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Home Travel in Zhejiang Orchid Pavilion
Orchid Pavilion
Travel in Zhejiang

  Orchid Pavilion
Orchid Pavilion (lán tíng 兰亭) is located at the foot of Lanzhu Mounttain (lán zhǔ shān 兰渚山), 13 kilometres southwest of Shaoxing City (shào xìng shì 绍兴市), Zhejiang Province (zhè jiāng shěng 浙江省). It is the place where the noted Jin Dynasty (jìn cháo 晋朝) calligrapher Wang Xizhi (wáng xī zhī 王羲之) wrote his Prologue to the Orchid Pavilion Poems (lán tíng jí xù 兰亭集序). Orchid Pavilion was listed as one of the top three sceneries in the suburbs of Shaoxing, the other two were Dayu Mausoleum (dà yǔ líng 大禹陵) and East Lake (dōng hú 东湖). In recent decades, the place was more famous because of the Lanting Calligraphy Festival (lán tíng shū fǎ jiē 兰亭书法节).

Wang XizhiIt is said that the Orchid Pavilion was originally the site where Gou Jian (gōu jiàn 勾践), the King of the Yue State (yuè guó 越国) during the Spring and Autumn Period (chūn qiū shí qī 春秋时期), planted orchids. Later it became famous for Wang Xizhi. There are many scenic spots in the pavilion. For example, The Goose Pond Pavilion (é chí tíng 鹅池亭), Liushang Pavilion (liú shāng tíng 流觞亭), Ink Pond (mò chí 墨池) , Youjun Shrine (yòu jūn cí 右军祠) , Small Orchid Pavilion (xiǎo lán tíng 小兰亭), Yubei Pavilion (yù bēi tíng 玉碑亭) and so on.

The Goose Pond Pavilion
When entering the Orchid Pavilion, the first thing you see is the goose pond. several geese are swimming in the pond leisurely. The Goose Pond Pavilion is on the left of the pond. It is a small triangle pavilion which contains the famous goose pond stone stele carved with two Chinese characters E Chi (é chí 鹅池). It is said that the first character was written by Wang Xizhi, and the second character was written by his son Wang Xianzhi (wáng xiàn zhī 王献之) who was also a famous calligrapher.

The Goose PondThe Liushang Pavilion
Liushang is the center of the Orchid Pavilion. According to records, on the third of March in 353 during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (dōng jìn 东晋), Wang Xizhi and his forty-two friends and his son gathered here to drink wine and improvise poems. Wang collected the poems composed by his friends and compiled into a book entitled The Orchid Pavilion Poems (lán tíng shī jí 兰亭诗集). At last, Wang Xizhi flourished his brush and Liushang Pavilioncompleted at a breath a preface to their poems. That’s the famous Prologue to the Orchid Pavilion Poems. In front of the Liushang Pavilion, you can see a zigzags raceway, the water streaming in it. It is the renowned Qushui (qǔ shuǐ 曲水).

The Youjun Temple
The Youjun Temple was built to commemorate Wang Xizhi. At that time, Wang held the post of You General (yòu jiāng jūn 右将军). So people always called him Wang Youjun (wáng yòu jūn 王右军). There are many inscriptions in the temple. The portray of Wang Xizhi is hung in the center. Inside the temple there is a pond. A quadrangular pavilion is in the middle of the it. It is said that Wang Xizhi used to practice calligraphy and wash his brush in the pond. The water in the pond gradually became black. People then call the pond Ink Pond, and the quadrangular pavilion Ink Pavilion (mò tíng 墨亭).

Forest of Steles  Walking through the Sanqu Bridge (sān qǔ qiáo 三曲桥), you will see the Small Orchid Pavilion. The two characters Lan Ting in it was written by the emperor of Kangxi (kāng xī 康熙) in Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝). Apart from these, there are many other sites like the Wang Xizhi Memorial Temple (wáng xī zhī jì niàn guǎn 王羲之纪念馆) and the Orchid Pavilion Calligraphy Museum (lán tíng shū fǎ bó wù guǎn 兰亭书法博物馆) are worth visiting.

In January 1984, the standing committees in Shaoxing City announced that on the third of March, chinese calendar, the Chinese Lanting Calligraphy Festival will be held in orchid pavilion. From then on, lots of famous calligraphist from home and abroad will gathered here to celebrate the festival every year.

The charm of the Orchid Pavilion not only comes from its beautiful landscape and graceful southern China gardening sights, but also from its profound historical culture and its unique and vast reputation in the calligraphic field.

Orchid Pavilion
Address:
at the foot of Lanzhu Mounttain, 13 kilometres southwest of Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province
Admission fee: RMB 40
Opening hours: 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Transportation: you can take No. 3, 23 bus or the tourism sightseeing bus to there