The Memorial Hall For Mr. Yang Shen

Yang Shen (1488-1559), a prestigious litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, was born in Xindu of Sichuan Province. With the alias of “Yongxiu”, he styled himself “Sheng'an”.

In 1511, Yangshen became the No. 1 Scholar in the imperial examination and was assigned to work in the Imperial Academy. In 1526, he angered the emperor by commenting on court rituals and so was banished to Yongchang (nowadays Baoshan) in West Yunnan. During the last 35 years of his life, he lived in Yunnan and made trips to Kunming, Dali, Kaiyuan and Jianshui etc. He made surveys on the local history, wrote academic books, composed poems on mountains and rivers of Yunnan. After his death, his former residence at Gaoyao Village of Kunming was turned into a shrine for him. Now the shrine has been developed into a memorial hall.

The Memorial Hall for Yang Shen'an is situated near Gaoyao Village at the foot of the West Hill of Kunming. It comprises one hall, two side rooms and a gate tower. In the courtyard, one can see a citron tree that is said to be planted by Yang Shen'an himself. In 1981 the memorial hall was listed as a key protected historical and cultural site of Yunnan Province.  

Travel tips:
(1)-At the foot of the West Hill, 15km from downtown;
(2)-You can drop in when visiting the West Hill Forest Park;
(3)-Nearby: The West Hill Forest Park, Yunnan Nationalities Village.