Wangjiang Tower Park

Wangjiang Tower Park is located on the bank of Jinjiang River, in the eastern suburbs of Chengdu. The Wangjiang Tower is the greatest building in the park. The 30 meters high tower was uniquely designed, the upper two stories of it are octagonal in shape while the lower two are square. Green tiles and a gilded steeple ball on the octagonal roof, the tower looks extremely splendid.
Wangjiang Tower, also called Chongli (grand and beautiful in Chese) Tower, was built in 1889. It is renowned because the famous poet, Xue Tao (768-831), once lived here. Legend has it that the sponsor wanted the building to conform to fengshui to enhance literate luck. It was only after the tower was completed that the sponsor revealed in two poems that his true motivation was to honor Xue Tao. Xue Tao was born in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Since in the past women lacked social status, the story of Xue Tao is all the more fascinating. She once had a hard life, eventually becoming a singer. But she was versatile and beautiful. History records that she wrote 500 poems and that her contemporaries greatly admired her.
The park is also famous for its bamboos. Because Xue Tao loved bamboo, which she regarded as a symbol of modesty and self-control, over 150 kinds of bamboos from China, Japan and South-East Asia grow here in her honor. Xue Tao is not only a poet but also an inventer. Nearby is a well, said to be the place where Xue Tao drew water to dye her writing paper. Superior to the yellow and coarse paper used at that time, her Xue Tao Paper was colorful and delicate. The white marble statue of Xue Tao deep in the bamboos is poetry in stone. Visitors can enjoy tea made from Xue Tao Well water, read poems and couplets left by celebrities, and become intoxicated by the surrounding atmosphere.
There are also many other memorial buildings full of Sichuan-style gardens feature, such as Yinshi (poems-chanting) Building, Wuyunxian (five fairy clouds) Hall, Quanxiang (fragrance of spring) Pavilion, Pipa (loquat) Alley, Qingwan (refreshing and pretty) House, and Huanjian (paper-washing) Pavilion and so on. They are all elegantly arranged.