Place de l'Eau d'automne

Qiushui Square is a riverside public plaza on the Honggutan side of the Gan River, built as the centerpiece of Nanchang's modern west-bank promenade and positioned directly across the water from Tengwang Pavilion on the opposite shore. The square takes its name from the most famous line of the "Preface to the Tengwang Pavilion" — "the autumn waters and the boundless sky share a single hue" — and it was designed to give residents and visitors a formal open space from which to take in the very view that the Tang poet Wang Bo described more than thirteen hundred years ago.

The signature feature of the square is its large musical fountain, which performs choreographed water displays set to music and lighting in the evenings. When the fountains are running, jets of water rise and fall in patterns synchronized to a soundtrack of classical and popular pieces, and the spray catches the colored lights rigged around the basin, drawing crowds of local families and out-of-town visitors who gather along the railings to watch. Between shows, the square functions as a wide, open promenade where visitors stroll, photograph the riverside, and look across at the illuminated profile of Tengwang Pavilion, which is lit up after dark and reflected in the river.

For foreign visitors, Qiushui Square is one of the easiest and most pleasant evening destinations in Nanchang. It requires no admission fee, it sits within walking distance of the Honggutan hotels and the Star of Nanchang Ferris wheel, and it offers a genuine piece of contemporary Chinese urban life — the kind of public-space socializing that defines how local residents actually use their city. Arriving around sunset allows time to watch the light change over the river and the historic pavilion before the fountain show begins, and the square pairs naturally with dinner at one of the nearby restaurants. As a low-effort, reliably atmospheric end to a day of sightseeing, it is among the better free experiences the city offers.