Shuyang

Shuyang County, abbreviated as Shu, is so named for being located on the yang (north) bank of the Shu River. The county is in the transitional area between the hills of south Shandong and the Jianghuai Plain. Shuyang has many historic and cultural sites. There are the Neolithic archaeological sites of Wanbei and Zangdun and tombs from the Six Dynasties (222-589). There are the Western Zhou-era (c. 1046-771 BCE) sites of Mengdun and Yindun; the Western Han (202 BCE-8 CE) sites of Houqiu and Yinpingfang City; the irrigation projects left behind by great Song polymath Shen Kuo (1031-1095); and a series of attractions associated with the birthplace of legendary Consort Yu (the eponymous concubine of the Peking Opera Farewell My Concubine): Yu Ji Channel, Yu Ji Temple, Jiulongkou (“Nine Dragon Confluence” - where nine rivers flow together), and Bawang Bridge. There is also the barracks of the Ming general Liu Tingzhu, who fought against the Japanese, a Chinese wisteria planted by Qing-era poet Yuan Mei (1716-1797), and the elegant and ancient Xiaoyaoting.