Lanting is located approximately 13 kilometers southwest of the ancient city of Shaoxing, at the foot of Lanzhu Mountain, and is famous for the elegant gathering held here by Wang Xizhi and others, leaving behind the renowned ‘Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion’. Although Lanting is not a large place, it boasts an exquisite and elegant landscape. The Goose Pond Stele, Lanting Stele, Crooked Stream and Wine Cups, and the Imperial Stele Pavilion are the main attractions here.
Not far past the ticket checkpoint, you will see a stone stele inscribed with cursive script ‘Goose Pond’. Legend has it that the character ‘goose’ was written by Wang Xizhi, which appears graceful and upright, while the character ‘pond’ was written by his son Wang Xianzhi, characterized by its bold and unrestrained style, hence the stele is known as the ‘Father and Son Stele’. Almost all visitors take photos here. It is said that Wang Xizhi loved geese, and several white geese are also raised in the Goose Pond of Lanting today. On the north bank of the Goose Pond is the Lanting Stele Pavilion, where the word ‘Lanting’ on the stele is the imperial script of Emperor Kangxi. Next to the Lanting Stele is the area of Crooked Stream and Wine Cups, which can be simply understood as a modern drinking game. A person places a wine cup on the upstream of the crooked stream, supported by a lotus leaf, and it floats down the stream. Whoever the cup stops in front of must compose a poem, and those who cannot are punished with a cup of wine. It was during such a game, with wine in his veins, that Wang Xizhi wrote the ‘Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion’, acclaimed as the ‘best cursive script in the world’. Today, many visitors come here and, with great interest, use plastic cups filled with drinks to ‘float cups’ in the crooked stream, experiencing the joy of the ancient game. The Right Army Temple is a memorial hall for Wang Xizhi, surrounded by lotus ponds on all sides, built during the Kangxi period, and mainly displays different versions of the ‘Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion’. Continuing westward, you can see the Imperial Stele Pavilion, where the front of the stele is the ‘Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion’ copied by Emperor Kangxi, and the back is a seven-character regulated verse ‘Lanting Ji Shi Shi’ composed by Emperor Qianlong on his visit to Lanting. Two generations of emperors wrote on the same stele, hence it is also known as the Ancestor and Descendant Stele. The fact that two generations of emperors inscribed on one stele is unique in the country and is the treasure of Lanting. Behind the Imperial Stele Pavilion, there are eighteen water jars where visitors can use a brush pen to write on stone tables with water, experiencing the scene of Wang Xianzhi learning to write. Additionally, there is the Lanting Calligraphy Museum and the Lanting Porcelain Inkstone Art Museum in the northwest of the scenic area, displaying many calligraphy works and various inkstones. If interested, visitors are encouraged to visit. The scenic area is open all year round from 08:00 to 16:50. The Lanting Calligraphy Museum is closed on the first Monday of each month (except during golden weeks and national holidays), while the core scenic area remains open normally. Preferential policies include: Children: Free for children under 6 years old (inclusive) with valid documents or under 1.2 meters (inclusive) in height; Students: Half price for full-time undergraduate and below students with student IDs; Elderly: Half price for those aged between 60 (inclusive) and 70 (exclusive) with valid ID or senior citizen card; Free for those aged 70 and above with ID; Military personnel: Free for active military and disabled military with valid documents; Local citizens: Free with valid ID; Disabled: Free with disability certificate; Zhejiang Province Teachers: Free for teachers with 30 years of teaching experience in Zhejiang Province; Zhejiang Province Blood Donors: Free for those with the ‘Zhejiang Province Blood Donation Honor Certificate’; Other free objects: Free for martyrs’ families, families of military personnel who died in service, families of deceased military personnel, retired cadres, and returned overseas Chinese in Shaoxing City, with valid documents.Lanting Scenic Area
Lanting is located approximately 13 kilometers southwest of the ancient city of Shaoxing, at the foo[...]
