A talent pool for the construction of "poetry road" is launched in Shengzhou, Zhejiang province on Oct 8. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Cities and counties in east Zhejiang province are determined to team up for the rejuvenation of poetry culture and announced to establish a talent pool of scholars in Shengzhou on Oct 8.

Over 1,000 years ago, renowned poets in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) including Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi roamed along the Shanxi river in the eastern area of Zhejiang and composed an array of poems depicting landscapes and expressed their emotions toward the area. The initial estimates suggest that 158 poets wrote 542 poems on east Zhejiang during the dynasty.

Zhejiang proposed the concept of "poetry road" referring to a 190-kilometer route along the river from Hangzhou to Taizhou with the aim of unearthing the cultural treasures in the province, connecting the cultural sites and promoting the combined development of culture and tourism.

In recent years, the government departments have been working on the construction of the "poetry road" by renovating ancient paths, publicizing little-known customs and folk culture, and integrating culture and tourism.

The newly established talent pool is expected to play an active role in platform building, policy interpretation, poetry research, cultural exchanges and academic discussion in the future.

A view of the Shanxi river [Photo provided by Shengzhou government]