Introduction to Jingzhou Ancient City

1. Historical evolution:

Jingzhou is named after the winding and towering Jingshan Mountain in its original territory. In July 1949, the Jingzhou Administrative Region Inspectorate's Office was established to govern Jingzhou Town, Jiangling County. In the same month, Jianglingzhisha City was established as a city under the jurisdiction of the province. In 1955, Shashi City was placed under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou Special Administrative Region. In 1979, Shashi City was restored to a provincial municipality. In 1983, Jingmen County was set aside and renamed Jingmen City as a provincial municipality. In 1994, with the approval of the State Council, Jingzhou Prefecture and Shashi City were abolished and merged to establish Jingsha City. Qianjiang, Xiantao, and Tianmen cities were designated as provincial cities. In 1996, it was renamed Jingzhou City, and Jingshan County and Zhongxiang City were carved out. The municipal government is located in Shasha District.

2. Regional location:

Jingzhou City is located at 111°150-114°050 east longitude and 29°260-31°370 north latitude. It is located in the south-central part of Hubei Province, in the hinterland of the Jianghan Plain. The Yangtze River runs through the city from west to east, with a total length of 483 kilometers. Jingzhou connects Wuhan to the east, Yichang to the west, Changde, Hunan to the south, and Jingmen and Guofan to the north. The total area is 14,100 square kilometers, of which plain lake areas account for 78.7% and hilly and low mountainous areas account for 21.1%. The city governs 2 districts of Jingzhou and Shashi and 3 counties of Jiangling, Gongan and Jianli, and manages 3 cities of Songzi, Shishou and Honghu. It has 119 towns, 18 sub-district offices, and a total of 3398 villages (residents). committees, 24,835 villager groups.

3. Population and ethnicity:

Jingzhou City is one of the most densely populated cities in Hubei Province.

The city’s total population is 6.421 million, with a population density of 456 people/square kilometer, accounting for 10.7% of the total population of Hubei Province. The city's urban population exceeds 2 million, accounting for 33.0% of the total population. The central urban area covers an area of ??54 square kilometers and has a population of 750,000.

4. History and culture:

Jingzhou has outstanding people, abundant products, long history and splendid culture. Since ancient times, Jingzhou has been known as a land of culture and a land of plenty.

Jingzhou is among the first batch of national historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the 20th generation of Yue kings established Jingzhou as their capital for 411 years. The ancestors of Chu created a Chu culture that is comparable to the culture of Athens in ancient Greece. The Warring States silks unearthed in Jingzhou, the sword of King Goujian of Yue, and a complete set of stone chimes all reflect the brilliance of Chu culture. The great patriotic poet Qu Yuan, the "blockbuster" politician King Chuzhuang, the famous Prime Minister of Chu State Sun Shuao, etc. all entered the stage of history from the land of Jingzhou.

Jingzhou is the birthplace of the Three Kingdoms culture. 82 of the 120 chapters of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are written about Jingzhou. "The city is full of scenic spots from the Three Kingdoms. The well-preserved ancient city wall of Jingzhou, which is 10.5 kilometers long, is known as "a rare and perfect stone in Jiangnan, China." The Wengong site of Jigong Mountain excavated in 1992 has been identified by the archaeological community as "China's first One, rare in the world.

Jingzhou is also the birthplace of Chinese dragon boat culture. The annual "China Jingzhou International Dragon Boat Festival" has become an important carrier of Jingzhou's unique cultural heritage and wider opening-up. and the people of the city.

5. Economic development:

Jingzhou is a city full of business opportunities.

Since ancient times, Jingzhou has been a place where merchants gather. As early as the Han Dynasty, Jingzhou was one of the top ten commercial cities in the country; in modern times, Jingzhou was also the earliest inland port city for foreign trade in my country. As early as after the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, Jingzhou Shashi was designated as a trade city along with Chongqing, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Port.

Today's Jingzhou City is located at the forefront of the development of the central and western regions. It has unique geographical advantages and is the intersection area of ??the country's "four major growth poles", far away from Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chongqing. Both are about 1,000 kilometers away. Jingzhou City is an important national agricultural comprehensive commodity production base and a light textile and chemical industry base. It is a city full of business opportunities, full of vitality and full of hope.

6. Tourism:

Jingzhou is an excellent tourist city in China. Jingzhou is endowed with unique tourism resources, and the city’s tourist attractions present a “one city, three areas” pattern, including the famous Jingzhou Ancient City. Nancheng, Guan Gong Temple, Zhanghua Temple, Wulin Ancient City, Huarong Road and other cultural landscapes have endured for a long time. Jingzhou Museum was rated as one of the first batch of "4A" museums in the country, ranking first among prefecture-level museums in the country, with a collection of cultural relics reaching 12 There are more than 10,000 pieces, including nearly 300 pieces (sets) of national first-class cultural relics such as ancient corpses of the Western Han Dynasty, including the Gucheng Park, Jiulongyuan Park, Phoenix Square, Salonda Square, Kaile Grand Theater and Olympic Sports Center in the central city. Landmark projects have been completed one after another. The "three areas" are the newly developed Songziweishui Scenic Area, Honghu Fisherman's Resort and Shishou Tian'ezhou Elk Nature Reserve. Jingzhou is a typical example of beautiful mountains and rivers with crisscrossing lakes. The water garden city and the natural ecological landscape are unforgettable. "A song of Honghu water is sung all over the world." The former Hunan-Hubei revolutionary base sites such as Qujiawan and Zhoulaozui in Honghu have been listed as national-level patriotism education bases. The "new, green and beautiful" water garden city scenery, the "tall, large and unique" modern buildings and the charm of the historical and cultural city complement each other, giving the ancient city of Jingzhou a new brilliance.

7. Topography. Landform:

Jingzhou City is dominated by plain areas, with an altitude of 20-50 meters, and the relative height is below 20 meters.

Hills are mainly distributed in the old town of Songzi City, Wangjiaqiao, Sijiachang, Chuandian, Baling in Jingzhou District, Taohuashan in Shishou City and other places, with an altitude of 100-500 meters, relative to 50-100 meters. Low mountains are mainly Distributed in the southwest of Songzi City, about 500 meters above sea level.

Rivers intersect and lakes are densely covered. There are nearly 100 large and small rivers in the city, all of which belong to the Yangtze River system. The main ones include the main stream of the Yangtze River and its tributaries, Songzi River, Hudu River, Ouchi River, Tiaoxian River, etc. Jingzhou has many lakes, with more than 30 lakes over 1,000 acres in the city. The total area is 80,000 hectares, of which Honghu Lake is the largest lake in Hubei Province with a total area of ??35,000 hectares, followed by Chang Lake with a total area of ??12,000 hectares. Due to the continuous siltation of the main stream of the Yangtze River, the "hanging river" in the Jingjiang section has been caused.

8. Jingzhou in history:

Jingzhou is one of the ancient "Nine States", located between Jingshan and Hengshan. The Han Dynasty was one of the Thirteen Provincial Governors. Its jurisdiction is approximately equivalent to part of today's Hunan and Hubei provinces and Henan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Guangdong. After the end of the Han Dynasty, its jurisdiction gradually became smaller. The Eastern Jin Dynasty ruled Jiangling (now part of Hubei), which was an important town in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River at that time and in the Southern Dynasties. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a government was established and later abolished.

The name of the Eastern Han Dynasty state. It has jurisdiction over seven counties and one hundred and seventeen counties. The administrative seat was Hanshou County, in the north of present-day Hanshou County, Hunan Province. At the end of the Han Dynasty, it was moved to Xiangyang County, which is now Xiangfan City, Hubei Province. Its jurisdiction is equivalent to most of today's Hubei and Hunan, and a small part of Henan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi and other provinces.

9. Tourist Attractions:

1. Ancient City Wall: "Book of the Later Han·Geography" records that the construction history of Jingzhou's ancient city wall can be traced back to King Li of Zhou more than 2,800 years ago. period. Scientifically verified by the latest archaeological excavations of ancient city walls: Jingzhou’s ancient city wall is the only ancient city wall in my country that lasts the longest, spans the most dynasties, and evolved from the development of a Tucheng. In March 1998, archaeologists excavated brick cities from the Song Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period; and earthen cities from the Jin Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The discovery of the five-dynasty brick city laminated 10 meters below the current city wall makes the construction history of Jingzhou City’s brick city go back more than 400 years from the Ming Dynasty. This archaeological excavation also confirmed that since the Three Kingdoms era, the ancient city wall of Jingzhou has not undergone major changes, and the displacement distance is only about 50 meters; the earth city wall is much earlier than the brick city wall. In August 2000, archaeologists discovered a nearly 20-meter-long section of the lime-glutinous rice slurry city wall built during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty on the west side of the small north gate of Jingzhou City. Although this section of the city wall has been around for more than 500 years, it is still as solid as a rock, which is rare in the world.

The majestic brick city now standing in front of people was built in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Brick City is tall and winding, complete and solid. It is the best-preserved ancient city wall among all the prefectural cities in my country. The brick city is about 1 meter thick, the inner wall is built with rammed earth, and the lower part is about 9 meters wide. The outside of the wall is built with stone strips and city bricks. The Brick City is 9 meters high and has a circumference of 11,281 meters. The walls of the brick city are built with special blue bricks and lime glutinous rice mortar. Each of the special large green bricks weighs about 4 kilograms, and some are fired with inscriptions. Visitors can see some of the text tiles that have been protected on the horse path leading up to the East Gate Tower. The text bricks record the government, officials and time in charge of the city bricks. From the places of origin recorded in the written bricks, we know that city bricks are not only produced in the original Jingzhou area. There are also written bricks in Junzhou at the junction of Hubei, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces, Jingzhou at the junction of Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou provinces, Chaling in Jiangxi Province, and the entire province of Hunan. On the city wall of Jingzhou. The text bricks are rare archival evidence of the construction history of Jingzhou’s ancient city wall. At the same time, it is also another special scenery for people to visit and appreciate the ancient city.

There were 6 original city gates around the ancient city wall of Jingzhou, namely the East Gate, the Xiaodong Gate (also known as the Public Security Gate), the North Gate, the Xiaobei Gate, the West Gate and the South Gate. Each city gate is equipped with a "double insurance", with two gates at the front and back, and an urn between the two gates, so as to "catch turtles in the urn" and kill the enemy attacking the city. In order to ease traffic in the city, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, three new city gates were opened, namely the new east gate, the new south gate, and the new north gate. None of the newly opened city gates have urns. All six ancient city gates originally had towers, but now only the east gate and the north gate have towers. Therefore, the best places to visit and appreciate the style of the ancient city wall are the East Gate and Dabei Gate. The east gate is also called "Yinbin Gate". The tower is the "Binyang Tower", which was built in the Ming Dynasty. The current tower was rebuilt in 1988. The east gate is the city gate that welcomes envoys and guests. Therefore, the gate tower is spectacular and the barbican is the largest. The Great North Gate, also known as the Gongji Gate, is the exit of the ancient post road leading to the Central Plains and the capital. People send off their relatives and friends here for their long journeys. It is customary to break willows and give them to each other to wish them peace, so the Great North Gate is also called the Willow Gate. The gate tower of the Great North Gate is named "Chaozong Tower", and the date of its reconstruction is written below the ridge of the tower: it was rebuilt in the ninth year of Wuxu, the ninth month of Renxu, the tenth day of Wushen, and Dingsi in the 18th year of Daoguang's reign in the Qing Dynasty. The Dabeimen Gate Tower is the only remaining ancient tower on the ancient city wall. This building is simple and spectacular. Movies such as "Little Flower", "The Long Road" and "Warring States Bells" were filmed here. There are stairs in both Binyang Tower and Chaozong Tower. Visitors can climb up and enjoy the ancient city's charm.

The ancient city wall of Jingzhou was a large-scale military fortification in ancient times. In addition to the tall and solid walls and urn and other buildings, there are also many supporting military facilities on the city wall. It is still the most important The most distinctive features of the combat defense function are the four hidden soldier caves, one each in the east, west, north and south. Each one is 10.5 meters long, 6.3 meters wide and 6 meters deep. It is divided into upper and lower floors and can accommodate more than 100 people. There is also a small Tibetan soldier cave on each floor, each small cave can accommodate 2 people, and there are perforations in the caves. The wall where the Tibetan Soldier Cave is located protrudes outward in a rectangular shape. The enemy attacking the city can be shot with holes and hidden arrows from three sides to catch them off guard.

The Tibetan Soldier Cave is exquisitely constructed and unique. Visitors can appreciate the unique military facility on the wall of Jingzhou's ancient city more than 100 meters south of the Gong'an Gate scenic spot. Jingzhou City is ancient and has gone through vicissitudes of life. Now the ancient city has received great love from the people. The construction of the extra-large ring park has added a new landscape with rich connotations to this national historical and cultural city: people walking on the city wall, driving on the inner ring road, horse racing on the outer ring road, and boating on the moat. The ancient city of Jingzhou is glowing with new youth and more charming splendor.

2. Jingzhou Museum: It is a local comprehensive museum. The museum is renowned at home and abroad for its beautiful environment, rich collection of cultural relics, display of cultural relics and treasures with unique regional characteristics, and fruitful results in archaeological research. In 1994, the museum won the reputation of "Top Ten Museums" at the prefectural and municipal levels in the country after being selected by experts from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. In cooperation with various project constructions, Jingzhou Museum has unearthed more than 120,000 precious cultural relics. Among them, there are various jade ornaments of prehistoric ingenuity; there are unique silks from the Warring States Period that are the best in the country; there are the fourth-generation swords of the Yue King and the Fuchai Spear of the King of Wu that shimmer with cold light and are as good as new; Lacquerware of the Qin and Han dynasties; there are the earliest known mathematical treatises in my country and the world, such as "Shu Shu Shu" and "Er Nian Ling" written by Xiao He in the second year of his creation, and other early Han Dynasty bamboo slips; among them are the oldest and most complete ones preserved to date. The male corpse of the Western Han Dynasty. These rare treasures attract many Chinese and foreign tourists, and the Jingzhou Museum has therefore become the "first window" for tourism in Jingzhou City.

a. The museum unearthed a male corpse from the Western Han Dynasty in 1975 in Ji'nan City, the ancient capital of Chu, along with his coffin and burial items. According to the written records unearthed from the tomb, the deceased's name was "Sui", a native of Jiangling, and his official position was "Five Dafu". He was buried in the 13th year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, earlier than the female corpse in the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha. The man's body has been buried underground for more than 2,000 years without decay, which is rare in the world. The main reason is that the tomb is buried deeply and sealed, and the tomb chamber has been in a stable environment of anoxia and constant temperature for a long time. The 100,000 ml coffin liquid containing mercury sulfide and other ingredients in the inner coffin has anti-bacterial and bactericidal effects. One coffin and two coffins containing the male corpse are also well preserved. The large coffin room and two sets of coffins indicate the noble status of the owner. Among the hundreds of funerary objects on display, there are two items known as "the best in the world" that are unique in style and have been preserved intact for the longest time: hemp skirt and hemp shoes, which are extremely precious.

b. A batch of silk, gauze, Luo, brocade and other silk embroideries from the middle and late Warring States Period unearthed in January 1982 from the Chu Tomb No. 1 of the former Mashan Brick and Tile Factory in Jiangling County are on display, including There are clothes, trousers, quilts, ribbons and other finished products. Some of these silk fabrics are as thin as cicada wings and as light as cage smoke; some are embroidered with lifelike birds and animals; some are bright and colorful; some have an unimaginable warp and weft density, denser than today's parachutes. Silk fabrics are rich in protein and are extremely difficult to preserve for long periods of time. The silk fabrics unearthed from Mashan Tomb No. 1 can be called "the best" for their early age, large quantity, good preservation, and superb craftsmanship. Jingzhou Museum is also known as the "Treasure House of Silk" for this reason.

c. Jingzhou Museum has unearthed more than 10,000 pieces of lacquerware from the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, and is the museum with the largest collection of ancient lacquerware in the country. There are many varieties of ancient lacquerware. In terms of quality, there are three types: wood, pottery and hemp. In terms of use, there are a variety of eating utensils, such as various wine vessels; entertainment equipment such as harps; and weapons such as Wooden shields; and objects to ward off evil spirits such as tomb beasts. It is rare for these ancient lacquerware to be well preserved after more than 2,000 years underground. What is particularly precious is that the more than 200 sets of ancient lacquerware on display have unique and vivid shapes, exquisite and lively compositions, and bright and new colors. They have extremely high historical value and artistic value. Value is a rare treasure among treasures.

d. Chu Music Exhibition is a unique development project of Jingzhou Museum. The State of Chu is the precipitation and collection of song history culture. Here, people can not only view with great interest the famous Shu general Guan Yu’s Qinglong Yanyue Sword weighing more than 100 kilograms, the special large stone trough for his red rabbit horse, and the legendary Cao Cao’s extra-large marching pot, but also enjoy the Kaiyuan Dynasty. View the artistic style of ancient Chinese architecture.

3. Tienv Temple: Located deep in an alley to the west of Jiangling Middle School in the ancient city, it was built during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty. It is said that the construction of the temple is related to a bitter and touching legend.

According to legend, Sun Kun, an official in charge of iron smelting in Jingzhou during the Tang Dynasty, had two beautiful young daughters in his family. His boss coveted them for a long time and wanted to dominate them as concubines. Sun Tieguan and his two daughters refused to comply, so his boss became angry and used excuses to accuse Sun Tieguan and put him in jail. When the two girls heard about it, they were heart-broken and became angry to plead their grievances on their father's behalf. However, the officials protected each other and they had no way to complain. They had no choice but to fight to the death. They both threw themselves into the iron furnace and died, turning into two bloody iron maidens. This incident shocked the government and the public, influenced the emperor, and Sun Tieguan was finally released without charge. The villagers sympathized with the two daughters for sacrificing their lives to save their father, so they voluntarily raised funds to build the Tienv Temple. This is described in detail in the "Tienu Temple Stele" written by Zhu Zhifan, king of the Liao Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty when he granted Jingzhou a title.

4. Wanshou Pagoda: Standing on the Guanyinjitou of the Jingjiang Embankment, the first river in the Yangtze River, it was built in the 20th year of Jiajing when Zhu Xianhuo (Jie), the seventh generation king of Liao Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty, granted Jingzhou a feudal vassal. In the seventh year (AD 1548), it was built to pray for the longevity of Emperor Jiajing in accordance with the order of his aunt's mother, Princess Mao. It lasted for 4 years. It is another important ancient building in Hubei Province. In 1956, it was announced by the Hubei Provincial People's Government as one of the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in the province.

The Wanshou Pagoda is 40.76 meters high, with seven floors on eight sides and a pavilion-style masonry imitation wood structure.

There is a white marble warrior on each of the eight corners of the tower base as the mainstay. In the middle of the first floor of the pagoda, there is an 8-meter-tall, solemn and majestic Buddha. There are niches embedded in the outer walls of the pagoda. There are 87 white marble seated Buddhas in the center, with different expressions and extremely lifelike shapes. Some pagoda bricks are uniquely fired, in a square shape, with pictures and texts, and come in a wide variety of categories, including flower bricks, relief Buddha bricks, Manchu, Tibetan, Mongolian and Han characters, and a total of 2,347 bricks. The tower bricks come from 16 prefectures and counties in 8 provinces across the country, and are dedicated by believers from all over the country. The tower is hollow and has built-in stone steps that can be spiraled up to each floor. Each floor has four doors opening outwards. From the door, you can overlook the river and the city outline in the distance, which is very beautiful. The top of the tower is made of gourd-shaped gilt copper, with the full text of the Diamond Sutra engraved on it. It is a rare and rare cultural relic.

Compared with many pagodas in my country, the Wanshou Pagoda has a unique feature: the tower body is 7.29 meters deep below the embankment surface. The formation of this peculiar scene is mainly due to the gradual rise of the Yangtze River bed and water level over the long years, and the continuous increase of the Jingzhou Levee.

The Wanshou Pagoda was built on the Jingjiang embankment. In addition to praying for the emperor's longevity, it also has the meaning of suppressing the river flow, subduing flood demons, and ensuring peace in the area. For hundreds of years, the Wanshou Pagoda has not only been a historical witness to the floods on both sides of the Jingjiang River, but also carried people's good wishes to subdue the river flow.

In the midsummer of 1998, the Jingjiang River section suffered a catastrophic flood that had not been seen in a century. Guanyinjitou recorded a super-high water level of 45.22 meters in history. A triumphant song of fighting against floods. In order to commemorate the heroes who sacrificed their lives in the fight against floods, in early 1999, the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government built the Jingzhou Flood Fighting Monument Pavilion on the west side of the Wanshou Pagoda.

The Wanshou Garden where the pagoda is located is simple and elegant, with green bamboos and trees. The riverside promenade, calligraphy monument garden and strange stone bonsai in the park complement each other with Jingjiang Jitou and the ancient pagoda promenade, making this place "extraordinarily enchanting". Especially in midsummer, with the gentle river breeze and patches of shade, this place has become a "paradise on earth" for people to visit and rest.

5. Baling Mountain: also known as Longshan. The scenery here is beautiful, with lush forests and "eight ridges, winding like a dragon", so it was regarded as a geomantic treasure by the ancients. The ancient tombs in the mountains are densely packed, and it has been found that there are 498 large sealed mound ancient tombs and countless unsealed mound ancient tombs, among which the majority are Chu tombs. According to historical records, 18 Chu kings of the Chu State, five emperors of the Five Dynasties of Nanping State, and 11 vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty were all buried in the mountains. In 1988, the Balingshan Ancient Tombs were listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. In April 1992, the Ministry of Forestry approved Baling Mountain as a national forest park.

The Balingshan Ancient Tombs are 8 kilometers long from north to south and 5 kilometers wide from east to west, with a total area of ??more than 40 square kilometers. There are densely packed ancient tombs in the mountains, and there are more than 560 extra-large, large and medium-sized ancient tombs in the sealed mounds. Most of them are Chu tombs, followed by the tombs of Ming vassal kings. Many tombs stand majestically on the top of the mountain, like peaks, forming the spectacular scenery of Baling Mountain. According to historical records, the tomb of King Chuzhuang is in the mountain, and there are dozens of tombs in front and behind, all lined up. The tombs of the Ming Dynasty and Liao Jian kings, as well as many kings such as Su, Jing, Hui, Gong, and Zhuang, are all located in the north of the mountain. There are scenic spots such as the flat-headed tomb, hat-changing platform, hat-dropping platform, and Mapao Spring on the mountain. Baling Mountain is now a National Forest Park. It has towering trees, a sea of ??tea, pines, and clouds of smoke. It is both majestic and deep, so there is a saying that "if you don't reach Baling Mountain, you don't have to go to Jingzhou."

Baling Mountain is located between the three ancient cities of Jingzhou City, Jinan City and Wancheng. Its cultural landscape is extremely rich. Every large ancient tomb has a magical story, and every scenic spot has a touching story. legend. According to historical records: "The King of Chuzhuang was buried in Gulong Mountain. Ten tombs were buried in front and back, all in a row." This tomb is as tall as a mountain, and the tombs are lined up with extraordinary momentum. The Pingtou Tomb located in the middle of the Baling Mountains is also the largest mound of ancient tombs in the Baling Mountains. According to legend, after the famous Shu general Guan Yu got the Qinglong Yanyue sword, he was so happy that he jumped on his horse and brandished the sword. When the horse galloped past this tomb, Guan Yu When the tomb was raised, the upper part of the tomb was cut flat with a knife, and the tomb became flat-topped, hence the name "Flat-headed Tomb". Similar to this, related to Guan Yu's life and achievements, there are ancient tombs such as Xima Zhong and Luomao Zhong.

Although the tomb was robbed many times in history, more than 100 precious cultural relics were still unearthed. In 1988, the tomb of King Liao was opened to tourists. Today's Tomb of the King of Liao scenic area is lined with green trees, simple and solemn, and complements the original style of Balingshan Forest Park. It has become a new tourist attraction for Chinese and foreign tourists.

6. Zhanghua Temple: It is said that Zhanghua Temple was built on the site of Zhanghuatai. Zhanghuatai, also known as Zhanghua Palace, was built in the sixth year of King Ling of Chu (535 BC). The palace was built. King Ling of Chu especially liked women with thin waists singing and dancing in the palace. In order to charm the king, many palace ladies ate less and endured hunger in order to have a thin waist. Zhanghua Palace was also known as the "Slim Waist Palace". Later, Zhanghua Palace was destroyed by war. On the site of Zhanghuatai, Zhanghua Temple was built in the Yuan Dynasty and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The temple faces east and west, covering an area of ??8790 square meters. The temple has magnificent architecture, elegant decoration, well-organized halls, and lifelike Buddha statues. As soon as you enter the mountain gate, you go around the lotus pond and see the main buildings such as the Tianwang Hall, Weituo Hall, Daxiong Hall, Sutra Library, and Abbot Hall. The temple is resplendent with carved beams and painted buildings, and the temple is surrounded by green trees, making it exceptionally quiet. The temple contains the Tibetan Sutra given by the royal family of the Qing Dynasty, as well as many palace treasures, as well as two jade Buddhas presented by the king of Myanmar. The temple has a tomb tower for eminent monks since the Republic of China, which enshrines the bones of six masters. The temple has the country's most ancient plum blossoms - Chu plum, agarwood ancient well, ginkgo trees of the Tang Dynasty and other historic sites.

During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (1875-1908 AD), the eminent monk Jingyue of Zhanghua Temple was granted the title of fourth-grade monk Zhenghe and abbot by the Qing government, and had jurisdiction over all temples in Jingzhou, Yichang, Enshi, Yunyang and other places. Since then, Zhanghua Temple has become one of the most influential temples in the Yangtze River Basin.

Zhangtai Temple is more than 2,500 years old. At that time, Shatou Town had not yet been formed. The Spiritual King originally ascended the throne by killing his nephew in a coup. His purpose in seizing the throne was for no other reason than to enjoy himself. He carried out extensive construction work and expanded the palace. When he was tired of everything, he had a whim and built the Zhanghua Temple near the Zhu Palace, leaning on the river and the water. According to the "Shui Jing Zhu", the tower was ten feet high. , fifty feet wide, and you need to rest for three days to get on the stage, so it is also called Sanxiutai. The palaces and pavilions on the stage are extremely magnificent, and there is a clear pool of stone under the stage. This luxurious palace was unparalleled in the world at the time. King Ling of Chu often proudly showed off to envoys from various countries: "Does your country also have the beauty of such a palace?" Su Dongbo's poem "Zhu Palace" said: "At that time, the people of Chu built palaces, which had a wonderful meaning. It is like a vertical building with a hundred feet, and the flying tower shines on the lake, and there are thousands of Yan and Zhao's eyebrows on it. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a "flying tower hundreds of feet". This King Ling of Chu was not only fatuous and corrupt, but he also had a peculiar quirk: He was particularly fond of thin waists. He selected thousands of thin-waisted women to live in Zhanghua Palace and dance around them day and night for his entertainment. Therefore, Zhanghua Palace was also called Thin Waist. palace. The palace maids with thick waists were driven out of the palace to do menial work or imprisoned. The palace maids and ministers had to eat less, go hungry, and tighten their belts in order to be favored. As a result, many starved to death. There is a poem from later generations that says: "The spiritual king has such a thin waist, the people of the country "I will starve to death." Li Shangyin, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, expressed his sympathy for the palace ladies in the poem "Meng Ze":

The wind in Ze Ze is so sad that the wind stirs the white grass, and the king of Chu is buried in the city.

I don’t know how much singing and dancing I can do, but the palace cook is only a thin waist.

The Mengling King's debauchery led to his own demise. Later, his younger brother Gongzibi launched a coup. He fled to the wild, could not find food, and died of starvation in the wilderness. Later, there was a poem that recorded the ending of King Ling:

There are no flowers in the vast field of decaying grass, because King Ling was so extravagant in the past.

Taiwanese soil has not yet been able to sing and sing, and it is a pity to live in a barbarian family.

Afterwards, as the seven kingdoms competed for supremacy, the Chu government collapsed and Zhanghuatai was abandoned. Su Shi described the desolate scene as follows: "There are many small pavilions in the open fields, and only deep bamboos hide foxes."

In the fourteenth century, during the Taiding period of the early Yuan Dynasty, at the ancient Zhanghuatai site A temple was built, first named Zhangtai Temple, and later renamed Zhanghua Temple. This Zhanghua Temple is large in scale, majestic in appearance, solemn in atmosphere and quiet in environment. Together with Guiyuan Temple in Hanyang and Yuquan Temple in Dangyang, it is also known as the three major jungles in Hubei. The main buildings of the temple include the Daxiongshi Hall, Tianzhu Hall, Weituo Hall, Caishen Hall, Sutra Library, etc. Each level is filled with painted pillars and carved beams, coiled dragons occupying tigers, lush green colors, and golden jade.