Poetry Tourism in Yang Wanli’s Hometown: A Southern Song Getaway
A Thousand-Year Poetic Countryside
“The young lotus shows its pointed tip, a dragonfly already perches upon it” — stroll the lotus ponds at Yang Wanli’s Hometown Scenic Area and these famous lines come alive. This 4A-level site, dedicated to Yang Wanli—one of the Southern Song’s four revival poets—blends pastoral landscapes with deep poetic culture. Unlike noisy theme parks, this cultural oasis invites urban visitors to slow down and savor classical Chinese poetry, Jiangnan rural life, and the literati aesthetic.
Bangtang Village still preserves simple farming scenes, Gan-style grey-tile houses, and a poem-stone gallery. Spring brings rapeseed blossoms, summer opens endless lotus leaves, autumn fills the air with osmanthus, and winter turns the paths into poetry-covered snows. Here the imagery from Yang Wanli’s verses—fields of flowers and winding valleys—finds a living interpretation, offering foreign visitors an excellent window into traditional scholar-gentry spirit and Jiangnan pastoral beauty.
1. Poetic Residence: Key Sights
Chengzhai Garden (Chengzhai Yuan) is the soul of the park. Designers translated Yang Wanli’s 120 classic poems into tangible landscapes. Using traditional Chinese garden techniques like “borrowed scenery,” silent springs and winding streams evoke the line “the spring’s eye mourns the thin flow,” while interactive installations recreate the childlike joy of “children rushing to chase yellow butterflies.” The VR Pavilion uses immersive projection to “time-travel” visitors to the Southern Song, even recreating the West Lake scene from “At Dawn Leaving Jingci Temple” where “lotus leaves reach to the horizon.”
Yang Wanli’s Former Residence, rebuilt with strict adherence to Song-period building codes and central Jiangxi vernacular features, shows daily literati life: a study with replica stationery, an old plum tree, and a stone well that quietly recall the poet’s leisurely days. The Yang Ancestral Hall, originally built in the Ming dynasty, displays typical Jiangxi shrine architecture and wood carvings that trace the family’s scholarly lineage.
Nanxi Bridge, a Ming-era stone arch—the site’s oldest original relic—spans a murmuring stream lined with weeping willows. It beautifully mirrors the poet’s image of “willows shading and flowers brightening, another village appears.” Visit at dawn or dusk to watch villagers drive geese across the bridge: an evocative local scene.
2. Deep Experiences: From Poetry Recitals to Farming
Beyond sightseeing, the park offers hands-on programs:
– Poetry Salon: Learn classical recitation under a Confucian studies teacher at the Lotus Pavilion, experiencing the cadence of ancient verse.
– Movable-Type Printing: In the cultural workshop, set type and print Yang Wanli poem cards—unique souvenirs you make yourself.
– Farming Classes: Try spring rice planting or autumn grain threshing to live the poet’s “rice blossom scent and talk of harvest” scenes.
– Intangible Heritage Workshops: Learn Jishui paper-cutting and Gan embroidery from local artisans.
The annual Yang Wanli Poetry Festival in the fifth lunar month is the highlight: guqin music, tea ceremonies, and poetry contests take center stage. During Mid-Autumn, the “Chengzhai Night Banquet” recreates Song-era literati gatherings; visitors can wear hanfu and join traditional games like Feihua-ling (flower-falling wordplay).
3. Practical Guide: Live as a Southern Song Literatus for a Day
Best visit length: plan 6–8 hours for a full experience. Start early to see lotus mist, tour the museums in the morning, enjoy a farmhouse lunch, take workshops in the afternoon, and photograph sunset at Nanxi Bridge.
Tickets & services:
– Adult ticket: RMB 80 (includes all permanent exhibits)
– VR Pavilion: additional RMB 30 per person
– Chinese–English electronic audio guides available (deposit RMB 200)
– Free Wi‑Fi across the site; key signs include English translations
Getting there:
– From Nanchang Changbei Airport, take high-speed rail to Jishui West Station (about 1.5 hours), then a tourism shuttle bus to the site (about 30 minutes)
– By car: navigate to “Yang Wanli Hometown Scenic Area”; parking is free
– Suggested cultural circuit: combine with Jiang’an Egret Isle Academy and Qingyuan Mountain for a “Luling cultural day tour”
Accommodation & food:
– Chengzhai Courtyard Guesthouse inside the park (RMB 300–500/night) recreates a Song scholar’s study layout
– Bangtang Village homestays serve authentic Gan cuisine (around RMB 60 per person); don’t miss the slow-braised lotus-wrapped red carp
4. Local Tips
– Photo tip: the “Guanjiatai” viewing terrace at Chengzhai Garden’s southwest corner offers sweeping views over rice fields—best at harvest gold season
– Avoid crowds: tours usually arrive 10:00–12:00 on weekend mornings; consider entering in the afternoon
– Hidden gem: an 800-year-old camphor behind the Yang Ancestral Hall hides a tiny Earth God statue in its hollow
Stand on Nanxi Bridge and watch a herding child lead an ox across the stream, and you might understand how Yang Wanli wrote the lively lines about idly watching children catch willow flowers. This poetic countryside preserves Song-era charm while continuing China’s deep rural pastoral traditions. If city noise has worn you thin, spend a night here: fall asleep to frogs and cicadas and rediscover the unhurried life Yang Wanli so lovingly recorded.
