228 years ago, the longest reigning emperor in Chinese history (63 years) embarked on a trip: starting from Beijing, go down south along the Grand Canal, visit Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) and tour Yangzhou. This emperor is one of the most well-known emperors in Chinese history: Emperor Qianlong. Moreover, this trip, which took place 228 years ago, was already his sixth visit to Yangzhou.

Emperor Qianlong

At this juncture, we may ponder this question: The era back then is very different from ours today. With no high-speed railway, plane or automobile, why did this longest reigning emperor decide to visit Yangzhou six times?

Did he have a strong desire to try Yangzhou’s morning tea, enjoy Yangzhou’s “skin wraps water” (i.e. stuffed soupy bun), choose a stunning piece of jade, or meet local beauties? The answer to these guesses is no. Emperor Qianlong was above all, a politician, followed by a tourist. In my opinion, the purpose of his visit was to solidify his rule over the empire.

Emperor Qianlong could well enjoy the best Yangzhou in Beijing: morning tea, a comfortable bath, and “Jade mountain of King Yu combating flood”, a jade piece so rare and magnificent that was termed “The King of Jade”. There is one thing about Yangzhou that he could not have full control of from Beijing: Its stability and destiny.

Ancient Yangzhou

At that time, there were only 10 cities across the world that had population size exceeding 500,000. Yangzhou was one of them. In addition, the wealthiest group of Chinese people – salt merchants – all gathered in Yangzhou. Qianlong government’s salt merchant management agency, Lianghuai Salt Transport Office, was also situated in Yangzhou.

According to relevant historical records, the wealth of the salt merchants was comparable to that of Qianlong’s government. Although these salt merchants had hardly any political standing, they held on to the key economic artery of the empire: salt.

It was precisely because these wealthy salt merchants had no political standing that they contributed a total of more than six million silver during Emperor Qianlong’s six visits to Yangzhou. Back then, the annual revenue from Qianlong’s government was only 50 million silver. In addition to silver, the salt merchants built four palaces and countless gardens for him.

Let’s go back to Emperor Qianlong: after receiving these silver, palaces and gardens, he went on to assign the salt merchants government positions (with no real power) and lowered their taxes. As a result, everyone was satisfied; the salt merchants received their long-desired political standing, and Emperor Qianlong won support from the salt merchants, who controlled the economic artery of his empire.

Yangzhou section of Grand Canal

The lifeblood of the empire was not only the salt merchants, but also the Yellow River, the Grand Canal and the Huaihe River. Qianlong went south along the Grand Canal, and during his visits to Yangzhou, he repaired parts of the Grand Canal and Huaihe River. This enabled agricultural production to be more stable and the army to travel faster from Beijing to Jiangnan.

In addition, to lead the empire to more prosperity, Emperor Qianlong hired talented scholars in Jiangnan to manage his empire.

Besides being a politician, Emperor Qianlong was also a tourist. Therefore, in addition to dealing with the relationship between the government and business, the admission of talents, the construction of embankments, and the maintenance of stability of the empire, Emperor Qianlong also led an extravagant lifestyle during his tour in Yangzhou: enjoying Yangzhou cuisine, touring Yangzhou gardens, seeing Yangzhou opera, and meeting Yangzhou beauties.

Wuting Bridge on the slender West Lake

Emperor Qianlong's entertainment in Yangzhou provided ample opportunities for local businessmen to reap benefits. Yangzhou restaurant culture, drama art, garden construction, as a result, have flourished and made tremendous progress. The Wuting Bridge, Xichun Platform and White Pagoda in the Slender West Lake that we see today were built to receive Emperor Qianlong. My favorite Yangzhou Fried Rice was made famous because of Emperor Qianlong.

Emperor Qianlong's southern tour made Yangzhou's economy more robust and its culture more fascinating. How time flies! 200 years passed. The scene of Yangzhou’s prosperity during Emperor Qianlong’s six visits was long gone. But I still wish to visit every piece of ancient relics left behind in Yangzhou, to feel the glamourous culture of the Grand Canal, to talk about beautiful scenery and delicious food with Yangzhou residents who worked hard and created all this.

The pictures from this article are retrieved from the internet.

Chinese：

大家好!我们之前聊到过扬州慢节奏的生活、扬州水一样的性格。我相信很多朋友对扬州充满了好奇，甚至想去扬州游玩一番，看看我在文中写的扬州是否存在。

然而，早在228年前，中国历史上掌权最久（63年）的皇帝决定：从北京出发，沿京杭大运河南下，巡江南、游扬州。这位皇帝在中国有一个家喻户晓的称号：乾隆。而且，这已经是乾隆皇帝第六次游扬州了。

这时，一个巨大的问题出现在我们眼前：在那个没有高铁、飞机、汽车的年代里，这个中国掌权最久的皇帝，为什么要六游扬州？

难道他也是为了尝尝扬州早茶、享受扬州“水包皮”，或者是挑选扬州的美玉、约扬州的美人？很显然不是。乾隆首先是个政治家，其次才是个游客。所以在我看来，乾隆来扬州，是为了把属于他的帝国版图，更牢固地掌握在自己手里。

乾隆皇帝在北京可以拥有世上最好吃的扬州早茶；可以泡到最舒适的澡；也可以把玩“玉器之王”《大禹治水图玉山》。但唯有扬州城内的王朝命脉，他不能在北京稳稳地握住。

当时全世界人口超过50万的城市只有10个，扬州就是其中一个。而且当时中国最有钱的富豪——盐商集团，都聚集在扬州。乾隆政府管理盐商的机构——两淮盐运使司公署，也设立在扬州城。

据相关史料记载，这群富豪手里的银子和乾隆政府里的相差不多。因为，盐商这群没有任何政治地位的老百姓，手里握着整个王朝的经济命脉——盐。

正是由于盐商们有钱但没有政治地位，所以乾隆皇帝来了六次扬州，合计收到盐商赠送的六百多万量银子。当时乾隆政府一年的收入才五千万两银子。当然，盐商们除了给乾隆送钱，还为他修建了4座宫殿，园林无数。

我们再看乾隆，他收了盐商富豪们的金钱、宫殿、园林后，便给这些盐商没有实权的官职，减轻政府对他们的赋税。于是，皆大欢喜，盐商们也获得他们极其渴望的政治地位。乾隆也得到了，掌握帝国经济命脉的盐商们的民心。

帝国的命脉不止是盐商，还有黄河、京杭大运河、淮河。乾隆沿京杭大运河南下，尤其是在扬州巡游期间，修理了京杭大运河、淮河等。这让农业生产更加稳定，也让军队可以更快速地从北京出发直达江南。

此外，为了让帝国取得更繁荣的发展，乾隆在巡游期间，把江南地区有才学的文人纳为己用，利用他们去管理这个帝国。

乾隆除了是个政治家，同时也是个游客。所以，除了处理好官商关系、收纳人才、修筑河堤、维系帝国的稳定，乾隆皇帝在巡游扬州期间，还进行各种高档次、奢华消费——吃正宗扬州菜、游正宗扬州园林、看正宗扬州戏、与扬州美女约会。

乾隆在扬州的吃喝玩乐，给当地商人们提供了无数赚钱的机会。扬州的餐饮文化、戏剧艺术、园林建设都得到了巨大发展。当下扬州瘦西湖上的五亭桥、熙春台、白塔是因乾隆巡游扬州而建。还有我喜欢吃的扬州炒饭也是因乾隆而声名远扬。

乾隆皇帝南巡，让扬州经济取得更加蓬勃的发展，也让扬州文化变得更加迷人。转眼间，200多年过去，乾隆六游扬州的繁盛情景早已烟消云散。但是我依然渴望走遍扬州每一片古人留下的遗迹；去感受因京杭大运河而繁华的魅力文化；去与辛勤创造这一切的扬州人，聊聊美景与美食。