Sun Bin Tourist City

　　The original attractions of Sun Bin Tourist City include Yicheng Temple, Sun Bin’s Tomb, the Joint Tomb of Yang Jiao and Zuo Botao, and the Tomb of Jing Ke.

　　Yicheng Temple: In his later years, Sun Bin lived in seclusion at Sun Garden (0.5 km south of the temple). The King of Qi, in recognition of his great contributions, often sent people to visit him. To accommodate his lodging and meals, a post station town was built north of the village. After Sun Bin’s death, he was buried in front of the post station, which was then renamed “Yi Town.” During the Wei and Jin periods, Buddhism spread to Juancheng. In the first year of the Huangjian era of the Northern Qi Dynasty (560 AD), a temple was built on the site of the old Yi Town. It was named “Yicheng Temple,” meaning “temple of tranquility,” taking from the character “yi” (亿). Beside the temple lie the joint tomb of the righteous men Yang Jiao’ai and Zuo Botao from the Spring and Autumn period, and the tomb of Jing Ke. Due to their spirit of righteousness, it is also called “Yicheng Temple” (Temple of Righteousness). The temple was renovated in the 37th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1558 AD).

　　According to the “Record of the Renovation of Yicheng Temple,” the temple covered an area of 400 acres and included five major halls: the Great Buddha Hall, the Scripture Depository, the Patriarch Hall, the Sangharama Hall, and the Four Heavenly Kings Hall, housing over ten thousand Buddha statues and accommodating more than a thousand monks. It was renovated once again in 1929. During the land reform in 1946, the temple was demolished, leaving only its ruins today.

　　Sun Bin’s Tomb: After returning to his hometown of Sun Garden, Sun Bin passed away and was buried north of the village. During the Ming Dynasty, the tomb was buried underground by silt from the Yellow River. In 1990, a memorial stele from the 37th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1558 AD), which recorded the renovation of Yicheng Temple, was unearthed on the east bank of Xiangyang River north of the village. It bore the inscription “Sun Bin’s Tomb lies deep,” and after expert research and verification, it was confirmed that this was indeed the site of Sun Bin’s tomb. Descendants of the Sun family renovated the burial mound. The tomb mound has a diameter of 8 meters, a height of 5 meters, surrounded by stone walls. A stone stele inscribed with “Sun Bin’s Tomb” in seal script stands in front, along with a stone incense burner. The tomb site covers an area of 600 square meters, enclosed by a 1-meter-high blue brick flower wall, with 12 cypress trees planted inside.

　　The Joint Tomb of Yang Jiao and Zuo Botao: The tomb mound has a diameter of 3 meters and a height of 2 meters, with the structure of the tomb chamber unknown. In front of the tomb stands a stele erected in the 14th year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1809 AD), titled “The Stele of the Ancient Righteous Men Zuo Botao of Fan County.” The stele is 170 cm tall, 46 cm wide, and 20 cm thick, with square edges and rounded corners. The reverse side is blank, while the front bears an inscription detailing the time and process of the stele’s erection, as well as the story of the deep friendship between Yang Jiao and Zuo Botao. Legend has it that during the Warring States period, Yang Jiao’ai and Zuo Botao, both from the State of Yan, journeyed together to the State of Chu in search of official positions. When they reached Juanyi, they were caught in a snowstorm and ran out of money—enough to sustain only one of them. Zuo Botao gave his food and money to Yang Jiao’ai so he could continue to Chu, while he stayed behind. Yang later became a high-ranking official in Chu and returned to Juanyi to look for Zuo, only to find that Zuo had died of cold and hunger in a tree hollow. Yang then committed suicide with his sword, and the two were buried together in a single tomb. The story of their deep friendship has been widely told among the people for thousands of years.

　　In October 1995, the foundation stone for Sun Bin Tourist City was officially laid. To date, foundational infrastructure projects such as perimeter walls, undulating terrain, road hardening, and partial greening have been completed. Successively, the Yuantong Bridge and Yuantong Lake have been built, and the main structures of the Heavenly King Hall, Yuantong Hall, the Liberation Pond, and the Sun Bin Memorial Hall have been completed. The Medicine Buddha Hall is currently under construction.

　　Yuantong Bridge: Located at the entrance of the tourist city, it spans Xiangyang River. It is a reinforced concrete structure, running southwest to northeast, with a total length of 158 meters and a width of 12 meters.

　　Yuantong Lake: Located in the central area of the tourist city, it consists of two water bodies to the east and west, connected by the Jade Belt Bridge, covering an area of 50 acres.

　　Heavenly King Hall: A five-bay single-eave hip-and-gable style antique building, 21 meters long, 9 meters deep, and 9 meters high. It is one of the main structures of Yuantong Zen Temple.

　　Yuantong Hall: A five-bay single-eave hip-and-gable style antique building, and one of the main structures of Yuantong Zen Temple.

　　Liberation Pond: Located directly in front of Yuantong Zen Temple, it is a semi-circular pool covering an area of 300 square meters.

　　Sun Bin Memorial Hall: Located in the western part of the tourist city, the hall features a double-eave conical roof design, measuring 30 meters in both length and width, and 20 meters in height. It has upturned eaves, half-arches, and green glazed tile roofing, serving as the main structure of the Sun Bin Memorial Area.

Yicheng Temple