Luzhi

Canal in Luzhi
People watching banner risen over wine store in a street in Luzhi
The Baoshen Temple, a famous Buddhist temple at Luzhi
Ye Shengtao Memorial Park

Luzhi Town (甪直镇) is a famous historic old town located in the Wuzhong District, 18 km east of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. It was also known as Puli (甫里),[1] an ancient name for this town. This river town was named after a Tang Dynasty recluse poet Lu Guimeng (陆龟蒙) who retired in this town. Lu Guimong had a pseudonym: Mr. Pu-li (甫里先生).

At that time, Puli consisted of two districts: Puli (甫里) and Liuzhi(六直). Liuzhi meant that there were six straight rivers in the town. In the Suzhou dialect, "liu" was pronounced as "lu", and 六直 pronounced as Luzhi. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Puli was changed to Luzhi township of Yuanhe County.

Luzhi is famous for its beautiful waterways and ancient bridges, some of the bridges dated back to the Song Dynasty. A walk in the ancient town Luzhi is said to be a walk into history frozen in time, tranquil and serene.

The Ming Dynasty poet Gao Qi (高启) poem : "Scene of Puli" is still an accurate description of the scenery in the ancient town Luzhi today:

Scene of Puli
Long bridge short bridge with willows
Front stream rear stream with lotus
People watching banner over wine store risen
Seagulls escort boat to home of fishman.

Luzhi is one of the best preserved old towns in China, along with its old canals and streets. In 2003, the Chinese government published a list of "Ten Famous Chinese Historical Townships", with Luzhi featured on this list. In 2004, Luzhi was awarded a Township Preservation Award by UNESCO.

Sights

The Arhat statues in the Baoshen Temple are national treasures. They were the work of the Tang Dynasty sculptor Yang Huizhi.

Food

Famous people of Puli

Transportation

References

  1. 甫 has two pronunciations, 'fu' and 'pu'. 甫里 is pronounced as Pu-li, not Fu-li.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luzhi.

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