Meishan Travel Guide

Meishan is one of major cities in Sichuan Province with almost 3 million citizens. It is 60km south of the provincial capital Chengdu. It consists of Meishan city and four townships: Qingsheng, Hongya, Danlin and Reshou. It is probably most known by Chinese as the hometown of literary giant Su Dongpo and his family who lived in 11th century. For Su’s great contribution to Chinese literature, Meishan is known as the City of Literature. Together with his father Su Xun, his younger brother Su Zhe, the Su family is listed as members of The Great Eight Literati of Tang & Song Dynasties. Only eight people from that period of time were remembered as great literati, and 3 of them are from Meishan. On top of that, Meishan is the centre of publication in ancient China for its unique woodblock printing technique developed during Song Dynasty (around 10th century AD). With such rich history, Meishan is not in short supply of relics and historic sites. Apart from shrine dedicated to Su’s family, there are building dating back to Sui and Tang Dynasty in Hongya County. The Qingsheng County is believed to be the birth place of Chanchong, the legendary king of the mystic Shu Kingdom. Mountain Wawu has a long history of Taoism. The district of Pengshan is considered the place of longevity with its tales of Pengzhu, a saint figure in Taoism said to be the god of longevity. Also in Pengshan, tombs from Eastern Han Dynasty were unearthed.

● Top things to do in Meishan

● San su ci (temple for the Su’s) is a shrine built on the site of formal residence of great literate family of Su Shi (Su Dongpo), Su Xun and Su Zhe. This garden/shrine mixture is styled in traditional Sichuan typed architecture with bent terrace, pavilions, towers and carved couplets of words, sentences and aphorisms from Su’s family. It is a poetic and holly place for literati and a good educational and recreational site for common visitors, especially youngsters.

● Wawushan hiking. Wawushan, (Mt. Wawu) sits by the side of famous Mt.Emei, is a less known mountain to the outside world. The peak of Mt. Wawu is a flat, table mountain covering 1km2 of area. The mountain sits as the backdrop of tranquil old town of Liujiang. Locals and people from Chengdu see it as a nice summer retreat for its cool, fresh air and idyllic mountain views.

● Heilongtan (black dragon pool) is a popular retreat for city dwellers in Chengdu and surrounding towns. Heilongtan is a big reservoir built in 1970s outside of Meishan. It contains 360,000,000 cubic meters of water and covers and area of 24km2. More than 80 islands, big and small, dotted over the tranquil water. An InterContinental Hotel was built by the shore of water, with facilities fitted for a weekend tour for families.   

● About 100km away from downtown Meishan, Yuping Terrace sits at the foot of Mountain Yuping. Like other terrace landscapes in China, when seen from a vantage point, the Yuping terrace has clear layers and is surrounded by green mountains. A river runs through the terrace, with few farmhouses dotted on the landscape, constituted a picturesque country view.

● Liujiang old town is 35km southwest of Hongya County, Meishan City. This is a 800 year old town with history dating back to 11th century during Song Dynasty. The remaining buildings visitors see today are mostly from Ming and Qing Dynasties.

● Meishan Food&Drinks

The dish visitors must try is the hugely famous Dong po zou zi, essentially a stewed pork shank with spice which as legend put it, a creation by Su Dongpo himself. Unlike the German version pork shank Schweinshaxe, Dong po zou zi requires a long stewing process to make sure the meat, tendon and skin are soft enough to a point that it almost melt in your mouth. And of course, been a Sichuan specialty, this dish is often dressed with sauce to give it a spicy and chilly taste.

Crispy deep fried duck is another delicacy in Pengshan district of Meishan City. It is a simple yet very delicious dish. Duck meat was marinated with salt and various spice before putting into boiling oil pot. After few minutes, ducks were taken out and chopped into small pieces. It can be served hot and cold, or consumed by snacks. Tea is popular drinks in Meishan and much of south Sichuan province. Tea plantations are not rare in this place. Green tea and jasmine tea are produced in large quantities.

● Meishan Transportation

Two major international airports in Chengdu are in equal distance to Meishan City. Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) and Tianfu International Airport (TFU) are about 50km from Meishan. Meishan is also on the Chengdu-Leshan high speed railway route. By bullet train, Meishan is about 20mins to the City of Leshan, and 30mins to Chengdu. Chengdu-Leshan Expressway runs through the Meishan region. Driving from Chengdu to Meishan takes about 1.5 hours.                                                     

● Meishan Weather

Meishan, like most cities in Chengdu plain, has a wet, subtropical climate with distinct four seasons. More than 50% of its total area is covered by forests, 9% of land surface are rivers or lakes. Spring and autumn is relatively short, hot and humid summer and cold winter is relatively longer.