Quzi Cultural Park

Quzi Cultural Park

Quzi Cultural Park is located in Quzici Town, Miluo City, Hunan Province, covering an area of 10 square kilometers. It is divided into the core scenic area of Quzi Temple, the Dragon Boat Festival cultural experience zone, the Dragon Boat Festival cultural industry zone, the Dragon Boat Festival cultural folklore zone, the Qu Yuan Tomb Protection Area, and the Miluo River Wetland Protection Area. The park integrates research on Qu studies, dragon boat racing, art appreciation, folk culture displays, leisure, and entertainment.

The initial 2.5-square-kilometer core scenic area of Quzi Temple has been preliminarily completed. The scenic area includes historical sites commemorating Qu Yuan such as Quzi Academy, Quzi Temple, Shuixian Lake, Chudi (the Embankment), Duxing Pavilion, Saotan (the Poetry Altar), Zhuoying Bridge, Taohua Cave, Shouxing Platform, Scissors Pond, Embroidery Mound, and Wangye Mound.

Quzi Temple, also known as Qu Yuan Temple, is a shrine dedicated to the worship of Qu Yuan. Originally built during the Han Dynasty and renovated in the 19th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1754 AD), the temple covers a construction area of 1,354 square meters. It faces south with a single-story, single-eave brick-and-wood structure, featuring three courtyards, three halls, and fourteen wing rooms. At the front are three brick gateways, and the main gate’s memorial archway wall is adorned with 13 bas-reliefs depicting scenes from Qu Yuan’s life and his pursuit of ideals. In 2001, Quzi Temple was approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

Quzi Academy was established during the Northern Song Dynasty and was formerly known as Miluo Academy, Qinglie Academy, and Qu Yuan Academy. The newly built Quzi Academy was designed under the leadership of Academician Changqing from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, with strong support from the China Qu Studies Association, the China Calligraphers Association, the China Poetry Association, Tsinghua University, Tongji University, Central South University, China Academy of Art, Southeast University, and Hunan Institute of Science and Technology during its construction. The first phase began in 2013, covering a land area of 15,000 square meters with a building area of 4,539.2 square meters. It includes 19 individual structures such as Quest Hall, Yuanxiang Hall, and Collection of Sao Pavilion, providing functions for lectures, book collections, and historical and literary exhibitions. It is currently the largest full-timber structure in China with an even number of bays using the post-and-lintel system.

The International Poetry Exchange Center focuses on themes such as Chu Ci (Songs of Chu), intangible cultural heritage, and traditional Chinese studies. Aiming for an immersive experience, it carefully plans and develops content systems, product systems, and consumption systems. It is intended to become a comprehensive cultural experience center integrating forums, conventions, exhibitions, international exchanges, intangible cultural heritage experiences, and interactive entertainment.

Based on various plants mentioned in Chu Ci, it is designed as an ecological leisure tourism complex with Chu Ci plants as the ecological backdrop, integrating specialty dining, themed accommodation, leisure and entertainment, outdoor sports, and team-building training.

The overall structure of Chudi (the Embankment) consists of one embankment, one road, one river, and one lake. Centered around the two core themes of Chu-Xiang (Hunan) culture and Qu Yuan, it creates a cultural landmark standing by the Miluo River within this site, reflecting its beautiful natural scenery and profound cultural heritage, making it one of the representative attractions of Quzi Cultural Park.

Drinking Horse Pond: On the eastern side of Quzi Temple, within a mountain hollow, there is a pond surrounded by bamboo forests. The scattered village houses, curling cooking smoke, crowing of chickens, ducks swimming, and fish leaping in the pond create gentle ripples. The water remains neither murky nor clear all year round, never drying up or overflowing. The pond is overgrown with water lilies and water chestnuts—plants beloved by Qu Yuan. Legend has it that Qu Yuan had a white horse that accompanied him throughout his life. He loved the horse dearly and often came here to water and bathe it, keeping the horse pure white. Later generations named the pond “Drinking Horse Pond” in honor of Qu Yuan. There used to be a huge rock by the pond with faint marks of ropes, believed to be where Qu Yuan tethered his horse. The local chronicles referred to it as “Rock with Horse Tether Marks,” but the rock has since disappeared.

Quzi Temple Town: Quzi Temple Town and Fanyuan Town have been administratively merged to form Quzi Temple Town.

The Miluo River flows ceaselessly, Quzi Temple stands majestically by the river, Ming Shan Ferry bustles with traffic, and the river beach is lush with grass where fat cattle graze… This is a true portrayal of Quzi Temple Town—the northern gateway where the great poet Qu Yuan once recited and sought truth. Quzi Temple Town borders the suburbs of Miluo City to the east, the Qu Yuan Administrative District to the south, and the vast 800-li Dongting Lake to the west. The town government is located at Ouyangjiadun. The town covers a total area of 36 square kilometers, governs 16 administrative villages, 297 villager groups, 2 neighborhood committees, and has a population of over 22,000. … Quzi Temple Town detailed information++