Zuiweng Pavilion 醉翁亭

About Zuiweng Pavilion

The present pavilion belongs to later rebuilding, surrounded by a wooded landscape that helps explain the essay’s appeal. Baosong Studio preserves a stele of the text in Su Shi’s calligraphy, while Tongle Garden adds other calligraphic versions. Reading the same work across these different settings makes the visit more substantial than a single photograph of the pavilion.

In the sixth year of the Qingli era (庆历) of the Northern Song, 1046, Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修) was demoted to serve as prefect of Chuzhou. He had taken 'Zuiweng,' or 'Old Drunkard,' as his own style name, which gave the pavilion its name, and he went on to write the Account of the Old Drunkard's Pavilion (醉翁亭记), source of the enduring line 'the drunkard's heart is not in the wine, but amid the mountains and streams.' The pavilion and the scenery of Langya Mountain became widely known as a result.

Zuiweng Pavilion is regarded as the foremost of China's Four Great Pavilions (中国四大名亭之首), a ranking also expressed by calling it the pavilion without equal under heaven (天下第一亭). It stands within the Langya Mountain Scenic Area (琅琊山风景名胜区), in the hills southwest of Chuzhou city.

What to look for

• The pavilion’s wooded setting associated with Ouyang Xiu’s essay.
• The Su Shi calligraphy stele in Baosong Studio and inscriptions in Tongle Garden.

Location & getting there

Getting to Zuiweng Pavilion

Enter Langya Mountain through the visitor approach on Langya Ancient Road, whose scenic-area address is No 30. Follow the signed route to Zuiweng Pavilion rather than aiming for an arbitrary point on the mountain.