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Chinese Name: 瘦西湖
English Name: Slender West Lake; Shou Xi Hu; Baozhang Lake
Location: Yangzhou, Jiangsu
Type: Ancient culture and art
Rating Level: AAAAA (5A)
Website: http://www.shouxihu.net/
Brief Introduction
Slender West Lake, formerly known as Baozhang Lake 保障湖, is located in the northwest suburb of Yangzhou City 扬州, Jiangsu Province 江苏省, with a total area of 2000 mu, 700 mu on water, and 100 hectares of the tourist area.
Slender West Lake formed a basic pattern in the Kangqian period of the Qing Dynasty 清朝, and is reputed as “the most prosperous garden in the world”. The Slender West Lake is mainly divided into 14 scenic spots, including Wuting Bridge 五亭桥, Twenty-four Bridge 二十四桥, Lotus Pond 荷花池, Diaoyutai 钓鱼台, etc.
In 1988, Slender West Lake was listed by the State Council as “a national key scenic spot with important historical and cultural heritage and Yangzhou garden characteristics”. In 2010, it was awarded the National AAAAA Tourist Attraction. In 2014, as one of the heritage sites of the “China Grand Canal”, the Slender West Lake was included in the World Cultural Heritage List. In November 2021, Slender West Lake Scenic Area will be listed in the first batch of national civilized tourism demonstration units.
What are worth visiting and seeing？
History of the lake
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong 乾隆 of the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou’s salt industry flourished. Due to the long age of the Slender West Lake and the siltation of the lake center, salt merchants paid for dredging and built many pavilions on the east and west banks.
Slender West Lake is a banded landscape composed of cities and towns in Sui 隋朝, Tang 唐朝, Five Dynasties 五代, Song 宋朝, Yuan 元朝, Ming 明朝, Qing 清朝, and other different times, and always maintains an interactive relationship with the Grand Canal.
After the 20th year of Jiaqing 嘉庆 in the Qing Dynasty (1815), Yangzhou’s salt industry declined, and the gardens on the lake gradually became desolate. Slender West Lake went through war and was dilapidated during the Taiping Rebellion 太平天国. During the reign of Guangxu 光绪, the Wuting Bridge and Xiaojinshan 小金山 were restored.
In the spring of 1980, in order to welcome the return of the statue of Jianzhen 鉴真, the national treasure of Japan, the Municipal Revolutionary Committee launched the unit to raise funds, organize rural farmers to comprehensively dredge the riverbed about 4 kilometers below the foot of Daming Temple Mountain 大明寺山 in the western section of Beicheng River 北城河, and broaden the lake surface from Lianhua Bridge 莲花桥 to Xichuntai 熙春台, with 62000 cubic meters of soil excavated. Later, scenic spots such as the Twenty fourth Bridge, Xichun Terrace, and Rolling Stone Cave 卷石洞天 were restored.
Attractions
The dike is more than 600 meters long, with three steps and one peach, five steps, and one willow. In March, spring flowers are colorful, and willows dance gracefully and fly like smoke. It is said that Yang Guangwei 杨广为, Emperor of the Sui Dynasty 隋朝, went to Yangzhou and ordered the excavation of the Nanbei Grand Canal. After the river was excavated, Yu Shiji 虞世基, a scholar in the Imperial Academy, suggested planting willows on both sides of the river to shade and protect the dam. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty planted a willow tree and gave it the surname “Yang”. Later, people called the willow “Yang Liu”.
The main lake area of Slender West Lake can be seen in the Xiaojinshan Scenic Area 小金山. Go through Xuyuan to Xiaojinshan. Xiaojinshan is the largest island in the Slender West Lake and the most densely built place on the lake. The Wind Pavilion, the Blowing Table, the Qin Room 琴室, the Muxi Library 木樨书屋, the Chess Room, and the Moon View are all concentrated here.
The Five Pavilion Bridge 五亭桥 was built in 1757, the 22nd year of Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, in imitation of the Five Dragon Pavilion and the Seventeen Arch Bridge 十七孔桥 in Beihai, Beijing. The architectural style has both the southern style and the northern style. On the night of the Mid Autumn Festival 中秋节, you can feel the beautiful scenery of clear waves and moon shadows.
Spring Watching Tower 望春楼 is a building opposite the exquisite flower boundary 玲珑花界 across the lake. It is the style of Jiangnan gardens, and its scale belongs to Xichun Terrace. The south and north of the lower floor of the Wangchun Building are respectively the Water Court 水院 and the Mountain Court 山庭, introducing the landscape into the room. If you remove the doors and windows upstairs, you will become a terrace. It is a good place to enjoy the moon in the Mid Autumn Festival.
