Ancient Linjiang Prefecture

Ancient Linjiang Prefecture

Linjiang has been a town since the eighth year of the Wude era in the Tang Dynasty, boasting a history of over 1,370 years. Historically, it served as the site of military, regional, and prefectural offices. During the Ming Dynasty, it was listed among the nation’s 33 major commercial and industrial tax hubs. At its peak, it governed four counties under one prefecture, with “30,000 households within the city walls and 8,000 households outside,” making it a strategic hub where “boats and carts passed through, connecting all directions.” As the second batch of historically and culturally renowned towns in Jiangxi Province, Ancient Linjiang Prefecture still retains a wealth of historical and cultural landscapes.

· Daguan Tower: Located on Qianjie Street in Linjiang Town, the tower was first built in the third year of the Chunhua era of the Northern Song Dynasty (992), and has undergone several renovations and alterations over time. Originally known as the Watchtower, it served as the main gate lookout of the Linjiang military, regional, and prefectural offices, and is the only remaining grand-scale prefectural gate site in Jiangxi Province. The structure is built in the style of a city gate tower, standing 22.4 meters tall. From the top, visitors can enjoy views of distant green mountains, pine trees, citrus orchards, farmhouses, boats on the river, and the streets and alleys of the town—hence its alternate name, Daguan Tower (Grand View Tower). In 1951, after the Jiangxi Linjiang Veterans Rehabilitation Hospital moved in, the former county government site was repurposed as the hospital grounds, and the tower became the hospital’s entrance gate. Though some minor changes were made during renovations, its overall appearance remains largely unchanged. It was designated as a Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit in the fifth batch announced in 2006.

· Bell and Drum Tower: Originally named “Guanyin Temple,” also known as the “Bell Tower,” this structure is located between Fuqian Street and Minzhu Street in Linjiang Town, and has long been considered comparable to Daguan Tower. Its exact construction date is unknown, but the early Ming Dynasty scholar Xie Jin once visited Linjiang at night and composed the verse “Wind carries the bell sound across the ferry, the moon moves the tower’s shadow to the river’s heart,” proving that the tower existed in the early Ming period. The Bell and Drum Tower stands 30 meters tall and houses a bronze bell (still preserved) weighing over 3,000 jin. During the Republican era, it was bombed by Japanese aircraft, causing the tower to tilt. In January 1979, the unsafe tower was demolished, but the base and Guanyin Pavilion were retained, along with the intact bronze bell. Some wear is visible on the inscriptions of the stele, all of which are kept inside the pavilion. In 2007, the tower was rebuilt on its original foundation, largely restoring its original appearance.

· Wanshou Palace: Built during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, the palace features bluestone gates adorned with plain carvings of flowers, plants, theatrical characters, and birds in flight. The palace has five courtyards, a brick-and-wood structure, two caisson ceilings of varying sizes, and four ridges. The central ridge stands 9 meters tall, topped with a hip-and-gable roof, laid with bluestone flooring, and covers an area of approximately 1,430 square meters. The gate bears a vertical stone plaque inscribed with “Wanshou Palace,” and above it a horizontal stone plaque reading “Loyalty and Filial Piety Reach Heaven.” On either side of the gate are couplets: “Virtue blesses the people, warming the sun to revive the stranded fish; calm waves over the water country, iron sunk in Ezhou locks the mighty flood dragon.” After recent renovations, it remains well-preserved.

· Qingjiang Household Bureau: Located to the left of Wanshou Palace in Linjiang Town, in October 1930, Peng Dehuai, commander of the Red Third Army Corps, and Teng Daiyuan, political commissar, were ordered to station their troops in Linjiang Town, the county seat of Qingjiang. On October 9, they held a workers’ and peasants’ representative meeting and a mass rally of ten thousand people at Wanshou Palace in Linjiang, establishing the first red political power in Qingjiang County—the Qingjiang County Soviet Government. The government office was located in the Qingjiang Household Bureau, adjacent to Wanshou Palace, overseeing four district Soviet governments (Guanghua, Dongyue Temple, Xiangji Temple, and Beiyi) and 36 township Soviet governments, sparking a mass movement to overthrow local tyrants and distribute land.

Linjiang Town: Linjiang Town is located in the hinterland of Zhangshu City, 20 kilometers from downtown Zhangshu, 53 kilometers from downtown Xinyu, 64 kilometers from downtown Gao’an, and 110 kilometers from the provincial capital Nanchang. Zhangyi Highway and Zhanggao Highway run through the town, while the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway and the Gan-Guang Expressway pass by. With convenient transportation and a prominent location, it serves as an important north-south and east-west transport hub in Zhangshu City. The town is bustling, with a large floating population, and is the cultural, economic, and commercial center of western Zhangshu. Covering an area of 83.34 square kilometers, the town administers 16 administrative villages, 3 neighborhood committees, and 145 natural villages, … More details about Linjiang Town ++