Travel route: Yuelu Academy-Kaifu Temple-Changsha Bamboo Slips Museum-Baisha Ancient Well-Former Residence of Jia Yi-Taiping Historical and Cultural Block
As one of the four most prestigious academies in China, with a history of 1,000 years, Yuelu Academy is a famous institution of higher learning as well as a centre of academic activities, upholding cultures since it was formally set up in the ninth year of the Kai Bao Reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (976).
Kaifu Temple, built in 927 AD, is a Buddhist temple located in Kaifu District of Changsha City. Kaifu Temple belongs to the Yangqi and Rinzai schools of Buddhism. Now the temple has become a holy place for Buddhist sacrifices as well as for holding temple fair or lantern festival to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Located in Tianxin District, Changsha Bamboo Slips Museum specializes in protecting, studying and exhibiting bamboo slips. The museum houses more than 140,000 bamboo slips from the State of Wu in the Three Kingdoms period (222-252 AD) unearthed at Zoumalou. The discovery won Changsha the reputation of the city in China with the most unearthed bamboo slips.
Baisha Ancient Well, located at the Baisha Road and the east of Tianxin Pavilion, has long been known as the first spring in Changsha. Water from Baisha Ancient Well is pure and limpid, which makes tea made from it extremely attractive and tasty, and wine sweet and fragrant. It is also good as boiled herbal medicine and when mixed in soups. Furthermore, its level remains the same even today and is not expected to dry any time soon.
Former Residence of Jia Yi in the Taiping Historical and Cultural Block enjoys a history of more than 2,100 years. Jia Yi was a Chinese poet, educator and statesman of the Han Dynasty. The former residence has an area of about 2,490 square meters and a building area of about 350 square meters. It contains buildings such as the Gate, the Grand Preceptor Hall, the Grand Preceptor Temple, the Xunqiu (Autumn-seeking) Cottage, the Old Tablet Pavilion, the Stone Tablet and the Grand Preceptor Well.
Taiping Historical and Cultural Block, situated in Tianxin District of Changsha city, are the most well-preserved streets from the ancient Changsha. The exquisite stone arches, time-honored traditional folk houses, charming ancient stages and rows upon rows of stores all contribute to the atmosphere of urban life, showing us a picture of booming business, folk customs and features of Hunan Culture.