Nanchang — where the Marquis of Haihun found silence and Wang Bo found tears

Nanchang — a city where the Marquis of Haihun fell into silence and where Wang Bo shed tears; and its countryside, in poor shape.

Climbing Tengwang Pavilion to gaze far at the Gan River and near at the Fu River, one can’t help but admire Wang Bo, one of the Four Talents of Early Tang. Faced with such a cramped riverscape, he still wrote the magnificent Preface to Tengwang Pavilion — truly a genius. If Wang Bo were alive today and saw this twenty‑ninth reconstruction of the pavilion, he’d hardly write of “brocade doors and carved eaves”; it would be rebar and concrete — rebar and concrete, again and again.

From the first to the fifth floor of the seven‑story Tengwang Pavilion it felt like wandering a curio market: qin, chess, calligraphy, painting — everything present, yet nothing authentic. I thought the top floor would offer the best view; after the hard climb, it turned out to be a fully enclosed attic without a single window. No wonder Tengwang Pavilion so often tops the “吐槽榜” — the most panned of the Three Great Jiangnan Towers; it’s well deserved.

Not far away sits the Jiangxi Provincial Museum. If it’s your first visit and time is short, just see the special exhibition on the Marquis of Haihun. The excavation of his tomb was like a gift from the ancestors to Jiangxi: artifacts, if not refined, are abundant. If interested, you can refer to my four humble pieces on the Marquis of Haihun.

Qiushui Square faces Tengwang Pavilion across the river, drawn from the line “autumn waters share one color with the vast sky.” It claims Asia’s largest musical fountain; after watching the full show, I still felt it lacked a certain grandeur.

As for Shengjin Pagoda, a ten‑minute drive from Tengwang Pavilion, the layout and temple style are both passable. But the so‑called “Chinese‑characteristic commercial street” around it is far below the level of Chengdu’s Kuanzhai Alleys, Hangzhou’s Hefang Street, or Nanjing’s Confucius Temple area.

Published at: Sep 26, 2025 · Modified at: Oct 26, 2025