Quzhou

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.