Wumu Pond

　　Wumu Pond is situated within the former Prime Minister’s Residence (now the Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital) on West Ring Road in the city center. It was the private garden of Zhang Ying and Zhang Tingyu, grand secretaries of the Qing Dynasty. The pond in the garden is named “Wumu Pond.” It is the only pond in the city, and the name “pond” is derived from the “garden.”

　　In the past, the “Wumu Garden” boasted small pavilions, lofty towers, winding railings, long corridors, clear water teeming with fat fish, fragrant lotus flowers, and lush willows, making it a unique gem among the city's gardens. To the west of the pond stands a Chinese honey locust tree with a circumference of 1.8 meters, a height of 17 meters, and a canopy covering an area of 45 square meters—it is the oldest tree in today’s “Wumu Garden.” By the pond sits a small building inscribed with the words “Willow Shade and Little Boat,” which was once the study of Zhang Lingyi, the third daughter of Zhang Ying in the early Qing Dynasty. She named her room “Bookworm Window.”

　　Xie Ju’an, a local resident of the Qing Dynasty, wrote in his poem “Enjoying the Cool at Wumu Garden”: “Seeking coolness, I arrive at the city corner; ten zhang of pond water holds half-zhang-long fish. Inside the gate are lotus flowers, outside the gate are willows—who lives in this place where the evening breeze is strongest?” At that time, although the Zhang family were officials, their garden still featured scenes of “melon sheds and bean trellises,” offering a distinct pastoral charm. Zhang Tinglu, the third son of Grand Secretary Zhang Ying and Vice Minister of Rites, once wrote the poem “At Wumu Garden”: “Withered leaves fall from the branches and weeds are trimmed; after many days behind closed doors, moss spreads. Autumn adds beans to the trellises and melons to the sheds, while people stay amidst orchid breezes and osmanthus rains. I love to gaze at the clear, jade-like water encircling emerald hues, and often face the distant blue mountains beyond the city. The long corridors and winding railings are incomparably serene, where elderly figures stroll with canes in hand.”

　　Today’s Wumu Pond has newly built fences around the pond, the Chinese honey locust tree remains lush and leafy, and traces of the garden’s former appearance can still be faintly discerned.