Xuanwu Lake Park
The Xuanwu Lake Park is situated at outside of the Xuanwu Gate, the ancient Nanjing City.
Because it lies beside the beautiful Xuanwu Lake, it becomes one of the best known scenery in Nanjing City.
With a circumference of 15 kilometers, the Xuanwu Lake sheltered by hills on three sides and surrounded by the city on another side. People called it "Sangbo" (Mulberry Lake) in the ancient times.
In the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, legend said that a black dragon had rolled and flown into the clouds from the lake and so it was renamed "Xuanwu Lake".
The Xuanwu Lake Park has picturesque scenery. Some little islets in the lake such as Liangzhou (Liang Islet), Lingzhou (Water Chestnut Islet), Cuizhou (Green Islet), Yingzhou (Cherry Islet) are link with the bank by bridges, each islet is distinctive.
The pavilions and towers form delightful contrast with the mountains and lakes. The waves in the lake are glistering, bright, and colorful. The scenery is different in the four seasons.
The trees in the park are unique. Because their heights are different, they are in different levels. Their color varies from season to season. Separated by the causeways and bridges, the lake looks like natural pictures when seen from one islet to another.
Walking along the lake, you can see different scenes, which cannot be taken in all at once. Seen from the lake, the ten-mile-long causeway seems like a beautiful green screen, in which you can see the partly hidden and partly visible bridge. Like a green chain, the causeway links the Zhongshan (Bell Mountain) and Cuizhou (Green Islet) and presents innumerable picturesque scenes.
The Xuanwu Lake Park is one of the biggest tourist zones in Nanjing City today. It not only has charming mountains and lakes but also abounds with rich legends. Therefore the saying goes, "If you tour Nanjing City without going to the Xuanwu Lake, it is as regretful as you tour Beijing City without going to the Summer Palace or tour Hangzhou without going to the West Lake".