Cloud Bone Wonder | Ancient Quarry Ruins | Misty Painting Scenery | Nostalgia in Lu Xun’s Writings | A Model of Jiangnan Gardens

As a traveler who once rowed on Jian Lake and listened to the wind while reading poetry beneath the Cloud Bone Tower, I write for you — “Ke Yan Scenic Area Travel Guide | Step into the ‘Best Scenery in Yue,’ and reunite with the poetry of Jiangnan between the millennia-old stone Buddha and the shadows of black-awning boats”--- > “It’s not by West Lake, yet it has misty painting scenery; > It’s not near famous mountains or rivers, yet it’s repeatedly praised by Tang and Song poets; > This is **Ke Yan Scenic Area** — > a Jiangnan garden grown out of stone, > a living scroll integrating **stone culture, water town charm, and literati spirit**, > and the most touching page in Shaoxing, the ‘museum without walls.’”--- Ke Yan - ✅ Location: Ke Yan Street, Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province - ✅ Core Components: **Ke Yan + Jian Lake + Lu Town** (three scenic spots combined ticket) - ✅ History: Quarrying began in the Han Dynasty, flourished in Tang and Song Dynasties, continuing for over 1800 years - ✅ Best Tags: **Cloud Bone Wonder | Ancient Quarry Ruins | Black-Awning Boat Shadows | Nostalgia in Lu Xun’s Writings | Model of Jiangnan Gardens** This is a cultural landscape park “born of stone, inspired by water, and famed for literature” — featuring both geological marvels crafted by nature and the everyday charm of bridges and flowing water.--- Three Core Scenic Areas 1. 【Ke Yan · Cloud Bone and Stone Buddha】 Key Highlights: - **Cloud Bone**: A cone-shaped limestone peak over 30 meters tall, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, resembling a solidified cloud, hailed as “the number one stone under heaven” - **Stone Buddha at Great Buddha Temple**: A Maitreya Buddha statue carved into the mountain during the Sui Dynasty, 10.6 meters tall, with a kind face, weathered by a thousand years of wind and rain - **Seven Star Rock**: Seven giant stones arranged irregularly, symbolizing the Big Dipper, known among locals as the “stone that calms wind and water” --- 2. 【Jian Lake · Waterborne Black-Awning Gallery】 - Known as the “Mother River of Shaoxing,” with clear water and weeping willows lining both banks - You can ride traditional **black-awning boats** weaving through bridge arches and reed beds - Boatmen are mostly local farmers, singing snippets of Yue opera while rowing --- 3. 【Lu Town · Lu Xun’s Hometown in Literature】 - A folk town recreated based on Lu Xun’s novels like “Blessing,” “Kong Yiji,” and “The Play” - Includes scenes such as Xianheng Hotel, Zhao Mansion, Tugu Shrine, and a theater stage - Daily scheduled performances of dramas like “The True Story of Ah Q” and “Kong Yiji Drinking” - Shopkeepers often say: “Visiting Shaoxing without going to Lu Town is like reading Lu Xun without reading ‘Call to Arms.’” --- Special Experiences | Five Irreplaceable Jiangnan Moments 1. 【Ride a Real Black-Awning Boat】 - Unlike sightseeing boats in city canals, these black-awning boats are still manually propelled with bamboo poles - The boats are lightweight, seating only five or six people, easily navigating narrow water alleys --- 2. 【Take a Photoshoot “Pretending to Be in an Ancient Painting”】 - Use Cloud Bone, stone bridges, black-awning boats, and dark green river water as your backdrop - Recommended attire: Hanfu, plain long skirts, oil-paper umbrellas, bamboo hats --- 3. 【Join a “Time-Travel” Cultural Class】 - The scenic area regularly hosts: - “Study Tour of Lu Town with Textbooks” - “Black-Awning Boat Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience Camp” - “Calligraphy Rubbing Workshop” (learn rubbing techniques beside stone steles) - Suitable for families with children --- 4. 【Drink a Cup of Authentic Shaoxing Yellow Wine】 - Recommended spots: Lu Town’s “Xianheng Hotel” or a teahouse by Jian Lake - Must-try orders: - **Warm a pot of Huadiao wine** (slightly warm, fragrant) - **Pair with a plate of fennel beans** (recite “Is it too much? Not at all”) - **Taste a piece of braised pork with preserved vegetables** (savory and perfect with wine) --- 5. 【Stop by Other Shaoxing Highlights on the Way】 **Lu Xun’s Hometown** | Baicao Garden, Sanwei Study, original residence | about 20 minutes by car || **Shen Garden** | Witness to the love of Lu You and Tang Wan, birthplace of “Chaitou Feng” | about 15 minutes by car || **East Lake** | Another quarry site with cliffs and black-awning boats | about 30 minutes by car | --- Food Recommendations | The Taste of Shaoxing on Your Tongue | **Shaoxing Stinky Tofu** | Crispy outside, tender inside, smells pungent but tastes delicious, a must-try snack || **Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables** | Pork belly steamed with preserved vegetables, rich but not greasy || **Fennel Beans** | Broad beans slow-cooked with cinnamon and star anise, increasingly fragrant with every chew || **Drunken Chicken** | Chicken marinated in yellow wine, strong wine aroma, a great cold dish || **Fermented Fish** | Small fish fermented in rice lees, uniquely flavored | --- > When you are at Jian Lake at dusk, > watching the last black-awning boat glide past the reflection of Cloud Bone, > the whole world quiets down to only the sound of oars splashing, > at that moment, > you know — > this is not an ordinary scenic area, > it is a millennium love letter written by a city with stone and flowing water, > it is what we are willing to leave the noise behind for, > just to exchange for > that one second of walking gently alongside Jiangnan.--- May you stand beneath Cloud Bone one morning, listening to the wind passing through the cracks in the rock, and at that moment, you finally understand: poetry is nothing more than — our willingness to step into a landscape carved by time, just to gain that instant of peace when our hearts beat in rhythm with the literary pulse. Ke Yan is silent, yet speaks the language of a thousand years. Amid the folds of eastern Zhejiang, there is a place that moves hearts not by noise, but by cultural depth.