Yugu Terrace
郁孤台
A thousand-year-old terrace atop Helan Mountain in the northwest of the old city, famed through Xin Qiji's line “Beneath Yugu Terrace flows the clear river.” From the top, you can look out over the Zhang River and old Ganzhou.
Yugu Terrace sits on the summit of Helan Mountain (Tianluo Ridge) in the northwest of old Ganzhou. Its name comes from the description “a rise that stands solitary, several zhang high on flat ground.” It was first built in the Tang dynasty and was destroyed and rebuilt many times. The current three-storey pavilion was rebuilt in the 1980s following Qing-dynasty designs. During the Southern Song, Xin Qiji, serving as a judicial commissioner in Jiangxi, wrote his lyric “Bodhisattva Barbarians, Written on the Wall at Zaokou in Jiangxi” here, beginning with the line “Beneath Yugu Terrace flows the clear river.” This made Yugu Terrace a famous place for scholars to climb and reflect on the past. The terrace displays poems and writings by Xin Qiji, Su Shi and others connected with Ganzhou. The surrounding Zaoer Lane and Tianluo Ridge area preserves many old houses and streets from the Qing dynasty to the Republican era, ideal for a walking tour. Allow about 1 hour for the terrace and its surroundings, and you can link it with the city wall and Bajing Terrace by a 20-minute walk. Admission varies, and it is often free or low-cost. Getting there: take a taxi or bus to the area near Yugu Terrace. Note: the staircase is narrow, and queues form on public holidays.
Opening hours
08:00–18:00
Nearby sights
- Former Residence of Chiang Ching-kuo
- Xijinmen Section of Ganzhou City Wall
- Bajing Terrace & Song Dynasty City Wall
- Zaoer Lane & Yaoyaqian
- Ganzhou Ancient Pontoon Bridge
- Ganzhou Confucian Temple
- Ciyun Pagoda
- Fushou Ditch Museum