The Hanshan Temple

The Hanshan Temple

The Hanshan Temple Scenic Spot of Suzhou is a provincial scenic spot of Jiangsu, which lies on the side of the ancient canal 3.5 kilometers west to Suzhou and covers 45 hectares. With many places of interest and four provincial preservation units of historical and cultural relics in the scenic spot, the humanistic scenes are plentiful and the natural sights are beautiful. 　　
The Hanshan Temple was originally built during the reign of Tianjan in the Liang Dynasty. The poem of “Mooring to the Maple Bridge at Night” by Zhang Ji of the Tang Dynasty is so oft-quoted and widely loved that the poetic rhyme and the bell-tolling sounds have made the Hanshan Temple famous at home and abroad. The characteristic tourist program of listening to the bell tolls of the Hanshan Temple on the New Year’s Eve has been an exceptionally grand occasion since it’s beginning in 1979. On every New Year’s Eve, thousands of visitors at home and abroad gather inside and outside of the temple to listen to the one hundred and eight bell tolls and pray for luck and happiness in the new year. The Maple Bridge and the Jiangchun Bridge stretch over the ancient canal and are simple and elegant in shape. Looking into the distance on the bridges, the sights of hills, waters and fields outside of the city of Suzhou leap up into the eyes and are unfolding in all their majesty. 　　
With the historical and cultural style and features of “Five Ancients”, the Hanshan Temple Scenic Spot is such a tourist resort where visitors at home and abroad will be carried away.