Dongpo Park 常州东坡公园

Dongpo Park is a national 4A-level scenic area and is located in the southeast side of Hongmei Park, the first garden in Changzhou.It is the strategic passage of the ancient canal to the east. The entire scenic area can be divided into a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides and a Half Moon Island in the ancient canal. The two islands are connected by an ancient bridge in the Ming Dynasty. Although the area is small with mere 4.3 hectares, it is also unique in many historical sites.

It is said that Mr. Su Tungpo, a great writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, once came to Changzhou 11 times and eventually spent his remaining years till death here. He once had taken a boat to anchor here. Dongpo Park is where Su Tungpo abandoned the boat and landed in the city. In the later Southern Song Dynasty, there was someone who built an Ochre Boat Pavilion to commemorate Su Tungpo, who died in Changzhou. The Ochre Boat Pavilion is located on the top of the South Hill in the park. The pavilion is small but has exquisite shape. When Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty went to the Jiangnan region, he gave poems 4 times and wrote the inscription “The Talent of Yuju (Su Tungpo).”

When one bypasses the curved corridor in the park, the bright landscape suddenly emerges, with beautiful forests and peculiar water and stones, which shows the style of Chinese classical gardens. The Grand Canal flows eastward around the park, displaying its characteristics of Jiangnan scenery.