Called Xin'an in ancient times, Quzhou is
located in the west of Zhejiang Province in the upper reaches of the
Qiantangjiang River. It is a 1,800-year-old city of military importance south of
the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The city established in the Tang dynasty
(618-907) has long been known as the thoroughfare to the four provinces, namely
Fujian, Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang.
Quzhou has many historic sites and scenic
spots, such as Lanke Mountain, the legendary birthplace of Chinese I-go; the
Confucius' South Zen Ancestral Temple; Jianglang Mountain, a provincial-level
tourist resort; and the Longyou Grottos, which is reputed as the Enigma Through
the Ages, and the Cultural Gem. Ancient towers and famous passes, quiet valley
and limpid brooks, rare animals and birds, strange flowers and ancient trees can
be found here and there in Quzhou.
The Longyou Grottos are one of the
underground manmade architectural complexes with the highest level in ancient
China, and also a great wonder that made use of the underground space. It
combines human culture, art, culture and engineering technologies into an
integral whole, and therefore, the accidental discovery was called as the Ninth
Wonder in the World by locals.
The Confucius' South Zen Ancestral Temple is
one of the only two in the world with the other one in Qufu of Shandong. In the
second year (1128) of the Jianyan reign in the Song Dynasty (960-1279),
Confucius' 48th generation descendant, Sun Duanyou, worshiped the
wooden statues of Confucius and his wife in Quzhou of Zhejiang Province, and
built the ancestral temple by imitating the one in Qufu. The temple has
far-reaching influence on the thoughts, culture, moral ethics, folk customs and
so on. It is a cultural relics site under the national protection.
Jianglang Mountain is situated at Quanjing
Hamlet of Jianglang Village about 25 kilometers to the south of Jiangshan
downtown. Famous for its magnificent and oddly shaped Three-Slit Stone, the
mountain has more than 100 views, including the No. 1 odd peak of rosy clouds in
China, the Crack of the Sky, the Giant Peak created by nature, and Cliffside
stone carvings, etc.
The Quzhou Tourism Festival held annually in
October comprises of the cultural tour of the Confucius temple, the rock
climbing of one-hundred-meter cliff in Jianglang Mountain, the seminar of
tourism culture of the Longyou Grottos, the Lanke Mountain I-Go Cultural Tour
Month and so on.