The Tang City Ruins Museum

The Tang City Ruins Museum

Yangzhou’s prosperity originated in the Tang Dynasty. In the eighth year of the Wude era (625 AD), the capital of Yangzhou was moved from Danyang to Guangling north of the Yangtze River, and the official city and government buildings were first established on Shugang Hill. The Tang City ruins located at the central peak of Shugang mark the beginning of what historically came to be known as the “Yangzhou first, Chengdu second” era of thriving urban life.

The Tang city ruins discovered through archaeology extend over an area of three square kilometers. In 1979, Yangzhou established the Tang City Ruins Conservation Office, which was renamed the Tang City Ruins Museum in 1999. The entire museum covers a total area of 19,000 square meters, with a building area of 4,300 square meters and an exhibition area of 1,200 square meters.

The Tang City Ruins Museum features Tang-style architecture such as the Yanhe Pavilion, corridors, city walls, and the Pavilion of the Three Wonders Stele. It houses the “Bright Moon Over Yangzhou” exhibition hall, which displays and introduces the politics, economy, culture, layout, and evolution of Yangzhou during the Tang Dynasty. The museum collection includes over 700 cultural relics and specimens, mainly ceramics, bronze mirrors, stone carvings, city bricks, calligraphy, and paintings. Notable exhibits also include an octagonal stone pillar inscribed by Du You, the Tang Dynasty military governor of Huainan; the “Three Wonders Stele,” featuring Wu Daozi’s painting, Li Bai’s poetry, and Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy; an octagonal scripture pillar from the 14th year of the Xiantong era (873 AD) of the Tang Dynasty; and a Tang Dynasty dugout canoe. The restored Tang city wall within the site still exudes the charm of the glorious Tang era, even after a thousand years.

On the site of the Tang City ruins once stood the former location of Emperor Yang of Sui’s luxurious palace known as the “Maze Pavilion.” As time passed and the world changed, those once resplendent palaces filled with song and dance have since transformed into the serene Buddhist temple known as the Guanyin Chan Temple. Located atop Shugang Hill, the temple is enveloped in the sounds of chanting all day long, with incense burning incessantly, and was once hailed as the “Number One Sacred Mountain.”

To the west of the Guanyin Chan Temple lies the Twin Peaks Cloud-Stacked Walkway, one of the famous “Eight Scenic Spots of Shugang” since the Ming and Qing dynasties, which has been restored in recent years. Beneath lush forests and between steep cliffs, waterfalls cascade down amid drifting clouds and continuous roaring sounds, reminiscent of the Huangguoshu Waterfall. Looking out in all directions, the ancient city of Shugang resembles an ink-wash painting.

Address: No. 3, Pingshan Hall Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou City

Type: Historical Site

Recommended Visiting Time: About 1.5 hours

Phone: 0514-87340843

Opening Hours:

7:45-17:30

Further Reading:

· A National Third-Class Museum of China