Memorial Hall of Wang Dao and Xie An

Situated in the Wuyi Lane on the southern bank of the Qinhuai River, The poem "Wuyi Lane" by Liu Yuxi, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, refers to this area.

It is a theme-oriented memorial hall displaying culture and art of the Six Dynasties the family history of Wang Dao and Xie An. Exhibiting precious cultural relics of the Six Dynasties, the hall includes Laiyan Hall and Jianjin Tower, etc.

This venue was the barrack of imperial guards of the Eastern Wu with Nanjing as its capital. Since soldiers stationed here wore black clothes at that time, this lane was then named as Wuyi Lane, which means ‘the lane of black clothes’. Now, there is still a Wuyi well in the lane. In the period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wuyi Lane was featured by lots of deluxe houses as it was the residential area for officials and nobilities of the imperial court. Wang Dao and Xie An, representatives of two prestigious families in the Six Dynasties, lived here.

Liu Yuxi, a noted poet of the Tang Dynasty, once came her for a visit, having written a noted poem lasting for centuries: “By Zhuque Bridge, wild flowers are spreading; At the very end of Wuyi Alley, the sun is setting; Swallows skimming by painted eaves in bygone days fly into houses of common folks.”