Why Liyang, Jiangsu Is Worth a Visit
This article is specially produced by Global Sunac·Caoshan Future City.
The Yangtze River, roaring eastward from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, finally reveals its gentle side in the lower reaches, forming China's most fertile and prosperous region—the Yangtze River Delta.
Covering less than 4% of the country's land area, this region is home to over 200 million people and generates nearly a quarter of China's total economic output. It has long been a land of abundance and is now one of the world's rare metropolitan clusters, as well as one of China's most competitive regions.
Yet, in the familiar Yangtze River Delta, there is a city you might not know well.
It lies between Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai—100 kilometers from Nanjing, 110 kilometers from Suzhou, 120 kilometers from Hangzhou, and 180 kilometers from Shanghai...
Though not large, this small city enjoys a uniquely advantageous location. Situated within the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou Golden Triangle, it offers easy access to other cities in the Yangtze River Delta.
This is Liyang, a county-level city administered by Changzhou, Jiangsu Province.
It is a convergence point of three provinces and the heartland of the Yangtze River Delta. Lakes define Liyang's essence, while mountains bestow upon it breathtaking beauty.
It is a world-renowned longevity hub, an ecological innovation demonstration city in the Yangtze River Delta, and the only place in Jiangsu Province honored as a "China Natural Oxygen Bar."
Liyang boasts a long history, with ancient canals flowing through its lands, leaving behind imprints of over 2,000 years.
At the same time, it is remarkably young, having been upgraded from a county to a city just 30 years ago. Today, it serves as a vital sub-central city and demonstration zone along the Nanjing-Hangzhou Ecological Economic Belt.
Liyang: a city both ancient and young.
Liyang features higher terrain in the north and south, with plains in the middle, earning it the ancient description of "three parts mountains, one part water, and six parts farmland."
The Tianmu Mountain Range and the Mao Mountain branches stretch across Liyang's south and northwest, with peaks like Guodi Mountain, Shimenjian, Tongguan Ridge, Qingfeng Mountain, Wuyuan Mountain, Yaji Mountain, Wawu Mountain, and Qinglong Mountain painting a lush green landscape.
Though small, Liyang is crisscrossed by numerous rivers.
The Nan River, Zhong River, Bei River, Danjin-Licao River, Lidai River, Zhaocun River, and Zhuzhai River form a dense network of waterways.
The greatest blessing for Liyang comes from Taihu Lake.
Though not directly bordering Taihu Lake, most of Liyang's rivers flow into it, nurturing the city within the fertile Taihu Plain.
Mountains, water, and plains intertwine, combined with its proximity to the 30°N latitude, making Liyang a city of mild humidity and distinct seasons.
As early as 45 million years ago, countless animals thrived here, forming the "Shanghuang Fauna," which proves that southeastern Asia was once a crucial stage for mammalian evolution.
Among them, the most eye-catching is Eosimias sinensis. This small creature, weighing only 50-150 grams, had already begun climbing between branches with its limbs, displaying distinct characteristics of higher primates.
Besides the fossils of Eosimias sinensis, nationally protected species such as the freshwater jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbyi), Parrotia subaequalis, and Emmenopterys henryi have also been discovered in Liyang.
Particularly the freshwater jellyfish, known as the "giant panda of the water," is an ancient freshwater organism with extremely high water quality requirements. Liyang is one of its few remaining wild habitats.
Good mountains and waters nurture beautiful landscapes. It wasn’t just Eosimias sinensis and endangered plants that were drawn to Liyang’s scenery—our ancestors also favored this land.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, this was the border region of the Wu State. As a strategic military location, Wu, Yue, and Chu all prepared for battle here.
Wu’s minister Wu Zixu dug a canal from Taihu Lake to the Yangtze River in preparation for an attack on Chu, giving the Xu River its name. This is one of China’s earliest artificial canals.
Wu established Lingpingyi here, and Liyang became a city due to the canal, beginning its 2,700-year history.
During the Warring States Period, Liyang became part of Chu’s territory. The Chu people revered spirits, and shamanistic Nuo rituals flourished.
Liyang locals combined ancestor worship with Nuo culture, preserving rituals like the Jiangtang Horse Lantern Dance, "Jumping Five Deities," and "Frozen Nest" to this day. The mysterious masks and rhythmic dance steps exude an ancient aura.
After Qin Shi Huang unified China, Liyang was renamed Liyang County for its location north of the Li River. It became a key trade route in Jiangnan, attracting countless scholars and artists.
Cai Wenji’s "Eighteen Stanzas of a Nomad Flute" is renowned through the ages, while the legend of her father Cai Yong encountering the scorched-tail guqin is equally remarkable.
Passing through Liyang, Cai Yong heard an unusual sound in the firewood and rushed to rescue a piece of phoenix tree wood from the flames. Thus, the "Scorched Tail," one of China’s four great guqins, got its name.
In the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai’s poetry and Zhang Xu’s calligraphy were among the era’s finest. Their meeting took place in Liyang.
Immersed in Liyang’s landscapes and fine wine, Li Bai spontaneously recited his masterpiece "Song of the Fierce Tiger" while intoxicated, and Zhang Xu immediately captured it in brushstrokes.
"Liyang’s tavern in March spring, willow catkins boundless, sorrow kills." This moment became an eternal memory for Liyang and cemented its reputation for poetry and calligraphy.
In the mid-Tang Dynasty, renowned poets like Song Zhi, Zhang Ji, and Meng Jiao served as county magistrates in Liyang, leaving behind many literary masterpieces while governing.
Among them, Meng Jiao’s "A Traveler’s Song" became an enduring expression of wanderers’ homesickness and a mother’s love:
"Thread in the hands of a loving mother, clothes on the back of a wandering son. Stitched densely before departure, fearing his delayed return. Who says the heart of a tiny blade of grass can repay the warmth of the spring sun?"
Such profound heritage ensured Liyang stood out even in talent-rich Jiangnan. From the Sui and Tang to the late Qing Dynasty, Liyang produced nearly 200 jinshi (imperial scholars).
This is why the Chunhua Ge Tie, hailed as the "ancestor of calligraphy models," was preserved in Liyang. As China’s earliest compilation of master calligraphers’ works, the Yuan Dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu praised it: "The survival of calligraphy owes to this collection’s legacy."
In 1937, the smoke of the Anti-Japanese War also reached Liyang. To protect the "Chunhua Ge Tie" from being plundered by Japanese invaders, the Yu family in Piqiao, Liyang, embedded this set of stone carvings into a wall, smoothed the surface with lime, and piled debris over it.
It was no easy feat for this set of stone-carved calligraphy to survive to this day.
Liyang's efforts for the victory of the war went far beyond this. In 1939, the New Fourth Army established the Jiangnan Command in Shuixi Village, Qianma Town (now Zhuzhai Town), Liyang, to coordinate guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines by the New Fourth Army and local anti-Japanese forces.
Through the vicissitudes of time, the people of Liyang have preserved traditions and passed them on. As years passed, they also ushered in a new era amid this preservation and inheritance, in a land of green mountains and clear waters.
In the new era, Liyang has been quietly transforming.
In 1957, the people of Liyang decided to change the local situation of "water not being retained." Hundreds of thousands of Liyang residents, without the aid of large machinery, built the Shahe and Daxi reservoirs with their hands and shoulders.
In 1992, these two reservoirs were given a new name: Tianmu Lake Scenic Area.
Dubbed the "Pearl of Jiangnan," it has attracted countless tourists to Liyang. With a water area of about 320 square kilometers, Tianmu Lake is not only the top tourist destination in Liyang but also the drinking water source for its residents.
To the south of Tianmu Lake, near the border of Jiangsu and Anhui, lies the lush and expansive bamboo sea of Nanshan.
"Better to eat no meat than live without bamboo." With 35,000 acres of emerald bamboo, Liyang has become a tranquil retreat in the Yangtze River Delta.
To the northwest of Tianmu Lake, a different landscape unfolds—Colorful Caoshan.
The delicate pink of cherry blossoms, the verdant green of camellias, the fiery red of maples, the golden yellow of ginkgoes, paired with the subtle fragrance of osmanthus and the sweetness of bayberries, paint a leisurely rural scene.
Beyond these, attractions like Wawu Mountain, Changdang Lake, Pingqiao Stone Dam, and Yushui Hot Spring are scattered across Liyang.
In 2018, the completion of the 365-kilometer Liyang No. 1 Highway connected all these scenic spots.
Locals call it the "Rainbow Road," and cycling here on weekends has become a new trend in Liyang.
Amidst the mountains and waters, Liyang is never short of culinary delights. On Liyang's dining tables, there are the "Three Blacks and Three Whites." The Three Blacks are black sticky rice, matsutake mushrooms, and zha gan (wrapped liver), while the Three Whites are casserole fish head soup, white celery, and white tea.
In early summer, it is a tradition for Liyang people to eat black sticky rice, cooked with glutinous rice and black leaf juice, offering a fragrant and sticky texture.
When wild geese fly south, matsutake mushrooms quietly emerge under pine forests, their unassuming appearance hiding a delicious flavor.
A plate of savory Liyang zha gan is a unique local delicacy, evoking nostalgia for countless Liyang natives far from home.
The bighead carp from Tianmu Lake is used to make casserole fish head soup, which has a milky-white broth and tender fish meat.
Liyang employs unique cultivation techniques to make the stems and leaves of its white celery exceptionally tender, suitable for both meat and vegetable dishes.
Liyang white tea boasts a rich and fragrant flavor, offering a distinctive taste.
At dawn, under the mist, the tea gardens take on a hazy beauty.
Of course, Liyang is not just about scenic beauty and gourmet food—it is also an emerging hub for economic development.
In 2019, Liyang's GDP surpassed the 100-billion-yuan mark, making it one of the fastest-growing regions in Jiangsu Province. It was also listed among China's "Top 100 Industrial Counties (Cities)" and "Top 100 Innovative Counties (Cities)."
Jiangsu Zhongguancun High-Tech Zone chose Liyang as its base, ranking first in innovation-driven development in Jiangsu. New energy, power sources, energy conservation, environmental protection, biopharmaceuticals, and health care have become Liyang's new growth engines.
A thriving economy relies on well-developed transportation.
As a water town, Liyang is crisscrossed by canals like the Wutai Canal, Danjin Licao River, and Xilicao River, which were once the most familiar routes for locals.
The construction of highways brought faster travel.
Located in the heart of the Yangtze River Delta, five expressways, two national highways, and three provincial highways traverse Liyang.
The arrival of railways marked a qualitative leap.
In 2013, the Nanjing-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway began operation, with stops at Wawushan Station and Liyang Station.
Since then, Liyang has been fully integrated into the two-hour transportation network of the Yangtze River Delta.
Today, Liyang lies at the intersection of the Shanghai Metropolitan Circle, Nanjing Metropolitan Circle, and the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou Golden Triangle, positioning it as one of the most promising cities in the region.
The city's foundation lies in its millennia-old poetic lifestyle and cultural heritage, exemplified by Caoshan Future City, a flagship project by Global Sunac rooted in Liyang, the "green lung" of the Yangtze River Delta.
The project is master-planned with "one mountain, two lakes, and ten zones." Guixin Lake and Meiyin Lake adorn the landscape, recreating the bustling scenes of the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" painting. It features the largest cluster of lakeside and island homestays in the Yangtze River Delta, blending rustic charm with modern living.
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As Jiangsu's major leisure tourism project and Liyang's largest single tourism investment, Caoshan Future City integrates ancient bridge towns, an international convention center, a global hub, a hot spring town, five-star hotels, and an art center, combining industrial operations, tourism, ecological balance, and residential living.
Each island is a world; every step reveals a new vista.
With strong prospects in cutting-edge technology, new energy, and high-end manufacturing, Liyang has attracted the Yangtze River Delta Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Sino-UK Joint Innovation Center for Electric Vehicles, and the NUAA UAV Research Institute, paving the way to become a new smart economy city.
The construction of Liyang Tianmu Lake General Airport will make future travel to Liyang even more convenient.
The future Liyang is being developed with the goal of becoming a "park city." The successive construction of Jiaoweiqin Park, Bailongchi Park, Dingjiashan Park, and Xishanhe Park truly integrates mountains and waters into the urban landscape.
Nourished by the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake, and sheltered by Tianmu Mountain and Maoshan, Liyang strides toward the future.
Ancient dance steps carry over two thousand years of profound history, while youthful strides reveal a fresh visage of the new era.
Perhaps this is Liyang—a hidden "central garden" in the Yangtze River Delta, a scenic treasure awaiting discovery. Time has shaped its features, and now it blossoms anew in this era.
- CREATIVE TEAM -
Written by | Quasimodo by the River
Proofread by | Bookworm Cat & Gege
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[2] Liyang Yearbook Compilation Committee, editor. Liyang Yearbook [M]. Local Records Press, 2019.
[3] Liyang Municipal People's Government. 2020 Liyang Municipal Government Work Report. 2020.
[4] State Council. Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration Development Plan. 2016.
[5] Qi Tao, et al. Discovery and Significance of the Middle Eocene Mammal Fauna from Shanghuang, Liyang, Jiangsu [J]. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 1996.
[6] China Central Television. China's Local Records in Images: Liyang Chapter. 2020.