Jiangsu - Shouxi Lake

    Shouxi Lake (Slender West Lake) is situated in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Comparing to the West Lake of Hangzhou, it has a slender and elegant characteristic of its own, hence it is called Shouxi Lake. Starting from Gudu Bridge at south city gate, the Slender West Lake flows around Xiaojinshan (little gold hill) up to the foot of Tangshugang Ridge of Pingshan Hill. Its southeast part links Shi River and City Moat through to the Grand Canal. Five odd kilometers in length, the Lake looks just like a mountains and waters painting scroll, which contains not only natural scenery, but also unique Yangzhou gardens style, being one of the famous spots in China.
    Five Pagoda Bridge, located on the shore of Shouxi Lake, has its unique architecture in whole, the proportion of which is appropriate, combining skillfully the elegant taste with exquisiteness. The bridge has five pagodas with one in the middle and four at the four corners, which are linked each other by corridors. The middle one has heavy eaves with four sharp cornices while the wing pagodas have single eaves with pagoda broach and four warped cornices. The inner design of the pagoda loft is gallant. The bridge foundation was made by twelve big and small piers built of green stone, with 15 arched spans joined each other, 55 m in total length. Looking from outside the bridge, there emerges different scenery beyond every span there, each time when the moon is full in the cloudless night, every arched span contains a moon, bearing specially poetic charm.
    Xiaojinshan is located in the middle of Shouxi Lake. Surrounded by water from all sides, hills and gardens are all on the mid-lake islet, presenting an architectural complex of gardens at the foot of hill and beside lake water. Pavillion is built on the top of the hill with pines and cypresses planted on the slope. On the foot of the eastern part of the hill, there is a Guihua Hall within lattice wall, which is linked with a parlour facing east and looking out on water. Inside the parlour, there hangs antithetical couplet written by the painter and calligrapher, Zheng Banqiao of the Qing Dynasty:" When moon comes, the whole ground is full of water, while cloud gathers, mountains are all over the sky." On the south foot of the hill, there is a string room with a red bridge linking Xu Garden on the other shore.