Three Kingdoms City

Three Kingdoms City Pictures

Located in the southwest suburb of Wuxi City is the Three Kingdoms City, which is one of the CCTV Television Bases, and a renowned tourist attraction. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical TV series, was filmed there. The title, Three Kingdoms, refer to Wei (220-265), Shu (221-263) and Wu (229-280) which were the three rival powers during the period of Three Kingdoms.

Covering an area of about 35 hectares (86 acres), the Three Kingdoms City is a Han Dynasty (206BC-220) style structure. In order to film the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a series of buildings were needed to be built there. These include the King of Wu's Palace, the Ganlu Temple, the Caocao's Army Camp on Land and Waterside, the Seven Star Altar and the Stunt Performing Court for Big Fire at Red Cliffs. These buildings have all become celebrated tourist spots.

On each side of the gate to the King of Wu's Palace stand two Quelou Towers, each 21 meters (69 feet) high and in the Han Dynasty symbolized official status. The towers are the highest structure in the city. In the palace, the furnishings are in black, which symbolize richness, honor and happiness in the Han Dynasty. There also, Liu Bei, the King of Shu married Sun Shangxiang who was the sister of Sun Quan, the King of Wu.

The Ganlu Temple is located south of the King of Wu's Palace. The temple comprises the Buddhist Hall, the Drum Tower, the Brick Pagoda and the Sword Testing Stone. In the Buddhist Hall is enshrined Sakyamuni. To the right is the Chanting Hall and on the left is the Meeting Room. There Dowager Wu (Sun Shangxiang's mother) met her daughter's future husband - Liu Bei. Also there Sun Quan and Liu Bei chopped the stone and made their wishes to defeat Caocao's Army.

The Caocao's Army Camp on Land and Waterside consists of the Mustering Platform, the Outer Gate of the Army Camp, Four Watchtowers and some warships. It is about 300 meters (984 feet) long from east to west and 100 meters (328 feet) from north to south. The scenes of Caocao Composing a Poem when Wielding Spear and the Burning of the Red Cliffs in the TV series the Romance of the Three Kingdoms were shot there. When standing on the Mustering Platform, tourists have a panoramic view of the entire camp.

The Seven Star Altar in the Three Kingdoms City is where Zhuge Liang prayed for procuring the southeast wind. The altar is built like a pyramid. At the center of the altar is engraved the fish patterns which symbolize Yin and Yang (the two opposing principles in nature) and around these are painted the Eight Diagrams.

At the Stunt Performing Court for Big Fire at Red Cliffs, tourists can appreciate magnificent scenes of burning the Red Cliffs. All of the warships, soldiers and barracks are minature models. Through remote control and electropneumatic control, the vivid warring scenes are presented to the visitors. Here tourists are able to get a clear understanding of the special cinematic technology.

Other tourist spots within the city include the Peach Garden - where Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei swore to be blood brothers, the Arena, the Eight Diagrams Formation and the Horse Race Course. At the Arena, performances of Han Dynasty bullfighting and equestrianism are held. Covering an area of 2,600 square meters (0.6 acre), the Eight Diagrams Formation is formed by 13,000 wooden pegs which are five centimeters (0.1 feet) in diameter. When exploring this formation, tourists will feel like they are entering a maze. In the Horse Race Course, Three Heroes (Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei) Dueling Lv Bu is performed at ten everyday. Visitors are also able to wear the uniforms and enjoy themselves by participating in the performance.

A film scene shot in the city

A film is shot

After visiting those attractions, it is good to have a bath at Shatanhu Bathhouse or have a drink at Sun Shangxiang's Pub. In addtion, the Water Margins City and City of Tang Dynasty that are located not far from the Three Kingdoms City are also worth a visit.
 

Admission Fee:	CNY 90 CNY 150 for a combo ticket (including Three Kingdoms City and Water Margins City)
Bus Route:	Take bus no.82 from Wuxi Railway Station and get off at Sanguocheng Station.  The no. 82 bus can be found at the Dongguangchang (East Square) Bus Station located near the South Square of the railway station.