Huaisu Garden

Huaisu Garden

Huaisu Garden is a cultural relic protection unit of Yongzhou City.

Huaisu Garden is located near the Xiaoxiang Middle Road in Zhishan District, adjacent to Yongzhou Hotel. It was the place where Huaisu, a renowned calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty and a master of "wild cursive script," became a monk, practiced Buddhism, grew banana plants, and practiced his calligraphy.

Huaisu, due to his family’s poverty, planted banana trees beside the Lütian Hermitage next to the garden, using banana leaves as paper to practice writing. He buried his worn-out brushes behind the hermitage, which later became the present-day "Brush Tomb." Nearby there is the "Inkstone Spring" and a water source used for grinding ink. Directly north of the hermitage lies the Ink Pond, used for washing brushes and grinding ink. The original Lütian Hermitage was destroyed after the liberation, leaving only a stone stele inscribed with Huaisu’s calligraphy of the "Thousand Character Classic." The strokes on the stele resemble a violent storm and flying dragons or serpents—vigorous, majestic, elegant, and free-flowing. In 1957, a pavilion was built to protect the stele. Banana trees were planted nearby to enhance the scenery.

Zhou Gucheng, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Cheng Siyuan, and Zhao Puchu, Vice Chairmen of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, each inscribed a plaque for Huaisu Garden. Huaisu Garden is a key municipal cultural relic protection unit.