Discover Ma'anshan: Li Bai and the Yangtze Landscape

Discover Ma'anshan through its Yangtze scenery and the stories surrounding the poet Li Bai. In the immediate area, Caishiji and Taibai Lou represent riverside scenery and literary history; further afield in the region, museums and cultural attractions add to the picture. This gives you a range of themes to consider separately when planning your trip.

Li Bai and cultural attractions further afield

Further afield in the region, Ma'anshan has developed five themed tourist routes. These include “Following Li Bai through Southern Anhui” and “In the Footsteps of the Immortal Poet”. Check which routes are available before your trip. A report from January 2024 also noted an annual programme in Ma'anshan featuring more than 20 non-profit cultural and tourism activities, including poetry collections, poetry readings and presentations of tourism offerings. Also described in January 2024 was a regular programme of free talks on Li Bai culture at public cultural institutions, in communities and at universities.

Festival figures also offer a historical glimpse of this cultural focus: by January 2024, Ma'anshan had held 17 editions of the Li Bai Outdoor Tourism Festival; the Li Bai Poetry Festival had reached its 35th edition by 9 January 2024. These are two separate event series: one focused on outdoor tourism, the other on poetry.

Caishiji, Taibai Lou and the Yangtze landscape

Caishiji, historically also known as Niuzhuji, lies southwest of Ma'anshan city on the Yangtze. Steep river cliffs, flowing water and distinctive rocks are among the features that have led Caishiji, together with Yanziji and Chenglingji, to be called the “Three Yangtze Jis”. The riverside scenery offers a different way to experience the region from Li Bai events and museums.

Taibai Lou is one of the cultural sites associated with Li Bai in the Caishiji area near Ma'anshan. It was first built during the Yuanhe era of the Tang dynasty (806–820) and was originally called Zhixian Lou. The building was repaired during the Song and Yuan periods, rebuilt in 1440 and 1657, later destroyed in war, and built again in 1877. Its history therefore spans several construction phases over many centuries.

In the Caishiji Cultural and Ecotourism Area, Yixian Garden draws on stories about Li Bai in Anhui, Dangtu and Caishi, and is designed in the style of a Jiangnan garden. The old town of Caishi adjoins the Caishiji area at its north gate. It lies south of Jiuhua West Road, north of the Suoxi River, east of Zhongshi Road and west of Caishi Binjiang Park. The renovated old town combines features of Tang culture and a historic battlefield with riverside scenery and the character of a water town.

Regular opera performances and intangible cultural heritage shows take place in the Caishiji area, according to a tourism report from 2020. The same report mentions 19 rest areas with shaded seating along the visitor route in the Caishiji Tourist Area. It also recommends a fish banquet featuring fish, shrimp and crab as a local dining option for visitors.

Museums and Three Kingdoms culture

Further afield in the region, the Ma'anshan City Museum offers a different perspective on history. It is classified as a National Second-Class Museum. A description from 2026 outlines five sections in its permanent exhibition: “Dawn of Civilization”, “Capital Region of the Six Dynasties”, “Outstanding Figures”, “Poetic City of Mountains and Water” and “Modern Civilization”. The themes range from early cultures and historical periods to notable figures and the present day.

Zhuran Cultural Park is a memorial park dedicated to Zhu Ran and the culture of the Three Kingdoms. Its main exhibits include a cultural plaza themed around the Three Kingdoms period, a large bronze sculpture of Zhu Ran, a large repoussé copper relief wall and stone reliefs based on Han dynasty designs. The Zhu Ran Family Tomb Museum preserves a Wu tomb from the Three Kingdoms period. Among the Wu tombs excavated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, it is considered particularly clearly attributed to an individual and of high status.

When choosing a holiday rental in Ma'anshan, consider the focus of your trip: would you like to concentrate on the Caishiji riverside landscape and the nearby history of Li Bai, or also include museums and cultural attractions elsewhere in the region?

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Huainan, Chuzhou, Tongling, Xuancheng, Hefei, Huaibei, Fuyang, Anqing.

For the main travel overview: Anhui.