The first thing you see at Qingliang Shan depends on what day you get there – if it’s a weekend, you find a bustling marketplace as soon as you pass the gates, all of which selling polished stones and carvings, ranging from a few centimetres big, to things you decorate the entrance to your restaurant or the foyer of your hotel with. Of course, none of them have pricetags, so this is hardcore haggleville, which, if you’ve been in China for more than ten minutes, you’ll know is a huge part of their culture.
In China, you can bargain for anything and everything that doesn’t have a barcode. On other days, an empty courtyard greets you here, but in either case, beyond this area is a surprisingly green hill, covered in trees, small bamboo forests, relaxing public park areas and, surprisingly again, art galleries. Not just that, but even an art school and what seems like a commercial design studio. This is all a rather artistically-honed area, all with the backdrop of nature. And as you explore the bush, it dawns on you that there’s quite a lot of it to explore – from roads designed for cars, to decades-old stone paths, to overgrown goat tracks. It really is good to have a stroll around this area and get at least vaguely lost in it if all you’ve seen lately has been concrete, glass and plastic. The area isn’t as quiet as, say, Ming Tombs, but that’s just because it isn’t as big. But it’s picturesque nonetheless, and the artistic slant throughout makes for an enjoyable afternoon.
The galleries are dedicated to a couple of (presumably) famous artists – Wei Zi Xi (???) and Li Jian Chen (???), both of whom are, curiously, from Henan province, not Jiangsu. These modest little galleries are humble yet quite beautiful, considering their surroundings. It has their biographies and photos from their history, but there’s no English to be seen here, so you need either decent Chinese or a guide if you want to read anything about them. These galleries are open from 8.30 to 4.30 (or until no-one is around). The only English in the place is on the occasional direction sign, but beware, these can be red herrings – on top of the hill there should be another art gallery and an orchid garden of some sort, but when you get to the top of the stairs you find someone’s little bush dwelling, with an awning so low you expect a hobbit to step out. So you kind of turn back… There’s also “Zhonghua strange stone gallery”, where you can buy decorative stones, ranging in price from 2,400 yuan to over a million. One of the latter is a magnificent whole polished trunk of fossilised tree, which is certainly worth seeing if that kind of thing interests you. If you happen to own a hotel that needs its foyer decked out, this gallery’s number is 8372 4839, and fairs are apparently held there regularly. And if, after all this peaceful walking and exploring isn’t enough for you, there’s another area – the Wu Long Tan scenic area (?????) only about twenty minutes’ walk from Qingling Shan, which is another scenic area, this one being centred around a lake. Just go out the main gate of Qingliang Shan, turn left, cross the road, and keep walking. You’ll find it. Entry to the park is free
