PROBABLY no other poet has been as inspired by the city of Yangzhou as renowned Li Bai, who visited five times in his life.

But Li's first visit ended in disappointment, though not in the city. It was AD 727, and the man who would become the Poet Sage was then 26 years old, young and restless. He was amazed by the vibrant city, one of the world's most prosperous places in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) - so entranced that squandered all his money on wine, women and song.

Li was known for his love of drinking, as well as poems in praise of wine, and was among the Chinese scholars known as the "eight immortals of the wine cup."

During his later stay in Yangzhou he created the poem "Ascending the Qiling Pagoda One Autumn Day" as well as the famous "A Farewell to Meng Haoran on His Way to Yangzhou:"

At Yellow Crane Pavilion in the west

My old friend bids farewell;

In the mist and flowers of March

He goes down to Yangzhou;

Lonely sail, distant shadow,

Vanish in blue emptiness;

All I see is the great river

Flowing into the far horizon.

The poem catapulted Yangzhou to fame in China and the world at that time.

I was attracted by "the mist and flowers of March" - March here refers to the third month in the lunar calendar, which is April in the solar calendar, and the best time to visit. So I made my fourth visit to this city in Jiangsu Province.

I skipped well-known Slender West Lake, Shuangdong Block and Geyuan Garden. This time I went to the Songjiacheng (Middle City of the Song Dynasty) Relics Park, which opened at the Yangzhou Trade and Tourism Festival.

It runs through May 31.

Historical records show that Yangzhou had three sections in the Song Dynasty (960-1279): the Main City, Baoyou City and the Middle City.

As the name implies, Songjiacheng used to be the middle military stronghold between the main city and the fortress itself.

Four gray-brick city walls rise high in the park, exactly as they did hundreds of years ago. Greenery and water shield the 50-hectare area north of Slender West Lake.

The flowing waters in the Songjiacheng, also a wetland park, will soon be connected with the Grand Canal as they once were.

The fortified Middle City is especially important for military study of that period since no civilians were allowed to live there, and the artifacts are virtually all military. Huge ancient weaponry is displaced, even towering armored vehicles. It's mind-blowing.

I stared at a large and tall box-like wooden structure, 3 meters high, 4 meters long and 2 meters wide. It contains window slits through which soldiers shot arrows, and three holes on either side housed three sets of wheels.

Peace of mind

"This is the ancient 'armored vehicle,' with the body made of wood instead of iron or steel," says a museum employee. "Don't dismiss it - this blocked incoming enemy arrows and soldiers fired through the little windows."

Leaving the Songjiacheng site, I was still preoccupied by imagined raging battles I'd seen in blockbusters - my nerves needed rest.

"Check out the Buddhism museum, and you will find peace of mind and heart," recommended a local friend.

When I first arrived at the Yangzhou Buddhist Culture Museum, I was disappointed. From the outside it looks like another ordinary temple.

I passed through a voile entry curtain woven with the character Ning (tranquility) in a floral pattern.

Once inside, I was stunned. It is a world apart.

This newly opened Yangzhou Buddhist Culture Museum, so far China's biggest museum of its kind, is a combination of the magnificent Tianning and Chongning temples, among Yangzhou's top eight temples in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).