Guangxi Self-Driving Tour (Part 13)

I didn't know until my second visit to Yongzhou that the ancient city of Yongzhou is located in Lingling District. Last time I went to the northern Lengshuitan District, which is more than twenty kilometers away from Lingling. The ancient city of Lingling has been established as the earliest administrative division of Yongzhou since the Western Han Dynasty, for over two thousand years. It is also widely known thanks to Liu Zongyuan's 'The Story of the Snake Catcher' and 'A Record of a Little Stone Pool' being included in Chinese textbooks. Liu Zongyuan was demoted to Yongzhou for ten years, leaving behind the famous 'Eight Records of Yongzhou,' with 'A Record of a Little Stone Pool' being one of them. The Liuzi Temple is the best memorial the people of Yongzhou have for him, and not far upstream from the temple is the location of the Little Stone Pool. In order to recreate the scenery of the Little Stone Pool, the Yongzhou government blew up the dam that submerged it, which is in line with the repeated destruction and reconstruction of the Liuzi Temple. On both sides of the Yu Creek in the ancient city of Lingling, the ancient streets and lanes blend with the newly built antique-style architectural district. The pleasure boats on Yu Creek and tourists dressed in ancient costumes have become a scenic spot in the ancient city. Walking down along Yu Creek, you can reach the confluence with the Xiao River, which is especially beautiful at night. The confluence of the Xiao River and the Xiang River has a small island with a Pingzhou Academy on it. To get there, you need to take a ferry, which costs 20 for a round trip, and the entrance fee for Pingzhou Academy is 40. We didn't go to the island but walked along the riverside path to an abandoned ferry dock, where the view of the Xiao and Xiang rivers converging is also very beautiful. Yongzhou  Hunan Lingling Ancient City