[2025 Shaoxing Attraction] Travel Guide for Jiezhu Temple (Updated Jul)

Just returned from wandering around Shaoxing, and this 3-day trip completely changed my perception of "Jiangnan" – no over-commercialized hustle, just small bridges over flowing water and a pace of life so slow it seeps into your bones. But there are definitely some pitfalls to avoid, so let me share my heartfelt thoughts～🌿 🚣‍♀️ First, why it's worth a special trip Shaoxing's "slowness" is ingrained in its soul! At dawn on Cangqiao Straight Street, you’ll see grandmothers washing clothes by the river, and when the black-canopied boats glide by, the oars sound like an old tune 🎵. The sense of history here isn’t forced—Lu Xun’s childhood home’s "Hundred-Grass Garden" still has mulberries, and the broken walls of Shen Garden hide the love story of Lu You and Tang Wan. Wander the alleys, and you might stumble upon century-old gates. The best surprise? It’s budget-friendly: ¥10 for a cup of yellow wine milk tea, ¥20 for a 40-minute black-canopied boat ride—even students can enjoy it without breaking the bank 💰. ✨ 3-day lazy itinerary **Day 1**: Lu Xun’s Hometown → Shen Garden → Cangqiao Straight Street Start with Lu Xun’s Hometown (free!)—see the "Sanwei Study" and "Hundred-Grass Garden" from textbooks. Don’t miss Xianheng Hotel at the entrance; order a plate of fennel beans with yellow wine and pretend you’re Kong Yiji 😜. In the afternoon, head to Shen Garden—people linger before the engraved "Phoenix Hairpin" poem, and the lotus blooms beautifully in July. Sit in a pavilion listening to Yue opera drifting by, and you’ll feel like you’ve time-traveled. At dusk, stroll Cangqiao Straight Street—lanterns light up the cobblestones reflecting the water, and the stinky tofu is so fragrant you’ll stomp your feet in delight! **Day 2**: East Lake → Orchid Pavilion → Shusheng’s Hometown East Lake is less crowded than West Lake! Take a black-canopied boat into the karst cave—the boatman will tell the legend of "Peach Blossom Cave," and the oars’ echoes sound like a natural symphony 🎶. At Orchid Pavilion, follow a guide to hear stories and try writing poetry at the "Winding Stream" spot—even if your calligraphy’s bad, you can still play the literati. At night, visit Shusheng’s Hometown—calligraphy stalls surround Wang Xizhi’s former residence’s ink pond. Sit by the river with a bowl of wontons, watching lanterns ripple in the water—this is true Jiangnan nightlife. **Day 3**: Keyan Scenic Area → Last-minute eats before leaving Keyan’s "Cloud Stone" is surreal! A 30-meter-tall, top-heavy rock pillar has stood for millennia—photograph it against the sky, and it looks photoshopped 🌪️. In the afternoon, return to the city for Bazi Bridge, where three rivers meet. Watch black-canopied boats pass under the arches—just raise your phone for an instant ink-wash painting. Before leaving, grab vacuum-packed Shaoxing soy sauce duck—it pairs perfectly with rice at home! 🍜 Foodie checklist: • **Shaoxing stinky tofu**: Crispy outside, tender inside, dipped in sweet-spicy sauce—¥5 for 3 skewers. The grandpa’s stall on Cangqiao Straight Street is the real deal. • **Yellow wine popsicle**: Creamy with a hint of wine—not too strong, ¥10 for 2. Perfect for cooling off while walking 🍦. • **Fennel beans**: Xianheng Hotel’s version is the best—soft, flavorful, and great with yellow wine. ¥10 for a plate that lasts all afternoon. • **Drunken chicken**: Tender chicken soaked in yellow wine, slightly sweet—amazing with congee for breakfast. ¥25 gets you a big portion 🐔. 💡 Pro tips: • **Bargain for black-canopied boats!** Ask around—¥20-30 per person is fair. • **Bring a fan in summer**—shady spots are breezy, but sunscreen is still a must. • **Don’t overdo yellow wine milk tea!** It has alcohol—one cup is just right for a light buzz. Shaoxing isn’t a "wow" kind of destination, but it grows on you. Sitting at the train station, watching the rivers and stone bridges, I finally understood why Lu Xun always wrote about "black-canopied boats"—this slowness is a tenderness etched into the bones.

Straight Street of the Sage of Calligraphy of Lu Xun 【The Key to the Rainy Alley】 "An eight-foot light boat, three low canopies, blocking the misty rain of Pingzhou." Lu You's words are like a bronze key, unlocking Shaoxing's rainy season. This "museum without walls" weaves a living "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" with the water reflections soaked into bluestone slabs, the shattered reflections from black canopy boats, and the floating scent of yellow wine and lotus in the air. 【The Soft Murmurs of History】 🌿 Morning · Ink Traces in the Hometown of the Sage of Calligraphy At dawn on Jishan Street, the sound of rain hitting banana leaves is slow and gentle. The bright yellow walls of Jiezhu Lecture Temple shine after being washed—this was originally the old residence of Wang Xizhi, and the ancient well in the courtyard still reflects the legend of the "Ink Pool." An old lady selling cakes hands over freshly steamed Jishan cakes, red bean paste wrapped in glutinous rice, warm and straight to the palm. At the Qishan Bridgehead, an elderly man picks up a brush and writes "Qu Shui Liu Shang" on a paper fan; his brush strokes are like knives, pulling calligraphy back from display cases into the lively market life. Friendly tip: Jiezhu Temple is free to enter and peaceful before 8 a.m.; Jishan cake costs 3 yuan each, sweet but not greasy. 🛶 Noon · The Time Wrinkles Rocked by Black Canopy Boats Avoid the crowded East Lake and choose the northern route black canopy boat (120 yuan/boat, can share with 3 people). The small boat slips from the city square into the West Small River, with slanting wooden houses by the water on both sides, clothes poles stretching across the river, and red lanterns swaying in the wind. The boatman rows with his feet, smiling and pointing to women washing clothes on stone steps: "Look, this is Shaoxing's 'living Along the River During the Qingming Festival'!" Get off at Xie Gong Bridge and walk to the Ming Dynasty Lü Mansion. The nanmu wood pillars of Yong'en Hall require three people to embrace, and the koi in the backyard fish pond nibble on moss; in the four hundred years of silence, the rustle of official robes seems to linger. 🌙 Evening · The Millennium Farewell at Shen Garden At 8:00 p.m., the last performance of "Shen Garden Love" begins (128 yuan). When "Red soft hands, yellow wine" echoes between the pavilions, the koi leap in the pond, splashing wet the hems of clothes—eight hundred years ago, Lu You and Tang Wan parted here, and two poems of "Chaitou Feng" are engraved on the whitewashed walls, each word bleeding tears. The bamboo sways in the rain like the lingering shadows of lovers, and the mandarin ducks entwined in the pond condense the sorrow into a warm drop at the corner of the eye. 【A Symphony of Market Life and Cultural Context】 📖 Hometown of Lu Xun: From Baicao Garden to Sanwei Study "The green vegetable beds, the smooth stone well railings, the tall soap pod trees"—the Baicao Garden in Lu Xun's writings is still lush and dripping in the fine rain. The stone well railings are mottled like an old man's wrinkles, and the soap pod trees coldly witness how the naughty children once awakened the nation with their pens. On the worn wooden desk of Sanwei Study, the inscribed character "zao" (early) still leaps like a flame. In the glass cabinet in the corner, the shells and colorful feathers gifted by Runtu pierce the time cracks between the "boy holding a steel fork under the full moon" and the "taciturn and humble middle-aged man" in "Hometown." ☕️ Afternoon · The Slow Philosophy of Cangqiao Straight Street Hide away in the "Wilderness Bookstore" on Qian Guan Alley, a decade-old shop filled with out-of-print literature and history books. Order a cup of yellow wine latte (32 yuan), where the aroma of wine balances the bitterness of coffee; outside the window, rain hits the bamboo leaves in the courtyard, echoing Xu Wei's ink splash paintings across the air. At the street corner, the old lady's stinky tofu stall (10 yuan/serving) has a long queue; the golden crispy shell breaks to reveal tender tofu, dipped in spicy and sweet sauces—the "red and white double killers"—this "fragrant-stinky paradox" is the soul imprint of Shaoxing. 🌉 Dusk · The Millennium Reflection of Bazi Bridge The Southern Song Dynasty Bazi Bridge connects four alleys like an overpass; on the bridge, an old lady shakes out blue printed cloth, and below, boatmen's oar sounds echo. Standing atop the bridge, you see electric tricycles grinding over Song Dynasty stone steps, and delivery riders in blue jackets rushing past Ming Dynasty gatehouses—history has never died; it has just changed vessels and continues to ferment. 【Shaoxing on the Palate: The Flavor Code of Moldy, Stinky, Fermented, and Fresh】 "Elegant Drunkenness": The treasure hunt for drunken lobster (158 yuan), with the aroma of Huadiao wine permeating the shrimp roe, the meat tender and springy like a kiss from Jianhu Lake water. Served with a plate of fennel beans, the waiter cheerfully adds more Taidiao wine: "Owe nineteen wen? Waived!" "Carbohydrate Jianghu": Tongxinlou's pan-fried buns (1.2 yuan each) are crispy and juicy, enjoyed with shrimp oil wontons' freshness; watch students crowd wooden tables as the lively water town morning song begins here. "Bold Challenge": The steamed "Three Stinks" at Old Beard Restaurant—stinky amaranth stems, stinky tofu, stinky winter melon—the moldy smell hits the crown of the head; paired with a pot of Nu'er Hong wine, you understand the philosophy that "extreme stink is extreme freshness." Trivia: The name Nu'er Hong (Daughter's Red) comes from Shaoxing families burying wine when a daughter is born, to be opened when she marries eighteen years later. A jar of wine sediments half a lifetime of family affection; only after drinking it do you understand what "aged vintage" means. 【Eternal in Contradiction】 Shaoxing's magic lies in blending the most common stinky tofu stalls with the most elegant Lanting calligraphy into a pot of vibrant cultural broth. When Wang Xizhi's ink pool reflects the neon lights of a milk tea shop, and the mandarin ducks of Shen Garden are startled by tourists' shutters—this city has long understood: true inheritance is not sealed in glass cases but lets history flow into the veins of the present, fermenting with yellow wine and rocking new dreams with black canopy boats. **Practical Tips**: - Choose the northern route for black canopy boats (City Square → Lü Mansion) to avoid crowds at East Lake; - Lu Xun's hometown is free but requires reservation; take over the empty Baicao Garden before 8 a.m.; - Stay overnight in a guesthouse in the Hometown of the Sage of Calligraphy, open the window to see the Wenbi Tower, and wake up to the sound of footsteps on the stone slabs.

Jiezhujiang Temple is located on the southern foot of Jishan (Wangjia Mountain) in Chang'an Gate, Shaoxing City. It was originally the former residence of Wang Xizhi and is one of the eight famous temples in Yuezhong. Historically, Jiezhujiang Temple has been built and abandoned many times, but the temple site has remained unchanged. At the entrance of Jiezhujiang Temple, there is a statue of an official wearing a gauze cap and court dress, with a fair face and a long beard. Two child servants stand on either side of him, one holding a stack of books and the other holding a goose. This official is Wang Xizhi, a general of the Jin Dynasty, an internal history of Kuaiji, and a great calligrapher. Behind Jiezhujiang Temple, there is another "Beitianzhu" that has been basically rebuilt. It is said that the people of Shaoxing call Lufeng Zen Temple "Nantianzhu" and Jiezhujiang Temple "Beitianzhu." One is in the south of the city, on Kuaiji Mountain, and the other is in the north of the city, on Wangjia Mountain, echoing each other. After the reconstruction of Beitianzhu, it will be integrated with Jiezhujiang Temple, serving as both a place for Buddhist activities and a window for preaching and promoting Buddhism. It will also be a memorial place for the calligraphy sage Wang Xizhi and a base for Buddhist calligraphy creation.