Liuhou Park
Liuhou Park is located at the north side of the Liu river, and it is built for Liu Zongyuan, a literary giant and also an officer in Liuzhou in the Tang Dynasty (618 AD-907 AD). It is a scenic spot, also a historic site, and in 2009, it is regarded as a national key park. The park has historic and cultural relics about Liu Zongyuan, and garden elements like lake, pavilion, rockery and plant, and it also has facilities for recreation.
The park is built in 1909, and covers an area of 15.5 hectares. And the park isn't built overnight, and the building of this park with a history of one hundred years is divided into five phases. In the period from 1906-1911, the park is broadened from Liuhou temple by Zhao Pingpan and Yang Daolin, and some facilities are built, like pond and bridge, and trees and flowers are planted. In other periods, the park is also broadened, and more facilities are built.
The park has several gates, and the south gate is built grandly and it is a symbol of the park. The sightseeing of the park is divided into several small scenic spots, like luochi, Liuhou temple, Liu Zongyuan cenotaph, Ganxiang pavilion and Zhonghuayuan. Luochi refers to a pond, which has a bridge and a pavilion on bridge for a rest, and there are many trees around the pond. It is said that Liu Zongyuan likes to have a walk around the pond.
Liuhou temple is first built in the Song Dynasty(960 AD-1279 AD), and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty( 1644 AD-1912 AD). In the temple's gate, there is a couplet written by Guo Moruo, a great writer in the modern times, and the couplet is two verses from a poem created by Han Yu, a literary giant in the Tang Dynasty. The temple has a structure of wood and brick, and it is divided into three parts. Inside the temple, there are over thirty stone inscriptions, and materials introducing Liu zongyuan, and a stone sculpture of Liu zongyuang. Beside the Liu Zongyuan sculpture, there is a famous stone inscription, named lizibei. The inscription is written by Su Shi, a literary giant in the Song Dynasty, and the content of the inscription is from a literature work created by Han yu, which is an introduction of Liu Zongyuan and highly praises him. Lizibei has great values and it is one of the most important things in this temple. In the exhibition hall, there is a stone inscription named Longcheng stone inscription, which is written by Liu Zongyuan..
Liu Zongyuan cenotaph is behind the temple. He died in 819, whose body had been transported to Chang'an, and Liuzhou people buried his clothes here in memory of him. The cenotaph is surrounded by pines and cypresses which have a symbolic meaning of august, dignified and evergreen in China. Ganxiang pavilion has six angles, where Liu Zongyuan once planted orange trees, and wrote a poem about it. Zhonghua yuan is a park and it has lots of strange stones, and garden buildings like pavilion.
It also has facilities for entertainment, and in here, you may feed fish, you may go boating, and children may play in a playing zone made for children. Local people would come to here to have a walk in the morning or in the evening and they may play chess in here, because of its beautiful scenery, a large area of green trees and quietness. It is a perfect place to have a rest in a hot summer day.
The park is in the downtown, and the transportation to the park is convenient. Its east side is Wantang road where lots of bauhinia are planted, and it would be beautiful when flowers are in blossom. Its west side is People's Square, which has Liuzhou museum, and Liuzhou art center and music fountain, and it is close to Wuxing street, a business street in its south side.
