Ancient Luotang Cultural Tourism Scenic Area

Ancient Luotang Cultural Tourism Scenic Area

The Ancient Luotang Cultural Tourism Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Jiangyan North Street Cultural Block, also known as the Jiangyan Ancient Luotang Scenic Area, is located on the east side of North Street in Jiangyan District, Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province. After more than two years of construction, it officially opened to the public on April 16, 2013, marking the addition of an urban tourist attraction in Jiangyan District, Taizhou.

The area around Jiangyan North Street has been a bustling hub of commerce since the Northern Song Dynasty, serving as a distribution center for grain, oil, and tea in central and northern Jiangsu. During the old city renovation, great efforts were made to preserve the historical appearance of North Street. Guided by the principle of “restoring the old as it was, to retain its authenticity,” every brick, tile, bluestone path, and courtyard was carefully restored. After over two years of construction, with a total investment of 300 million yuan, covering an area of 42 mu and a total construction area of nearly 20,000 square meters, the Jiangyan North Street Cultural Block was completed.

The northern part of the Jiangyan North Street Cultural Block is a commercial and leisure area, featuring classic Chinese architecture with crisscrossing streets, traditional elements such as courtyards, corridors, and water features blending harmoniously with modern commercial designs. The southern part is a cultural tourism area, home to historical and cultural sites including the Wang Family Ancestral Hall, Huang Longshi Memorial Hall, former residences of Huizhou merchants, and the Qianlong Changzhan.

Jiangyan has been a land of talent throughout history. Renowned painters from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties—Tang Zhique, Tang Zhiyin, and Tang Richang—developed distinctive painting styles, collectively known as the “Three Tangs of Hailing.” In calligraphy, the grass-script master Gao Ershi stood out as “peerless and widely acclaimed.” Today, there are six painting and calligraphy academies located in the North Street Cultural Block.

The ancient residences of Jiangyan North Street Cultural Block feature grey-tiled walls, deep courtyards, solemn stone drums, and bluestone-paved paths, showcasing human-centered design, simplicity, exquisite materials, and elegant aesthetics. These traits are in line with the people-oriented philosophy of the Taizhou School. Wang Gen’s idea that “the daily life of common people is the Way” influenced people’s thoughts and behavior. The Wang Family Ancestral Hall, dedicated to the “Three Sages of Huainan’s Wang Family”—Wang Gen, Wang Dong, and Wang Bi—exhibits typical characteristics of ancient central Jiangsu residences. It was built based on the Ming Dynasty imperial standards, using the basic unit of “three rooms and five beams.” Brick carvings such as Dragons Soaring Over Three Waters, Qianlong Changzhan, Mother Huang Teaching Her Son, Tea Making, Tea Market, and Harmony form a quaint and elegant landscape painting of ancient central Jiangsu homes.

Wang Family Ancestral Hall

The Jiangyan Wang Family Ancestral Hall was originally built in the 15th year of the Wanli era during the Ming Dynasty (1575), renovated in the 19th year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1814), and restored again by the Jiangyan Municipal People's Government in 2011. It is an ancient architectural complex with a long history, profound cultural heritage, and distinctive Ming and Qing characteristics.

The ancestral hall was constructed under the leadership of Wang Dong, the seventh-generation ancestor of the San Shui Le Xue Wang family, with contributions from the clan. It integrates functions of worship, education, and residential culture, serving both as a place of worship for the Wang family in Jiangyan and an important historical site for lectures of the Taizhou School during the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Longshi Memorial Hall

Huang Longshi, a native of Jiangyan, whose given name was Qiu, also known as Xia, with the courtesy name Yueting, was born in the 8th year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1651) and was the dominant Go player of the mid-Kangxi period.

Since its opening, the Huang Longshi Memorial Hall has hosted many major Go tournaments, including the China-Japan-Korea World Women’s Go Championship and the World Women’s Go Team Championship. In April 2012, the premiere ceremony of the film “Black and White,” which depicts the legendary life of Huang Longshi, was held here.

Cao Jun Art Gallery

The Cao Jun Art Gallery is located in Qianlong Changzhan on North Back Street in Jiangyan. Originally the largest north-south goods trading firm in Jiangyan during the early Republic of China, it has been renovated into a gallery for Cao Jun, an outstanding contemporary Chinese painter. Cao Jun was born in 1966 in Jiangyan, Jiangsu, China. He emigrated to New Zealand in 2002 and relocated to New York, USA, in March 2013 as a distinguished artist.

Jiangyan Tea Culture Exhibition Center

The Tea Culture Exhibition Center mainly showcases the origin of tea, tea-making techniques, related knowledge, and the development history of Huizhou tea merchants in Jiangyan. It includes reconstructed replicas of the Hu Yuan Tai Tea House and a Tea Tasting Pavilion based on historical records.

Former Residences of Huizhou Merchants

The Former Residences of Huizhou Merchants is the home of the famous Anhui tea merchant Hu Jingzhi, combining the architectural styles of central Jiangsu ancient residences and Huizhou-style buildings. It features horse-head walls on top and dragon-phoenix dripping eaves at the bottom, with a total construction area of 140 square meters.

Rong Zhi’an Art Gallery

The Rong Zhi’an Art Gallery is located south of the Cao Jun Art Gallery. Ms. Rong Zhi’an, niece of the former Vice President of China Rong Yiren, is a renowned contemporary painter from the United States. Her works have garnered widespread attention in the global art scene, and she has held exhibitions at the prestigious Marlborough Gallery in London.

Dongyue Temple’s Wannian Stage

The Dongyue Temple’s Wannian Stage was originally the theater of the Dongyue Temple, built through public fundraising during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty. It stands as a testament to the interaction between opera and religious cultures during the “Prosperous Age of Kangxi and Qianlong” and marks an important node in the continuation and evolution of the ancient city culture of Tianmushan from the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is listed in the “Overview of Ancient Chinese Theaters.”

Nan Pawnshop

The Jiangyan Nan Pawnshop was first built during the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty. It originally had 81 rooms, with a construction area of 2,415 square meters. Provincial expert evaluations noted that the Jiangyan South Street Pawnshop has a rational layout, grey-tiled walls, fine brick joints, and a clear-water style, showcasing distinct local architectural characteristics.