China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park

China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park

China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park, located on the northwest side of the Shili Changshan Cultural Park in Dantu New Town, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, covers an area of 450 hectares. The park has a planned total construction area of 10,000 square meters and is divided into four major functional zones: the Calligraphy Experience Zone, the Calligraphy Exhibition Zone, the Calligraphy Research and Education Zone, and the Cultural and Leisure Zone.

Mi Fu, a renowned calligrapher, connoisseur, and art theorist of the Northern Song Dynasty, resided in Dantu for forty years. To commemorate this artistic master with historical ties to Dantu, the Mi Fu Calligraphy Park was built.

China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park embodies historical depth, cultural significance, and humanistic richness. It is a renowned cultural park that centers on promoting Mi Fu’s calligraphy art, emphasizes humanistic care, and uses landscape culture as a medium. It integrates functions such as exhibition, creation, exchange, study, training, and leisure. It also serves as the core base for the external dissemination and influence of Mi Fu's calligraphy culture, as well as a modern service industry hub integrating cultural industries, leisure industries, and cultural tourism.

One Axis, Four Scenic Spots

The “One Axis” refers to the Mi Fu East Road. It runs northward from Changxiang Road, connecting the west entrance of the Mi Fu Calligraphy Park to the various scenic areas in the east. The “Four Scenic Spots” are four key nodes: “Ink Pool Entrance” at the junction of Changxiang Road and Mi Fu Road, “Haiyue Gate” at the west entrance of the Mi Fu Calligraphy Park, “Mi Tie Forest” around the stone tablet corridor of Mi Fu’s inscribed calligraphy, and “Danqing Workshop” at the east entrance of the Mi Fu Calligraphy Park. Among these, the “Ink Pool Entrance” captivates with its winding layout and layered scenery that creates a sense of depth; the “Haiyue Gate” impresses with its bold signage, cultural content of the mountain gate, and legendary reliefs; the “Mi Tie Forest” offers both static viewing points and extended walking paths, providing rich visual experiences and lingering charm; and the east entrance’s “Danqing Workshop” stands gracefully like a misty emerald, exuding an elegant charm that sparks the imagination.

Ink Pool Entrance

This is the convergence point of Changxiang Road and Mi Fu Road, as well as the main access and essential gateway for visitors entering China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park. The node is designed in an outward-flaring trumpet shape, symbolizing “openness, inclusiveness, embracing all things, welcoming guests, and connecting with the world.” On the western slope stands a Taishan rock, 8.5 meters tall, ash-gray in color and shaped like a giant ink stick, hence named “Songyan Stone,” also known as “Ink Stone.” Inscribed on the ink stone are eight bold characters “China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park” written by Shen Peng, former chairman of the China Calligraphers Association, in a playful and whimsical style. Opposite the ink stone, amidst rustling trees, lies a tranquil inkstone-shaped pool, round and glistening with moisture.

Enter the Ink Pool Entrance, feel the fragrance of the ink pool, linger a while longer, and take some of its treasures back with you.

Haiyue Gate

This is the west entrance “Haiyue Gate” of China Mi Fu Calligraphy Park, also serving as the park’s forecourt plaza, known as the “Haiyue Plaza.” The Haiyue Plaza features three main highlights. The first is “Park Mountain.” It is a massive Taishan rock, 3.5 meters high and 9 meters long, with images of clouds, pines, springs, and waterfalls carved into it—vivid and majestic, resembling the shape of Changshan Mountain. Placed outside the main gate of the park, it symbolizes “having landscapes in one’s heart and taking in the vastness of mountains and rivers.” The words “Mi Fu Calligraphy Park” are engraved on Park Mountain in bold, graceful, and refined calligraphy, replicated from the handwriting of a former Vice Premier of the State Council who was a native of Zhenjiang.

At the center is the “Haiyue Gate,” a grand and majestic Han white jade structure with a main gate and two side gates, designed in the architectural style of the Song Dynasty. Above the main gate, the characters “Tian Kai Hai Yue” (Heaven Opens to the Sea and Mountains) and “Bao Jin Ying Guang” (Treasured Brilliance of Jin and Light) are inscribed in Mi Fu’s style. The former was the inscription Mi Fu wrote when he first arrived in Dantu and built the Haiyue Hermitage on Beigu Mountain, while the latter combines the names of his studios “Bao Jin” and “Ying Guang.” These characters inspire awe and vitality. The side gates feature inscriptions such as “Feng Qiang” (Wind Sail), “Zhen Ma” (Warhorse), “Gao Gu” (Elegant Antiquity), and “Jun Mai” (Noble Vigor)—praise for Mi Fu’s calligraphy by famous Song Dynasty calligraphers like Su Shi. These characters, in small seal script, were handwritten by Yan Gongda, Vice Chairman of the China Calligraphers Association.

The third highlight is the relief wall. On the east side of the “Haiyue Gate” is the “Map of Ancient Dantu City,” depicting the ancient settlement centered around Dantu after it was established as a county in the Qin Dynasty. The top of the relief is inscribed with the opening line from Mi Fu’s “Jingming Zhai Ji”: “With rivers stretching ten thousand li, ten commanderies and a hundred counties, mountains encircling the city, and rivers forming the moat, only my Dantu.” The relief on the west side depicts the “Map of Mi Gong’s Former Residence.” Mi Fu lived in Dantu for forty years, enamored with the city’s mountain-forest scenery and river views. He chose sites to build residences, including the Jingming Zhai and Haiyue Hermitage on Beigu Mountain, the Zhi Shuang Xuan and Bao Jin Zhai by the Qiuxiu Bridge, and refined cottages in the southern hills. Blessed with exceptional surroundings, these places nurtured the brilliance and glory of Mi Fu’s calligraphy and painting art.

Once through Haiyue Gate, you become one of us. Admire poetry, paintings, and calligraphy, and uplift your spirit.

Mi Tie Forest

Mi Tie Forest is the collective name for the Rui Mo Xuan Calligraphy Stone Tablet Corridor and its nine affiliated halls and galleries in the core scenic area of Mi Fu Calligraphy Park. It displays 211 re-engraved Song Dynasty rubbings of Mi Fu’s calligraphy, 73 newly engraved Dantu Mi Tie pieces, as well as inscriptions and quotations from calligraphers of various dynasties praising Mi Fu’s works and his poems, essays, and words of wisdom. The original models for the engravings were all provided by the Palace Museum, with the re-engraved Song rubbings and new Dantu Mi Tie engravings being classified as national first-class cultural relics. This site is considered the most comprehensive collection of Mi Fu’s calligraphy in the world and the only artistic hall that fully exhibits the complete array of Mi Fu’s works.

Dantu Mi Tie Forest, the most complete Mi Fu calligraphy, inheriting the art for millennia, with successors in every generation.

Danqing Workshop

This is the east entrance of Mi Fu Calligraphy Park. The stone archway is inscribed on both sides with Mi Fu’s characters: “Mi Shi Yun Shan” (Mi’s Cloudy Mountains) and “Yi Xiang Dantu” (Imagery of Dantu). Entering through here, visitors are greeted by layers of lush forests, cascading waterfalls, and vivid garden features.

Step into Danqing Workshop, feel your spirit soar, admire the beauty of Mi’s Cloudy Mountains, and catch the lingering fragrance of ink.

Park Transportation

Take Bus No. 100 to the Mi Fu Calligraphy Park stop, then walk about 1 kilometer north.