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”
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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
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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.’”
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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 |
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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 |
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> 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.