Xunyang Tower Historic Waterfront

The historic Yangtze ferry crossing area of Xunyang in Jiujiang, where classical poets, merchants, and officials departed and arrived for over a millennium, now a cultural heritage waterfront with restored Ming-Qing streetscape.

The Xunyang Ancient Ferry (Xúnyáng Gǔdù) refers to the historic landing area on the Yangtze River in Jiujiang, a city that was known as Xunyang through much of Chinese history. For over a thousand years this was one of the principal crossing points and transhipment nodes on the middle Yangtze, connecting the river traffic flowing from Sichuan and Hubei to the commercial networks of Jiangxi, Anhui, and the Jiangnan delta.

The surrounding neighbourhood has been partially restored and pedestrianised to recreate the appearance of a Ming–Qing-era waterfront trading district. The restored streets include traditional teahouses, wine shops, and craft stalls set in grey-brick buildings with overhanging upper floors characteristic of Jiangxi vernacular architecture. Several buildings along the restored strip display exhibitions on the history of Yangtze river trade, porcelain transport (Jingdezhen's kilns fed much of their output through Jiujiang), and the tea trade of the 19th century.

The Xunyang waterfront area is associated with Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi, who wrote the 'Ballad of the Pipa' here during his period of exile in Jiujiang from 815 to 819 CE. A pavilion commemorating the poem and its famous opening — 'I dismounted from my horse and was about to embark when I heard in the night the sound of a pipa' — stands near the old ferry landing.

The area functions as a living entertainment district in the evenings, with outdoor performances, lantern displays, and riverside restaurants active until late.