gained its name for it is relation to Fan Li and Xi Shi who lived in the Spring and Autumn Periods. The name causes people to imagine something about the ancient time and the sweet love story between them. The pavilion is the highest architecture in the garden, thus providing people a good place to overlook the panoramic view around the garden.

From June to September, the exhibition of lotus is held in the garden, and night tours are also held here from July to September.

Wuxi Three Kingdom City

Located in the southwest suburb of Wuxi City is the Three Kingdoms City, which is one of the CCTV Television Bases, and a renowned tourist attraction. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical TV series, was filmed there. The title, Three Kingdoms, refer to Wei (220 – 265), Shu (221 – 263) and Wu (229 – 280) which were the three rival powers during the period of Three Kingdoms.

Covering an area of about 35 hectares (86 acres), the Three Kingdoms City is a Han Dynasty (206BC – 220) style structure. In order to film the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a series of buildings were needed to be built there. These include the King of Wu’s Palace, the Ganlu Temple, the Caocao’s Army Camp on Land and Waterside, the Seven Star Altar and the Stunt Performing Court for Big Fire at Red Cliffs. These buildings have all become celebrated tourist spots.

On each side of the gate to the King of Wu’s Palace stand two Quelou Towers, each 21 meters (69 feet) high and in the Han Dynasty symbolized official status. The towers are the highest structure in the city. In the palace, the furnishings are in black, which symbolize richness, honor and happiness in the Han Dynasty. There also, Liu Bei, the King of Shu married Sun Shangxiang who was the sister of Sun Quan, the King of Wu.

The Ganlu Temple is located south of the King of Wu’s Palace. The temple comprises the Buddhist Hall, the Drum Tower, the Brick Pagoda and the Sword Testing Stone. In the Buddhist Hall is enshrined Sakyamuni. To the right is the Chanting Hall and on the left is the Meeting Room. There Dowager Wu (Sun Shangxiang’s mother) met her daughter’s future husband – Liu Bei. Also there Sun Quan and Liu Bei chopped the stone and made their wishes to defeat Caocao’s Army.

The Caocao’s Army Camp on Land and Waterside consists of the Mustering Platform, the Outer Gate of the Army Camp, Four Watchtowers and some warships. It is about 300 meters (984 feet) long from east to west and 100 meters (328 feet) from north to south. The scenes of Caocao Composing a Poem when Wielding Spear and the Burning of the Red Cliffs in the TV series the Romance of the Three Kingdoms were shot there. When standing on the Mustering Platform, tourists have a panoramic view of the entire camp.

The Seven Star Altar is where Zhuge Liang prayed for procuring the southeast wind. The altar is built like a pyramid. At the center of the altar is engraved the fish patterns which symbolize Yin and Yang (the two opposing principles in nature) and around these are painted the Eight Diagrams.

At the Stunt Performing Court for Big Fire at Red Cliffs, tourists can appreciate magnificent scenes of burning the Red Cliffs. All of the warships, soldiers and barracks are miniature models. Through remote control and electro pneumatic control, the vivid warring scenes are presented to the visitors. Here tourists are able to get a clear understanding of the special cinematic technology.

 Other tourist spots within the city include the Peach Garden – where Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei swore to be blood brothers, the Arena, the Eight Diagrams Formation and the Horse Race Course. At the Arena, performances of Han Dynasty bullfighting and equestrianism are held. Covering an area of 2,600 square meters (0.6 acre), the Eight Diagrams Formation is formed by 13,000 wooden pegs which are five centimeters (0.1 feet) in diameter. When exploring this formation, tourists will feel like they are entering a maze. In the Horse Race Course, Three Heroes (Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei) Dueling Lu Bu is performed at ten everyday. Visitors are also able to wear the uniforms and enjoy themselves by participating in the performance.