Jizhou District 吉州区

What to see

Bailuzhou Academy (白鹭洲书院) stands on Bailuzhou, a sandbank in the Gan whose name comes from a line by Li Bai. Jiang Wanli (江万里), prefect of Jizhou, founded it in 1241 and taught there himself, and in the Song it trained Wen Tianxiang (文天祥), Liu Chenweng (刘辰翁) and others. The Fengyue Tower (风月楼), Yunzhang Pavilion (云章阁) and student lodgings that survive date from a rebuilding in 1863, while the Egret Pool (鹭池) at the centre of the island was dug in the Wanli reign of the Ming. The academy became a middle school in 1903 and was listed as a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level in 2013.

The Luling County School (庐陵县学), first built in the Qingli reign of the Northern Song, was restored and opened as a reading academy on 6 February 2024, with more than 30,000 books, including a section on Luling culture. In the Shuixiang–Nengren Lane historic block (水巷·能仁巷历史街区), the Xiangshan reading room, a branch of the district library, displays intangible-heritage handicrafts such as Luling lacquer (庐陵大漆) and leaf-pattern tea bowls (木叶盏). The district library itself is in Bailuzhou Park.

Getting oriented

The district's shopping streets include Wenshan Pedestrian Street (文山步行街), west of Yanjiang Road and east of People's Square, Yangming Pedestrian Street (阳明步行街) on Yangming East Road and Dingtai Pedestrian Street (鼎泰步行街) on Luzhou East Road.

Highlights

• Bailuzhou Academy 白鹭洲书院: Founded 1241 on a sandbank in the Gan; trained Wen Tianxiang; national-level protected site since 2013.
• Luling County School 庐陵县学: Northern Song county school, restored and opened in 2024 as a reading academy.
• Shuixiang–Nengren Lane historic block 水巷·能仁巷历史街区: Historic block with a library reading room displaying Luling lacquer and leaf-pattern tea bowls.