Northern Song Dynasty Hualin Academy - history lost in the wilderness.

If you don't have a deep understanding of the history and geography of Jiangxi, it's almost impossible to know about these ruins hidden in the mountains at the border of Fengxin and Gao'an. However, over 1,000 years ago, this was one of the famous Four Academies of Jiangnan - Hualin Academy. Hualin Academy was originally a private school of the Hu family, and later developed into Hualin School. In 984 AD, Hu Zhongyao, an educator of the Northern Song Dynasty and the chief secretary of the Imperial College, expanded it into Hualin Academy. Hualin Academy has trained a large number of talents for the Song Dynasty court. During the Song Dynasty, the Hu family of Hualin produced 55 Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), and many of them became prefects, secretaries, and prime ministers. Emperor Zhenzong of Song wrote a poem: "Three prefects from one family, five secretaries from four generations. No other family has this, only the Hu family." Moreover, the Hu family of Hualin also valued women's traditions in the construction of the academy, creating the first precedent in the history of Chinese education for enrolling female students. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the Hu family of Hualin began to move down the mountain, and the academy was changed to a Taoist temple. Now only the ruins and two dead ancient trees over a thousand years old remain, slowly disappearing into the dust of history. Only the two stone lions standing in front of the archway seem to be telling people about the prosperous years of the past. 📍Attraction address: Hualin Academy 🚗Transportation strategy: There are no other options except driving and following the navigation 💗Other tips: Be careful of snakes and mosquitoes when going up the mountain in summer, and beware of thunderstorms