Weishan Island

　　    You must have seen the movie "Railway Guerrillas" and can hum a few lines of "The sun is setting in the west, Weishan Lake is quiet and still." If you actually find yourself at Weishan Lake, standing on Weishan Island, it’s guaranteed to offer you a unique charm, a renewed sense of adventure, and a fresh wave of awe.

　　Weishan Island, located in the southeastern part of Weishan Lake in Weishan County, Jining City, Shandong Province, is the largest inland island in northern China. The island stretches 5 kilometers from east to west and 2.5 kilometers from north to south, covering an area of 9 square kilometers (equivalent to twice the size of — and four times that of Yongxing Island, the largest island in the South China Sea region). It boasts abundant natural and cultural landscapes. During the War of Resistance, the famous story of the Railway Guerrillas took place here. The song "The sun is setting in the west, Weishan Lake is quiet and still" has made Weishan Island renowned both in China and abroad.

　　Weishan Island is the largest island on Weishan Lake. Legend has it that long ago, a golden phoenix once landed on the main peak of the island. From then on, the island enjoyed favorable weather and bumper harvests, while the lake teemed with fish and produced gold worth a bushel every sunrise. One day, a group of martial artists from off the island came to seize the golden phoenix. The locals were no match, and just as the phoenix was being caged, the cage suddenly burst into flames. With a flash of its golden wings, the phoenix soared into the clouds. It left behind a golden egg, which sank into the mountain. Soon after, torrential rains poured down, and the floodwaters raged like beasts, threatening to engulf the island. The islanders prayed in the rain, and the golden phoenix appeared, transforming the sunken golden egg into a golden boat and a child-faced, fish-bodied deity in the rain. The deity piloted the golden boat, which controlled the island's rise and fall with the tides. From then on, Weishan Island rose with the water and was forever protected from flooding. This beautiful legend may have been a way for ancestors to comfort those who feared the island would sink. But it also helped establish the theory that Weishan Island was formed by the repeated subsidence of high mountains.
　　Weishan Island was originally a mountain, not an island. Between approximately 800 million and 600 million years ago, the collision of the North China Block and the Yangtze Block, which form the main body of mainland China, gave rise to numerous large and small mountains, including Weishan Island. At that time, the mountains stood tall and majestic. However, with the shifts in the Earth’s crust, these towering peaks gradually sank along the junction of the two blocks, creating a remarkable sight—ninety-nine cone-shaped peaks. Over thousands or even millions of years, like a stoic figure, these ninety-nine peaks were shaped by nature and sculpted by history. From the year 1194 during the Song Dynasty’s Shaosheng era to the end of the Ming Dynasty, over a span of 400 years, the Yellow River repeatedly breached its banks and shifted southward, redirecting the Si River to flow into the Huai and then the sea. This caused the Si River to become blocked, leading to stagnant waters and sediment accumulation, which eventually turned the area around the ninety-nine peaks into lakes and marshes. After many cycles of rising, sinking, and erosion, the peaks became hill-like landforms. Thus, the name "Weishan Island" came into being.
　　Surrounded by water on all sides, Weishan Island is 6 kilometers long and 3.5 kilometers wide, covering an area of about 9 square kilometers. Fourteen villages are scattered around the island, hugging the shore. Over centuries of erosion, Weishan Island now resembles, from afar, a camel plodding through waves—as if it had wandered in from the desert at some unknown time.
　　Upon stepping onto the island, the first thing that catches your eye is the "Tomb of the Three Sages," perched high on a mountain peak in the western part of the island. These three ancient tombs are shrouded in three enduring mysteries.
　　Located at the highest point on the island in the northwest—the site of the tomb of Prince Weizi, who was given the nickname "Phoenix Terrace" by locals because the golden phoenix once landed there. Weizi was the half-brother of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty and was originally enfeoffed in the area of Wei (now northwest of Liangshan), hence his title. After the Duke of Zhou quelled the rebellion of King Zhou’s son, Wu Geng, he enfeoffed Weizi in the State of Song (now Shangqiu, Henan) to continue the lineage of the Yin Dynasty. Shangqiu is more than 400 li (about 200 kilometers) from Weishan Island, separated by mountains and rivers, with inconvenient transport. So why is Weizi buried here?
　　About 2 kilometers from the tomb of Weizi, on the eastern peak of Weishan Island, lies the tomb of Mu Yi. Mu Yi, also known as Ziyu, was the seventeenth-generation descendant of Weizi and the half-brother of Duke Xiang of Song, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. He was a renowned military strategist in ancient times, and his strategic thinking can be glimpsed in the well-known "Ziyu’s Discourse on Warfare." His date of death, place of death, and burial site are rarely recorded in historical texts. Mu Yi, accustomed to life on the battlefield, was buried on Weishan Island, a veritable paradise. This, too, remains a mystery.
　　About 1 kilometer south of the tomb of Weizi lies the tomb of Zhang Liang, the largest of the three. In front of the tomb stands a stone tablet erected in the second year of the Qianlong reign, inscribed with "Tomb of Han’s Marquis of Liu, Zhang Liang." The original "Transparent Stele" and "Pine Embracing Locust Tree" in front of the tomb were two of Weishan Island’s wonders. Folklore says that Zhang Liang built 108 tombs overnight to prevent grave robbers from desecrating his remains. In truth, there are indeed multiple sites attributed to Zhang Liang. Whether Zhang Liang is truly buried here remains an unresolved mystery.
　　Climbing up to Phoenix Terrace and standing atop the mountain peak, you can gaze in all directions, taking in the distant mountains and nearby waters. Ever-changing scenes unfold before your eyes: at dawn, the lake surface glimmers with golden light, dotted with white sails; at sunset, as night falls, the lake becomes as still as silk, with only the twinkling lights of fishing boats visible. In early spring, the lake water is crystal clear, and fishing boats glide across what looks like silver silk; in midsummer, hundreds of thousands of acres of lotus flowers blush crimson under the sun, filling the air with their fragrant aroma; in autumn, reeds and wild rice turn golden, water birds chirp, fishermen sing at dusk, and the lake is alive with the harvest of lotus roots and water chestnuts; in winter, the vast lake becomes a pristine world of glass, occasionally seeing small boats fitted with ice skates gliding across the ice, either hunting ducks or ice-fishing. The ever-changing lake is mysterious and enchanting, making it hard to leave. Viewing the lake from the mountain peak is indeed captivating, but paddling a small boat into the emerald waves is even more magical. You can also travel 20 kilometers westward to explore the past on the water and the secrets beneath it, seeking out the submerged ancient city. This sunken city is called Liucheng, the fiefdom of Han Dynasty’s Zhang Liang. Historical records state that Liucheng was once the political, economic, and cultural center of southern Shandong, bustling with markets, buildings, wealthy merchants, and celebrities. Until before the Tang Dynasty, it remained prosperous. Later, it was submerged due to Yellow River floods. But there is a magical folk tale about Liucheng’s disappearance: Zhang Liang, attached to his fiefdom and its people, instructed his descendants before his death to bury him on Weishan Island with a simple ceremony—but to quickly build seven large boats. On the seventh day after his burial, when the memorial ceremony was held, the boats were to be ready at the tomb. His descendants and fellow villagers were puzzled—why build boats in a landlocked plain? They figured Zhang Liang, being a strategist, must have had a plan. So they quickly built the boats. On the sixth day after Zhang Liang’s burial, a miracle occurred: sudden torrential rains caused the Yellow River to breach, with raging muddy waters and roaring floodwaters sweeping through Liucheng. Zhang Liang’s descendants and some residents survived on the seven boats. Then, sixty years after Liucheng was submerged, people claimed to see the ancient city reappear on the waters: the markets, carts, and people in ancient attire. Legend says some night fishermen even sailed into the glowing ancient city and drank with the ancients. Since then, the "Once-in-Sixty-Years Appearance of Liucheng" has become a well-known tale on the island. The world-famous Penglai fairyland appears only a few times a year, but ancient Liucheng emerges once every sixty years—making it far rarer. Witnessing such a sight would be a rare fortune.
　　For thousands of years, Weishan Island has attracted countless poets and scholars with its cluster of temples, the misty ancient tomb area, and the mysterious re-emergence of Liucheng, drawing them together to ponder the past and express lofty aspirations. But today, Weishan Island is even more renowned as the cradle of the Railway Guerrillas and for its brand-new charm.
　　Weishan Island was once a revolutionary stronghold, a steel fortress and the birthplace of revolutionary forces such as the Railway Guerrillas, the Weihu Brigade, and the Canal Detachment. The island’s people cleverly used fishing hook formations and duck gun squads to assist the main forces in fighting the enemy. In July 1941, the famous Battle of Weishan Island wiped out hundreds of Japanese and puppet troops, making the enemy fear the island like a tiger and retreat at the mere mention of it. Weishan Island is an island of heroes. Its people are heroic, having composed moving and tragic epics of national liberation with their lives and blood.
　　After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the people of Weishan Island upheld the traditional virtues of simplicity, diligence, kindness, bravery, and resilience passed down through generations, using their own hard work and wisdom to build their homeland. Especially after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the islanders finally cast off the yoke of poverty that had plagued them for years. The transformation of Weishan Island is unbelievable: seven 70-meter-high iron towers stretch across the lake, bringing power and light to the island. The island’s winding paths have been replaced by wide roads, with 30 kilometers of ring roads and mountain paths built. Where there were once single-wheel cart tracks, tourist vehicles now travel in convoys. Restoration of the three ancient tombs is well underway. Locust trees and young cypresses dot the cemetery grounds, pavilions and halls feature intricate carvings and painted beams. The entrance to Weizi’s tomb is a 5-meter-high stone gate, with a 320-step platform built along the mountain slope, complemented by reception rooms, exhibition halls, and stele pavilions. The entire complex is magnificent. The three historical figures resting on the island would likely be pleased with the choice of their burial sites. Most excitingly, while developing tourism, Weishan Island has focused on economic growth. The island has returned 4,000 acres of farmland to forests and orchards, planting over 120,000 new trees including apples, walnuts, hawthorns, and grapes, and establishing rural enterprises such as fruit and food processing plants, net-making factories, and feed mills. The lifestyle of "rising with the sun and resting at sunset" is long gone. At dawn, as the sun rises, the islanders are already out, returning with full loads bathed in morning light; at nightfall, laughter rings out from households accompanied by music from radios and TVs, while the lake shores and hills echo with the soft sounds of flutes and zithers played by the youth. Weishan Island strides forward with the rhythm of the times. The turtle mountain, once seen as a bringer of fortune, and the revered golden boat and child deity, have faded into the fragrance of fine wine. People can only glimpse the Weishan Island of yesterday through its quaint villages and refined local customs.