Red Plum Pavilion

　　　　Red Plum Pavilion is situated within Hongmei Park in Changzhou. It was built during the Northern Song Dynasty but was later destroyed in war. In the first year of the Yuanshun era (1295) of the Yuan Dynasty, it was rebuilt and renamed Feixia Tower. During the Ming Dynasty, its original name, Red Plum Pavilion, was restored. The currently existing Red Plum Pavilion was reconstructed during the Qing Dynasty.

　　　　Located in the southeast corner of Hongmei Park in downtown Changzhou, the site originally belonged to Shuitian Temple during the late Tang Dynasty, later coming under the jurisdiction of Jianfu Temple. It is said to have been where Zhang Boduan, the founding patriarch of the Southern School of Taoism during the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote his scriptures. It was affiliated with Tianjing Taoist Temple. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, it was destroyed in warfare. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Taoist temple was rebuilt and renamed Xuanmiao Temple in the first year of the Yuanshun era (1296), with Feixia Tower constructed northeast of the temple. The Feixia Tower was destroyed at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and during the Ming Dynasty, Red Plum Pavilion was built on the former site of the tower. Having undergone multiple cycles of rise and decline, it was ultimately destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion.

　　　　The current structure was rebuilt in the 26th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1900). The pavilion is wooden, with two stories, featuring upturned eaves and brackets that demonstrate exquisite craftsmanship and a magnificent form. Red plum trees are planted abundantly all around. In late winter and early spring, the plum buds bloom alone, glowing brilliantly like rosy clouds. The pavilion is built on a 2-meter-high earthen platform, with a brick-and-wood structure, double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, a surrounding corridor below, and upturned eaves with brackets that create an imposing sight. It is 17 meters high, divided into upper and lower floors. Originally surrounded by walls, these have now been replaced with stone railings. At the southern end is a stone memorial archway decorated with cloud and crane motifs, beneath which stone steps serve as the entrance and exit. The archway is inscribed with the characters “Heaven’s Prominent Path,” bearing a marking from the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty. The couplet on the stone pillars beside it reads: “The Dao has its origin; establish words, deeds, and virtues; endeavor has no resting place; aspire to the wise, the sagely, and the heavens.” The courtyard in front of the pavilion was originally planted with red plums and green bamboos, renowned as “the grand beauty of Changzhou” and “a likeness to the immortal realm.” Many poems have been composed about it throughout history. Inside and outside the pavilion, stone carvings remain to this day, including a stone statue of the Patriarch Zhang, the scripture-writing site, and tablets commemorating the pavilion’s construction. One of the original Yuan Dynasty stone pillars from the Tianqing Temple memorial archway still stands here—known as the Ice Plum Stone Pillar. This pillar features natural veining resembling frost-covered plum blossoms, its color pearly white and lustrous. The Qing Dynasty's "Changzhou Fu" from the Qianlong era praised it as “surpassing Ge Kiln ware,” commonly called the Ice Plum Stone, and regarded locally as a marvel. The pillar is circular, 2.5 meters long and 0.40 meters in diameter. Red Plum Pavilion is a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit.