Longhu Scenic Area

　　Huaiyang Longhu is situated in the hinterland of the Huang-Huai Plain, spanning 4.4 kilometers east-west and 2.5 kilometers north-south, with a 14-kilometer embankment enclosing an area of 11 square kilometers (16,483 mu), including over 8,000 mu of water surface. Its grandeur and scale put even Hangzhou’s West Lake and Wuhan’s East Lake to shame. The lake embraces the ancient city, while the ancient city stands majestically within the waters—a city in a lake and a lake within a city, hailed as an inland wonder and a pearl of the Central Plains.

　　Spanning tens of thousands of mu, Longhu is a picturesque expanse of shimmering blue waters, golden ripples, willow branches draping the shores, gulls and egrets playing along the beaches, lush reeds and cattails, and blooming lotuses vying for beauty. The scenery is enchanting and delightful. “By that marshy shore, grow reeds and lotus blooms… By that marshy shore, grow reeds and mugwort… By that marshy shore, grow reeds and water lilies.” The romantic rendezvous of the lovers described in the *Book of Songs*, specifically the *Songs of Chen*, took place right by this ancient and mystical lakeshore.

　　Su Shi, the great literary master of the Song Dynasty, was captivated by the magical beauty of the vast lake. In his poem *Responding to Ziyu’s Verses on Willow Lake*, he wrote: “Only Willow Lake’s myriad willows, / With shade and sun, share dawn and dusk with you… At dawn I admire their proud green defying the cold, / At night I love their sparse shadows swaying o’er the clear pond. / Wind scatters snowy catkins in spring’s wild dance, / Autumn brings crisp rustles through the woods… Each season shows its own charm, / While shedding leaves in chill stirs sorrow and awe…” These verses

　　not only express the eminent scholar’s deep admiration for the vast Longhu but also vividly depict the lake’s natural splendor from various perspectives—sunshine and clouds, morning and evening, wind and snow, and the changing seasons. If you visit in early spring when the chill is just beginning to fade, you’ll see flocks of wild ducks and gulls playing on the newly thawed waters, sometimes diving under, sometimes popping up, sometimes taking flight and vanishing into the pale blue mist. It’s as if you’ve stepped into the poetic scene of “ducks knowing first when spring warms the river.” In the scorching heat of midsummer, the lake is largely covered with layers upon layers of lotus leaves, dotted with large, splendid blossoms nestled among them. Some are pink as rouge, others white as jade—like graceful maidens standing tall and charming without a trace of makeup. Occasionally, you might hear fishermen shouting “Heave-ho!” or the silvery laughter of lotus-picking girls. This is the very realm of “In the south one may gather lotus blooms, / Where the leaves spread wide and lush” and “Gathering lotus blooms in the southern pool / In autumn, when the blossoms tower above one’s head.” In late autumn, the reeds grow deep, the rushes stand tall, and with the autumn breeze, the fluttering reed catkins drift like snow. If you can row a small boat, cutting through the waves into the hidden depths of the reeds, and listen quietly to the soft, melodious songs of the girls fishing in the distance, you’ll truly grasp how the scene in the *Book of Songs*—“Reeds grow thick, white dew turns to frost; / The one I seek is on the other side of the water”—can be so wistfully enchanting. In the bitter cold of winter, if you stroll the lakeside after a fresh snowfall, you’ll see the frozen expanse of the lake and the silver-clad weeping willows along the shore. “Ten thousand branches hang like silver threads,” “The water’s surface freshly polished as an autumn mirror”—a scene of northern winter’s ice-bound splendor that’s nothing short of poetic.

　　Huaiyang Longhu is also “a palace of historical and cultural heritage.” Numerous scenic spots and historic sites are scattered like dazzling pearls along the lakeshore and within the lake itself. In the lake lie the Painting Hexagram Terrace, White Turtle Pool, String-Singing Terrace, Si Cheng Zhenzi Pavilion, the ancient city of Chen and Chu, and Su Zhe’s Study Terrace. Along the lakeshore are the majestic and grand ancient architectural complex of Taihao Fuxi’s Mausoleum, the towering tomb mound of Cao Zhi, and China’s earliest ancient city site, Pingliangtai. In days gone by, pleasure boats and painted barges cruised through these waters,

　　literati composed poetry and fished here, writing glorious pages of history for ancient Chen-Huaiyang and leaving behind a trail of beautiful legends. It is precisely in this ancient and mystical birthplace of Huaxia culture and the scenic lakeside land of Longdu that sages, scholars throughout the dynasties, and descendants of the dragon from around the world have found inspiration and awe. Huaiyang Longhu was formed by the alluvial deposits of the Yellow River. For thousands of years, Huaiyang has suffered repeated floods. Each time the yellow waters invaded the city, thousands were mobilized to build embankments. When the floods receded, the silt they carried settled outside the city walls. Over time, the land beyond the dikes grew higher, while the land within gradually sank, forming depressions that filled with water and eventually became the lake. Aside from vast expanses of reeds and lotus roots, the lake also supports floating plants such as gorgon fruit, water bamboo, water chestnuts, duckweed, water caltrops, and water hyacinths. The waters teem with fish and shrimp—including carp, black carp, silver carp, crucian carp, eels, catfish, shrimp, and crabs—offering an extraordinarily rich aquatic resource.

　　Huaiyang Longhu is a naturally formed marvel, a major natural landscape of the Central Plains. To leverage the lake’s resource advantages and boost the rapid development of Huaiyang’s tourism and trade hub, in the spring of 1996, the people of Huaiyang sounded the clarion call for developing Longhu. One hundred thousand workers joined the effort, developing 2,000 mu of water surface in the West Willow Lake area, restoring former scenic spots such as Wangtai Misty Rain, Suting Lotus Boat, and Jiulong Mountain, while constructing new attractions like Jiulong Playing in Water, Zigzag Bridge, Plum Blossom Pavilion, swimming areas, and other tourism facilities. On the north and south shores of the lake, magnificent structures were built, including Chenzhou Commercial City, Longhu Commercial Street, a large parking lot, and a cruise dock. Thousands of pine trees, weeping willows, and flowering plants were planted along the lakeshore, and a seven-li-long stone-paved lakeside road was laid out, integrating the West Willow Lake Scenic Area with Taihao Fuxi’s Mausoleum into a cohesive whole. Upon opening, it immediately attracted large numbers of domestic and international tourists. In 1997, then Vice Premier [name redacted] visited Huaiyang, toured Longhu and Taihao’s Mausoleum, and joyfully inscribed the words “Home of Emperor Xi.”

　　Longhu Scenic Area