General’s Temple of Wu in West Scenic Zone

General’s Temple of Wu in West Scenic Zone

The General’s Temple of Wu in West Scenic Zone is a cultural tourism attraction.

On the north side of the theater on the west bank of Wuzhen, there used to be an ancient temple called “General’s Temple of Wu.” Inside the temple stood an ancient ginkgo tree. Today, the temple is no longer there, but the ginkgo still stands tall. The tree is huge—so large that it takes three people holding hands to encircle its trunk. Ancient and vigorous, its treetop can be seen from as far as ten li away. An old poem says: “At dusk by the shrine, crows call in flocks; / I ask of the ancients about General Wu. / Traces of the general can no longer be seen, / But a great tree stands holding up the blue clouds.” This refers to this very tree.

Speaking of this ancient Tang Dynasty ginkgo tree, there is also an old legend. “At dusk by the shrine, crows call in flocks; / I ask of the ancients about General Wu. / Traces of the general can no longer be seen, / But a great tree stands holding up the blue clouds.” These are lines left by ancient visitors to this renowned ginkgo site in Wuzhen from the Tang Dynasty. On the west bank of Wuzhen, north of the theater, there used to be an ancient temple called “General’s Temple of Wu,” which housed an ancient ginkgo tree. Now, the temple is gone, but the ginkgo still towers into the sky. This ancient, vigorous ginkgo tree is huge—so large that it takes three people holding hands to encircle its trunk, and its treetop can be seen from as far as ten li away. Mao Dun once wrote in “My Lovely Hometown”: “My hometown Wuzhen has a long history... Among its historic sites is a Tang Dynasty ginkgo, which still remains today.”

Speaking of this ginkgo tree, there is another old legend. It is said that more than 1,000 years ago, during the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, there was a brave general surnamed Wu, named Zan, commonly known as General Wu. General Wu loved his country and cared for the people. He was highly skilled in martial arts and courageous in battle. After the An Lushan Rebellion, the central imperial power weakened, and local officials began carving out their own territories. At that time, Li Qi, the governor of Zhejiang, also sought to dominate the region and raised a rebel army, throwing the area into chaos. Fields were abandoned, and the people could hardly survive. The emperor ordered General Wu and his deputy Wu Qi to lead troops to suppress the rebellion. The rebel forces were defeated and fled in disarray. General Wu pursued them to the banks of Che Stream (today’s West Scenic Zone River in Wuzhen), where Li Qi suddenly hung out a flag of truce, asking for a ceasefire. General Wu set up camp on the spot, waiting for the right moment to fight again. But that very night, the rebels launched a surprise attack on the camp. General Wu rose to the challenge, and as Li Qi retreated once more, General Wu chased him to the riverbank of Che Stream. As he rode his horse onto the bridge and had just crossed the stone span, his warhorse let out a cry and its front hooves sank into a trap—General Wu was thrown from the horse. It turned out that Li Qi had set a trap under the bridge to harm General Wu. After General Wu fell into the trap, the surrounding rebel troops swarmed out from hiding and shot him and his green-dragon steed to death with arrows.

Wu Qi arrived, drove off the rebels, and buried General Wu and his horse by the Che Stream. Strangely enough, that very night, people saw flashes of red light emanating from the general’s new grave and heard the neighing of a warhorse. The next day, a green, leafy ginkgo sprouted from the grave and quickly grew into a towering tree. This ginkgo tree never bore fruit. Everyone said the tree was the incarnation of General Wu. To commemorate this patriotic general who had quelled Li Qi’s rebellion and spared the people from war, the locals built a “General’s Temple of Wu” next to the ginkgo tree. They also hung a plaque inside the temple inscribed with five large characters: “The Great Tree Belongs to the General.” An old poem praised it: “Before the ancient temple stands the grand tree, / The general’s bones of battle still endure. / Lantern-red, the ghostly horse neighs still, / In the pool, divine turtles gather. / Lone loyalty shines through wind and rain, / Majestic brows honored for all time. / In those years, his feats were carved in stone, / Here in Black Mound, he guarded the land.”

This ancient ginkgo tree, symbolizing devotion and patriotism, has lived on from the Tang Dynasty to the present day, boasting a history of over 1,000 years.

Address: Inside the West Scenic Zone of Wuzhen, Tongxiang City, Jiaxing

Type: Ancestral Hall

Recommended visiting time: 15–20 minutes

Opening hours:

Summer: 8:00–17:30; Winter: 8:00–17:00

Ticket information:

No separate ticket required. Included in the West Scenic Zone ticket.