Danzhou Dongpo Cultural Tourism Area is located in the eastern suburbs of Zhonghe Town, Danzhou City. It is the place where Su Dongpo, a great literary figure of the Northern Song Dynasty, lectured and made friends during his three-year residence in Danzhou. The original site of Zaijiu Hall was the residence of a local, Li Ziyun. One day, Dongpo visited Li Ziyun with Zhang Zhong, the envoy of Changhua Army (i.e., Danzhou), and gathered with local people. They proposed to build a lecture hall at Li Ziyun’s place to facilitate Dongpo’s lectures and enlighten the local people. Dongpo gladly agreed and named it ‘Zaijiu Hall’, taking the meaning from ‘Han Shu – Yang Xiong Zhuan Zhuan’ ‘carrying wine and dishes, following the study’. According to Xu Zhi, the chief clerk of Danzhou during the Yuan Dynasty, in his ‘Record of Zaijiu Hall’, Zaijiu Hall was first built in the fifth year of Shaosheng in the Northern Song Dynasty (1098), which is more than half a year after Dongpo arrived in Danzhou in July of the fourth year of Shaosheng. Since Su Dongpo was demoted from Huizhou to Danzhou in July of the fourth year of Shaosheng (1097), until June of the third year of Yuanfu (1100), Su Dongpo was pardoned and returned north. Su Dongpo lived in Danzhou for three whole years, during which he personally farmed, advised agriculture with great effort, changed customs, promoted culture, wrote books, and established theories, earning the admiration of the world. At that time, under the influence of Dongpo’s spirit, the culture of reading and learning in Danzhou and the whole of Hainan gradually formed. Jiang Tangzuo, a scholar from Qiongzhou who was taught by him, became the first juren of Hainan the year after he returned north, and in the ninth year after his return north, Fu Que from Changhua Army (Danzhou) passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, ending Hainan’s history of having no Jinshi and becoming the first Jinshi of Hainan. Therefore, Hainan has always regarded Su Dongpo as an important contributor to the cultural enlightenment of Hainan, and his enlightening contribution to Danzhou culture has been praised by generations. ‘Qiong has scholars starting from Dan, and Qiong’s scholars are also most prosperous in Dan’, this is Su Dongpo’s immortal contribution to the cultural development of Danzhou. Today, Dongpo Academy has become a cultural holy land admired by people from all walks of life and the people of Danzhou for generations. Dongpo Academy was also designated as a key cultural protection unit in 1996, and it is one of the important cultural tourism attractions in Hainan. Since the construction of Dongpo Academy in the Northern Song Dynasty, through the Southern Song Dynasty to the early Yuan Dynasty, the hall has been abandoned for a long time, and there is no record of reconstruction. In the spring of the fifth year of the Tai Ding era of the Yuan Dynasty (1328), Peng Ying Lei, the viceroy of Danzhou, rebuilt it on the original site. Since then, it has been rebuilt, added, and renovated many times through the Ming and Qing dynasties until the early Republic of China. In the twenty-seventh year of the Jiajing era (1548), it was renamed ‘Dongpo Academy’. Since the liberation of Hainan in 1950, Dongpo Academy in Danzhou has been effectively protected under the care of party and government leaders of all sessions, and has undergone large-scale maintenance and renovation in 1982, with a new look. Especially under the drive of the construction plan of Hainan International Tourism Island, as a cultural protection unit, the construction of Dongpo Academy has become one of the key tourism projects in Danzhou City, and has achieved greater development in recent years. From 2012 to 2014, the Danzhou Municipal People’s Government carried out extensive repairs on the academy, including the main hall, Zaijiu Hall, two side corridors, side rooms, Zaijiu Pavilion, main entrance, lotus pond, railings, Qinshuai Hall, and more. In 2014, a service reception center was added (which has since been changed to the Dongpo Incense Culture Museum), and tourist service facilities were improved according to star standards. The Dongpo Academy, after generations of repairs and expansions, has formed a construction scale of 25,040 square meters. Inside the academy, there are structures such as the main entrance, Zaijiu Pavilion, Zaijiu Hall, main hall, side rooms, east and west side corridors, exhibition hall, Qinshuai Hall, HuaixDongpo Academy, with its numerous exhibits, comfortable environment, rich cultural atmosphere, and beautiful song and dance performances, is an ideal place for sightseeing and tourism.
Historical Evolution of Dongpo Academy: Dongpo Academy was the place where the great Northern Song Dynasty literati Su Dongpo lectured and met friends when he was exiled to Danzhou. It is located in Zhonghe Town, Danzhou City, Hainan Province, 18 kilometers away from Yangpu Port. The academy has gone through many vicissitudes and has been repaired, expanded, and protected by successive dynasties, forming its current scale. The historical evolution is summarized as follows: The Dongpo Academy, originally named Zaijiu Hall, was first built in the first year of the Yuanfu period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1098 AD). It was initially a thatched cottage. In the third year of the Yuan Dynasty’s Taiding period (1326 AD), an additional Dongpo Temple was built behind Zaijiu Hall, and Dongpo’s statue was moved from Kuanglang Temple to the temple for worship; in the fourth year of the Taiding period (1327 AD), Judge Peng Ying Lei explored the old site, expanded the foundation, and rebuilt the wine hall, which was still a thatched cottage. It was repaired many times during the Ming Dynasty. In the seventh year of Yongle (1409 AD), the thatched cottage was changed to a tile house, and during the Zhengde years (1506-1521 AD), a doorkeeper was assigned to the temple. In the twenty-third year of Wanli (1595 AD), Zaijiu Pavilion, Qinshuai Hall, Qinshuai Spring, and the stele of Qinshuai Spring were added.
The academy was also repaired many times during the Qing Dynasty. In the 19th year of the Guangxu period (1893), the main gate, corridors, and side rooms were added. In the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934 AD), it was renovated again, and Dongpo Park and Dongpo Road (the road was a dirt road at the time) were newly constructed. Since the Jiajing years of the Ming Dynasty (1522-1566 AD), scholars began to lecture at Zaijiu Hall, promoting the legacy of Su Dongpo. Hence, it is known as the ‘Dongpo Academy’. After the liberation of the whole country, the people’s government has allocated funds for repairs on multiple occasions. Although it was ‘almost completely destroyed’ during the Cultural Revolution, from 1983 to 1996, the government allocated a large amount of funds to renovate Zaijiu Pavilion, Panchi, the main hall, Zaijiu Hall, the main gate, the east and west corridors, side rooms, Qinshuai Spring, and the academy’s walls, improving the landscape construction of the east and west gardens, and establishing a bronze statue of Dongpo wearing a bamboo hat and straw sandals, as well as exhibition halls, reception halls, Wangjing Pavilion, and Qinshuai Hall. In 1984, a dedicated cultural relic protection agency – the Dongpo Academy Management Office – was established. It is responsible for the protection, management, and scientific research of Dongpo’s cultural history. On November 20, 1996, Dongpo Academy was announced as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
Scale of Dongpo Academy: The current area within the walls of Dongpo Academy is 25,040 square meters, and the area of Dongpo Square in front of the main gate outside the walls is 10.6 acres. The entire text is open all year round from 08:30 to 17:30.
Preferential policies: Children: under 1.2 meters (inclusive) are free; Elderly: over 70 years old (inclusive) with ID card are free; between 60 years old (inclusive) and 70 years old (exclusive), preferential; Active-duty military personnel: with officer or soldier ID or disabled soldier ID, free; Disabled: with disability certificate, free; Primary, middle, and high school students: with student ID or school-organized proof, preferential. Additional note: The above information is for reference only. Discounted tickets must be purchased on-site, and the specific details are subject to the announcement at the scenic spot.
In addition, there are classical and modern books and materials. The academy has a permanent exhibition: Dongpo’s Life and Deeds Exhibition (Exhibition Hall); Dongpo Historical Materials Exhibition (Main Hall); Exhibition of Steles and Woodcuts from Different Dynasties (Zaijiu Hall). Temporary exhibitions include
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