Tongjiang Academy

🚗 After leaving the ancient town of Potan, we drove for about 10 minutes and headed straight to the Tongjiang Academy, which has a history of over 800 years and is known as the premier academy of the South. 🧩 Xianju has produced more than 240 scholars who passed the imperial examinations, a large part of whom emerged during the Southern Song Dynasty, closely associated with the educational leadership of Tongjiang Academy. 🧩 The Tongjiang Academy, with its quadrangle courtyard architecture, features green bricks and black tiles, upturned eaves, and an ingeniously arranged layout that is simple and solemn. At the end of the Song Dynasty and during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the academy was destroyed twice and rebuilt twice. 🧩 There were many academies in the history of Zhejiang, but very few have been preserved to this day. Having weathered over 800 years, the fact that it still retains the form of an academy is extremely rare. 🧩 In order to protect and inherit this precious historical and cultural heritage, the Xianju government has recently renovated the Tongjiang Academy. The Tongjiang Academy scenic area now covers more than 150 acres. Outside the academy walls are verdant fields and lush forests, with an elegant environment, layered mountains, clear lake waters, and surrounding structures such as archways, Scholar's Bridges, corridors, and ancient stages, all of which make one's mood delightful. 🧩 Every brick and tile here reveals traces of the years and the breath of culture. Here, one can put aside the hustle and bustle of the city and feel the tranquility and harmony of nature. 🏠 Name: Tongjiang Academy 📍 Address: Near 322 Provincial Road, Xianju County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province 🚇 Transportation: 794m from Banqiao Bus Station, about a 10-minute walk 🅿️ Parking: Free parking 🎫 Admission: Free

Located in Xianju County, Taizhou, apart from the famous Shenxianju scenic area, there is also the Tongjiang Academy, which is hailed as 'the foremost academy in the south of the Yangtze River'. The academy was established during the Qiandao period of the Southern Song Dynasty. It has produced a group of prominent imperial censors and supervisory officials, such as Wang Cunzhong, Chen Yong, and Wu Jin. The great Confucian scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi, had lectured here multiple times. Upon entering Tongjiang Academy, one can see the quadrangle structure of the buildings, which have the style of a Jiangnan garden, with whitewashed walls and black tiles, upturned corners and flying eaves, and a winding stone path. The couplets written on both sides of the entrance read: 'A place where Wen Gong sought the Dao, and where Dian Yuan received his education.' Inside the main gate are two lecture halls—Dingshan Hall and Dacheng Hall, with the vigorous and powerful three characters on the plaques being the calligraphy left by Zhu Xi eight hundred years ago. The museum uses multimedia technologies such as sound, light, and electricity to comprehensively display the development of the ancient Chinese supervisory system. The land nurtures its people; the toughness of the mountains and the spirituality of the water blend together, creating the honest and straightforward character of the Xianju people, as well as their noble virtues and steely integrity. 📖【Attraction Information】 Main attractions: Zhuangyuan Bridge, Tongjiang Academy, Jian Lake, Archway Address: Tongjiang Academy Address: Tongjiang Academy Scenic Area, Xianju County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province (50 meters north of Provincial Road 35) Ticket price: 20 yuan Opening hours: 08:00-17:00

Xianju is located in the southeast of Zhejiang, a thousand-year-old city with a long history and culture, and a place of outstanding people and natural beauty, it is also known as 'where immortals live'⛰️ . I've been to Xianju several times, Here is a two-day and one-night travel guide for Xianju🧵 . D1: Arrive at Xianju, Taizhou, Zhejiang—Pota Ancient Town—Tongjiang Academy D2: Shenxianju Scenic Area (tips: You must go up the mountain early in the morning in Shenxianju Scenic Area, you can see the sunrise and sea of clouds if the weather is good) . 1⃣️Pota Ancient Town Located about 25 kilometers west of Xianju County, the main street is 'dragon'-shaped, paved with cobblestones, curved and well-proportioned, up to 2 kilometers long🚶 . The ancient town is not big, very quiet, it is known as 'one of the most complete ancient cultural sites in Zhejiang', walking around and enjoying the scenery and taking pictures for about one to two hours🕙 . 📷Recommended check-in points ☑️Longxing Ancient Street ☑️Changmen Hall ☑️He Style Gate Hall ☑️Spring Flower Courtyard ☑️Yingyue Lake . 🎫Ticket: 35 yuan (The ancient town is currently free, until June 30, 2024🆓) ⏰Opening hours: 08:00-17:00 · 2⃣️Tongjiang Academy Located at the foot of Shenxianju, it is known as 'the first academy in Jiangnan'📖It has a long history and profound heritage~ . There are two Zelkova trees🌲in the academy planted by Zhu Xi himself, which have a history of more than 800 years. Although the academy is not big, it is very photogenic and worth a slow visit. . 🎫Ticket: 20 yuan (The academy is currently free, until June 30, 2024🆓) ⏰Opening hours: 08:00-17:00 . 3⃣️Shenxianju Scenic Area This blessed land favored by immortals, has natural wonders such as cliff sinkholes, jungle waterfalls, sea of clouds and mist, when the morning mist has not dispersed, the faint fairy air comes, the rolling white fog sets up, just like a fairyland on earth☁️ . The scenic area has two gates, north and south, and there are cable cars + elevators🛗all the way. The mountain trails are relatively flat, so you don't have to worry about climbing too tired, it is very friendly to the elderly and children👏 . 📷Recommended check-in points ☑️Buddha's Shadow and Lotus Rhyme ☑️Lotus Platform ☑️Ruyi Bridge ☑️South Heaven Top ☑️Wolong Bridge . 🎫Ticket: 110 yuan/person ⏰Opening hours: 08:00-17:00

I walked into Tongjiang Academy with respect. This academy was founded by the eighth-generation grandson of the late Tang poet Fang Gan, Fang Zuo, during the Song Qian Dao era. Named after Fang Gan's ancestral home, Tonglu, it has a history of over 800 years. In those years, Tongjiang Academy not only promoted the prosperity of the local imperial examination, nurtured many literati, but more importantly, it attracted many first-class scholars of the Southern Song Dynasty with its unique charm and excellent academic atmosphere. These scholars are like dazzling stars, including Zhu Xi, Wu Si, Wang Shipeng, Chen Yong, and others. Their thoughts and knowledge are like the light of a lighthouse, spreading with the influence of Tongjiang Academy, setting a great example for future Confucian scholars. It allows these later Confucian scholars to look back on the past and regard Tongjiang Academy as a spiritual place. Later literati all regard Tongjiang Academy as a spiritual home. They came to Tongjiang Academy with a pilgrim's heart, looking back on the past, remembering its once glorious history. Just like us today, following the footsteps of our ancestors, we seem to be able to feel the vitality of the ancient academy and hear the ancient bell echoing between the mountains and the water. As soon as I entered the academy, what caught my eye was a simple and elegant hall called the 'Lecture Hall'. The lecture hall is the core part of the academy and the place for academic discussions and lectures. I seem to have traveled through time and space, back to the ancient times when Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, lectured here. The sound of ancient teachings seems to echo in my ears. This place was once a prosperous place of culture and a place where many celebrities studied. Gently pushing open the wooden door, the book house is filled with neatly arranged desks and beds, and the simple wooden furniture exudes a faint woody fragrance. Here I felt the long-lost atmosphere of farming and reading, quiet and far-reaching. Every brick and tile here witnesses the cultural context of Tongjiang Academy for thousands of years. There is a stele in the corner of the academy, on which is engraved the poem Zhu Xi sent to his son: 'The most is that the world cannot stay, Zhu Yan bids farewell to the mirror and the flowers bid farewell to the tree.' It tells the passage of time and the shortness of life. It advises people to cherish time and study hard.

You really missed out this National Day if you didn't know about these two free attractions in Xianju! . The scenic area, in order to welcome the ongoing Asian Games, has launched a year-long free tour event, from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, exempting the entrance tickets to the attractions of Xianju Potan Ancient Town and Tongjiang Academy. . Tongjiang Academy, the first academy in the south of the Yangtze River. This was once the place where Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, lectured. The elegant and warm atmosphere of the scrolls seems to come to your face. The academy introduces the history of Tongjiang Academy and the imperial history culture of Xianju. . Potan Ancient Town, where you can experience a leisurely and contented slow life. Here is the most complete preservation of the 'Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing' five dynasties architecture, it was the 'Pearl of the Salt Road' when Zhejiang salt entered Jiangxi in ancient times. Dragon-shaped ancient street, Changmen Hall, He's Limen Hall, Chunhua Courtyard, Yingyue Lake, etc... Walking on the cobblestone path, looking at these ancient houses, as if telling the prosperity of the past.

The building is a quadrangle structure, with green lake water surrounded by trees. It is the Jiang. At the foot of the Fairy Residence hides a Tongjiang Academy, known as the "First Academy of Jiangnan". The building is a quadrangle structure, with green lake water surrounded by trees. It is the best preserved academy in Jiangnan and one of the earliest academies in Xianju. The architecture and environment within the academy have some style of Jiangnan gardens, with pink walls and black tiles, and upturned eaves. The academy has two exhibition halls, introducing the historical evolution of the ancient Chinese supervision system. Through these texts and pictures, one can understand the profound cultural heritage of the "First Academy of Jiangnan". At the back of the academy, there is a lake named "Jian Lake", the lake surrounds the academy, named "Tongjiang", and where the lake surrounds, trees are planted everywhere, and there are pavilions and towers with Jiangnan characteristics, which are really pleasing to the eye.

Encountering the century-old Tongjiang Academy in Xianju 📓White walls and black tiles, corridors and eaves, the "Tongjiang Academy" located at the foot of Shenxianju has a history of eight hundred years and is known as the first academy in Jiangnan. This is not only the earliest academy in Xianju, but also the best preserved academy in Jiangnan. 🌳There are two tall and dense Picrasma trees in front of the academy. It is said that they were planted by Zhu Xi himself. Of course, there is no way to verify this. But Zhu Xi did come here to lecture twice, and sent his son to study here. This is evidenced by the poem "Sending Son to Tongjiang Academy for Study", which shows that this was indeed a place where students studied hard in the past. 🌿Walking past the stone archway, crossing the top scholar bridge, and coming to the academy lecture hall. The plaques of "Respect, Quiet", "Order, Neat" hang on the wall, and it seems that there are loud readings lingering in the ears. Outside the academy, there are pavilions and corridors, full of ancient charm, and you can even see the blooming plum blossoms. Walking in the quaint and quiet academy, it seems to be infected with a bit of bookishness, there is a sense of immortality and elegance... 📍Zhejiang Taizhou City, Xianju County, Pota Beach Township, Tongjiang Academy ⏰Opening hours: 8:00～17:00 🎫Tickets: Free Spot Hunting Trip

Celebrate the New Year by traveling to Zhejiang, Xianju County, Taizhou, Tongjiang Academy ❤Reason for recommendation: ✨The New Year's travel is different every year. Perhaps the New Year needs such a sense of ceremony to remind us that we are standing on the threshold of the old and the new. It is no longer an ordinary and vague day on the calendar, but a new expectation for the future. This year's trip to Taizhou's Shenxianju, also came to Tongjiang Academy, not far from Potan Ancient Town, you can play together. 🌟Highlights: 🍃Different from the ancient charm of the ancient town, and different from the beautiful scenery of Shenxianju, Tongjiang Academy, has a history of about 800 years. After the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, it is currently the best preserved academy. ✅Must experience: ➡️This is a pure land for scholars, the pages of books are turned, and the morning glow is reflected. Tongjiang Academy, where Zhu Xi, a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty, once lectured, and deliberately sent his son to study here. The academy has two lecture halls, namely Ding Shan Tang and Da Cheng Hall. There are two halls in the academy, namely the Xianxian Hall and the Book Collection Pavilion. There are two exhibition halls inside: the Yushi Culture Hall and the Academy Culture Hall, and there is a paper-saving stove in the back courtyard. ✳️【Main attractions】: Champion Bridge, Tongjiang Academy, Jian Lake, Archway, there are flower seas in summer, and the bamboo forest here is also a favorite shooting location for many young ladies. ✳️【Ticket】: 20 yuan 🚗【Transportation】: It is recommended to drive or take a taxi, or you can take the Xianju-Hengxi line to the foot of the mountain village station 🕐【Opening hours】: 08：00-17：00 📍【Address】: Tongjiang Academy Scenic Area, Xianju County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province (50 meters north of Provincial Highway 35)