🌊 Mingshui Ancient City · Former Residence of Li Qingzhao

“To live is to be a hero among men; to die is to be a mighty spirit among ghosts.”
——Mingshui, Jinan: the ancestral home of a literary master, a thousand-year-old spring of poetic soul and cultural resonance

📍 Basic Information

• Full Name: Mingshui Ancient City · Former Residence of Li Qingzhao (a core cultural component of the Qingshao Spring City · Mingshui Ancient City International Spring Tourism Resort)
• Detailed Address: No. 600-1, Zhanzhan Street, Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province
• Geographic Coordinates: 36°42′N, 117°33′E | Located in Mingshui Subdistrict, Zhangqiu District, along the Xiujiang River, within the heartland of the Hundred Springs Group
• Opening Hours: Open year-round | 08:30–21:00 daily (extended to 22:00 during night tour season)
• Reservation Method: Real-name booking via WeChat official account “Mingshui Ancient City Culture & Tourism” | Supports verification through Cultural Tourism One Card and Shandong Cultural Tourism Pass

🏯 Historical Origins: The Sentimental Memory of a Literary Soul

Li Qingzhao (1084–c. 1155), a distinguished female poet of the Song Dynasty and renowned as China’s greatest woman of letters, was born in Mingshui Town, Ji’nan Prefecture, Zhangqiu County (today’s Mingshui Subdistrict, Zhangqiu District, Jinan City). As documented in authoritative sources including The History of the Song Dynasty: Art and Literature Catalogue, Zhangqiu County Annals, Licheng County Annals, and the Li Family Genealogy (surviving in the Zhangqiu Museum, a Qing dynasty copy of the Li Family Genealogy from Guangxu period):

• Her father, Li GeFei, was a prominent scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty and one of the Four Disciples of Su Shi’s School; originally from Zhangqiu, he established his family residence in Mingshui;
• As a child, Li Qingzhao lived with her father in Mingshui, drawing water directly from the Hundred Springs, watching the emerald flow of the Xiujiang River, and listening to the clear, tinkling sound of the springs—this very experience inspired the name of her poetry collection, Shuyu Ci (“The Jade-Rinsing Lyrics”);
• Mingshui served as both her cradle of growth and spiritual homeland. Scholarly consensus identifies the “streamside pavilion” mentioned in her famous poem Rumeng Ling: “I drank so deeply I forgot my way home,” as an ancient pavilion site along the historic Xiujiang River in Mingshui.

⚠️ Important Note:

The Former Residence of Li Qingzhao is not a surviving original Song Dynasty structure (due to historical warfare and natural decay, no above-ground buildings from before the Ming Dynasty remain). Instead, it is a reconstructed cultural memorial courtyard, meticulously built based on the architectural standards of the Yingzao Fashi (Treatise on Architectural Methods), combined with local historical records and archaeological survey findings. Officially completed in 2021 as a flagship project of Phase One of the Mingshui Ancient City development.

🏛️ Architectural Layout: A Three-Dimensional Poem in Song Style

The entire complex follows the layout of a traditional Song Dynasty scholar’s residence, covering approximately 3,200 square meters, characterized by “one central axis, three courtyards, symmetrical wings, and water courtyards interwoven with architecture”:

Main Courtyard Structure

• Shuyu Spring Courtyard (Front Courtyard)
  • Features a reconstructed ancient spring well, Shuyu Spring, whose water is pure, sweet, and maintains a constant temperature of 18°C—sharing the same aquifer as the Hundred Springs
  • Along the spring’s edge stands a carved stone tablet inscribed with excerpts from Shuyu Ci, complemented by a Song-style arched bridge and a small pavilion overlooking the water
• Gui Lai Tang (Main Hall of the Middle Courtyard)
  • Named after the legendary “Gui Lai Tang” (Return-to-the-Home Hall) associated with Li Qingzhao and her husband Zhao Mingcheng, this hall replicates the gabled roof style of the Song Dynasty
  • Inside features a recreated scene of Postscript to Jinyi Lu: a scholar’s desk, bronze vessel rubbings, facsimile copies of the original Jinyi Lu in bound volumes, and wax figures of the couple engaged in scholarly editing
• Yi’an Studio (Back Courtyard Study)
  • A single-eaved, pointed-roof study housing Song-style furniture reproductions, a hand-copied scroll of Lun Ci (“Discourse on Poetry”), and window grilles adorned with plum blossom patterns
  • Adjacent to the studio lies the “Yi’an Poetry Path,” paved with blue bricks and embedded with 24 engraved stones bearing representative lyrics

Signature Spaces

• ✨ Deep Among Lotus Blossoms: Inspired by the line from Rumeng Ling, this area cultivates rare white lotuses native to Mingshui. In summer and autumn, fragrant breezes drift across the lotus ponds, accompanied by a Southern Song-style curved corridor and the “Crossing Pavilion”
• 🌿 Li Qingzhao Poetry Wall: A 30-meter-long copper relief wall, featuring scenes from twelve of her most celebrated poems—including Yijianmei and Shengshengman—interwoven with black pottery motifs from Zhangqiu’s Longshan culture
• 🏺 Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall (East Wing of the Residence):
  • Displays replicas of Song Dynasty ceramics, bronze mirrors, ink cakes, and other daily-use artifacts, authorized by the Zhangqiu Museum
  • Highlights include a high-resolution facsimile of the Ming Dynasty Li Family Genealogy fragment, a photocopy of the entry on Li Qingzhao from the Annals of Zhangqiu County (Qing Qianlong era), and a photocopied manuscript of Collected Annotations on Li Qingzhao’s Works by modern scholar Wang Zhongwen

📜 Cultural Significance: A Living Sanctuary of Female Literary Heritage

• China’s first immersive humanities-themed scenic area centered on the life journey of Li Qingzhao, breaking away from conventional static exhibitions;
• Deeply embodies the integrated conservation philosophy of archaeological site preservation + textual research + intangible cultural heritage revitalization:
  • Collaborated with the Shandong Provincial Institute of Archaeology to conduct surveys of Song-Yuan settlements in Mingshui, confirming the exact footprint of the former residence site;
  • Partnered with the School of Literature at Shandong University to establish the “Li Qingzhao Poetry Research Base,” developing the curriculum series Tracing the Poetic Heart;
  • Hosts resident intangible cultural heritage programs: selections from the Zhangqiu Bangzi opera Yi’an Ci, Lu embroidery depicting Shuyu Tu (The Shuyu Picture), and guqin recitations of Zuihuayin (Drunk under Flowers);
• Recognized as a Key Project of Shandong Province’s First Batch of Excellent Traditional Chinese Cultural Inheritance and Development Initiatives (Document No. Lu Xuan Fa [2022] 15) and a core exhibition site within Jinan’s “Spring City Cultural Ecological Protection Zone.”

🎫 Traveler’s Guide

🚇 Transportation Options

🍽️ Recommended Cultural Experiences

• ☕ Shuyu Teahouse: Authentic Song Dynasty tea ceremony experience | Using water drawn from Mingshui springs to brew “Xiujiang Yunwu” green tea produced locally in Zhangqiu
• 📜 Lyric Calligraphy Workshop: Handcraft gold-leaf paper, print woodblock prints of Rumeng Ling, and create personalized lyric title seals
• 🌙 Night Tour Highlights: “Moonlight Over Shuyu” light show (two performances nightly at 19:30 and 20:30), guqin poetry recitals, and the immersive performance Yi’an Night Banquet (reservation required)

💡 Practical Tips

• Flash photography is prohibited inside the residence when photographing artifacts and painted ancient architecture;
• Free multilingual audio guides available in Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean—scan QR code to access;
• Every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM, “Li Qingzhao Lecture Series” hosted by professors from Shandong University on Song Dynasty literature and women’s writing;
• Facilities include barrier-free pathways, nursing rooms, and a limited-time open observatory for ancient book restoration demonstrations.

🌟 Closing Reflection:
Mingshui Ancient City · Former Residence of Li Qingzhao is more than just bricks and tiles—it is the living springhead of a thousand-year literary tradition.
Step into this place, and the cobblestones beneath your feet are the same paths she once walked in youth; the water you lift in your hands once reflected her quiet sorrow and unyielding spirit.
Here, the brilliance of a Song Dynasty woman’s mind continues to shine, timeless and crystal-clear.