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Chinese Name: 月湖
English Name: Moon Lake; Yue Hu
Location: Ningbo, Zhejiang
Type: Ancient culture and art
Rating Level: AAAAA (5A)
Brief Introduction
Moon Lake, also known as the West Lake, is located southwest of the urban area of Ningbo City 宁波. It was built in the Zhenguan 贞观 Period of the Tang Dynasty 唐朝. It is a famous scenic spot in the urban area of Ningbo. The lake is long and narrow and covers an area of about 0.2 square kilometers.
In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Yuehu was built into ten continents. During the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty 南宋, pavilions and towers were widely built, and seasonal flowers and trees were planted everywhere, forming the ten continents on Moon Lake.
Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Yuehu has been the academic center of eastern Zhejiang 浙江 and a place where scholars and writers gather for a rest. He Zhizhang 贺知章, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Anshi 王安石, a famous official of the Northern Song Dynasty, Shi Hao 史浩, a prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, Yang Jian 杨简, a famous scholar of the Song Dynasty, and Wan Sitong 万斯同, a great historian of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, all left an indelible mark on the Moon Lake.
Moreover, in ancient times, Moon Lake covered an area of about 1160 meters from north to south, 130 meters from east to west, and more than 2430 meters around. On Tingzhou Island and its surrounding land, there are deep cultural accumulations, which constitute many splendid traditional cultures.
What are worth visiting and seeing？
Architectures
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, Ningbo has been decorated in large numbers, and its people have been at their peak. Scholars and scholars have stayed by Moon Lake. Since the founding of Lin’an 临安 (Hangzhou), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, Mingzhou 明州 (Ningbo) has become an important town in the southeast. After Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, most of the local officials in the Ming Dynasty were high-ranking waitresses and even princes. During this period, many Ningbo people served as prime ministers, ministers, and other dignitaries, most of whom lived in Yuehu. So Moon Lake is famous for its quiet scenery in eastern Zhejiang.
The Clothing Museum 服装博物馆 is located in the Yuehu Scenic Area in the city center and was founded in October 1998. It is a large-scale clothing museum with the theme of displaying Chinese clothing culture and history. It is also the first clothing museum in China. The museum shows the track of growth and development of Ningbo Hongbang tailors in the past two centuries.
The site of the Korean Embassy 高丽使馆遗址 is located in Baokui Lane on the east bank of Moon Lake It is the historical witness of Ningbo Port’s foreign exchanges and friendly exchanges between China and Korea in the past. In 1074, Ningbo began to receive Korean envoys. In 1117, according to the will of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, the Taizhou Building in Mingzhou set up “Gaoli Si 高丽司” in Mingzhou to manage the relevant government affairs with Gaoli, and created a national welcoming hotel – Gaoli Embassy on the east bank of Moon Lake.
The Korean Embassy was the residence where Ming Zhou received Korean envoys during the Northern Song Dynasty, the historical witness of the friendly exchanges between the Chinese Mainland and the Korean Peninsula, and an important cultural relic of the political and commercial exchanges between Ningbo’s “Maritime Silk Road” and other foreign ports.
Buddhist Forest 佛教居士林 is located on Liuting Island 柳汀州 of Moon Lake Cultural Scenic Area. The halls in the forest are majestic, carved beams and painted buildings, simple and elegant, solemn and clean. The rippling exquisite eaves of “Water Cloud Pavilion 水云亭” form a delightful landscape. The Buddhist monks’ forest is an activity place where Buddhist monks learn doctrine, develop wisdom, carry forward doctrine, and purify body and mind.
Features of the Scenic Area
Yuehu Scenic Area is located in the southwest corner of the old city of Ningbo, with an area of 96.7 hectares, including 9 hectares of water. It is the most important historical and cultural protection area in Ningbo. The development of Moon Lake began in the Tang Dynasty.
Moon Lake used to be a good place for the old families of the Ming Dynasty to live. The literati gathered here, retired and lived in seclusion, and read and lectured. The famous West Lake Lou family and famous scholars have all settled here or lived here to give lectures.
Quan Zuwang 全祖望once wrote a beautiful chapter, “The Language of the Lake 湖语”, recording the millennium civilization of Yuehu, which is amazing.
