Lai Qu Ge 🏯

📍 Address: Donggu Village Area, Qingyuan District, Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province

Historical Origins

Lai Qu Ge was originally constructed during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (1522–1566). It was once a private library and viewing pavilion for the prominent Luo family of Donggu, named to convey the idea of "those who come may wander, those who leave may reflect"—symbolizing the flowing legacy of culture and the soul’s return to nature. Damaged by war in the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt by family descendants during the Guangxu era and has been preserved to this day. It stands as one of the better-preserved examples of Ming and Qing private garden architecture in central Jiangxi.

Architectural Features

• Layout and Structure: Organized in three courtyards, the main pavilion is a two-story wooden structure with a gabled roof featuring upturned eaves and intricate carvings.
• Materials and Craftsmanship: Built using local cypress wood and blue bricks, with finely crafted mortise-and-tenon joints; the roof is covered with dark tiles, and Qing-era inscribed plaques hang beneath the eaves.
• Spatial Aesthetics: A meandering pond and small bridge face the pavilion, surrounded by several plum and bamboo trees. The garden layout emphasizes “borrowed scenery” and “hidden seclusion,” embodying the classical literati ideal of creating a vast world within a confined space.

Cultural and Heritage Significance

• Inside the pavilion are preserved handwritten copies of the Qing-era Donggu Luo Clan Genealogy and multiple calligraphic couplets, holding significant historical and documentary value.
• Three Ming Dynasty stone tablets embedded in the walls feature poetic inscriptions on local landscapes and scholarly sentiments, offering tangible evidence for studying southern Jiangxi regional culture.
• Listed as a Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 2013, and included in the 2021 expansion of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List under “Traditional Craftsmanship of Southern Chinese Garden Construction.”

Visitor Information

• Opening Hours: 9:00 – 17:00 daily (closed on Mondays)
• Admission: Free entry (requires advance reservation)
• Guided Tours: Bilingual Mandarin and Hakka commentary available (two sessions daily at 10:00 and 14:30)
• Recommended Visit Duration: 60–90 minutes
• Transportation: Approximately 18 km from Ji'an West Station; take bus line 308 to “Donggu Ancient City Stop,” then walk 10 minutes to reach the site.

🌿 Today’s Lai Qu Ge is more than an architectural relic—it is a frozen poem of the literary spirit. In the corridors of time, listen to history whisper, and dream of mountains and rivers.