Jianhu Lake

The Jianhu Lake, 鉴湖 in Chinese, also known as the Mirror Lake, is located in the southwest of Shaoxing City in Zhejiang Province. With an area of 30.5 square kilometers and is 22.5 kilometers long from Tinshan Hill in the east to the Hutang Pool in the west, the lake looks like a river course running in the Shaoxing Plain. There are 6 site for the lake including Lake Bridge, the Kuaige Pavilion, the Three Hills, the Qingshui Flood Gate, the Keyan Rock and the Hutang Pool.
The water in the Jianhu Lake is pure and it is from this water that the world-famous Shaoxing Wine is made. Going boating in the vast lake surrounded by green hills, one will feel like touring around a fairyland cast in a mirror. Besides beautiful natural landscapes, the lake also has many historic sites. It is the hometown of the renowned poet Lu You of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The sites of the Kuaige Pavilion and the Three Hills were built in memory of him. Lying on the north side of the Jianhu Lake, the Kuaige Pavilion was the place where Lu You studied in his middle age. The pavilion then changed its name to the Lufangweng Ancestral Temple, with several old buildings of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Walking several kilometers from the pavilion to the west, one can find the Three Hills, namely the Xinggong Hill, the Hanjia Hill, and the Shiyan Hill. Lying in these hills is a small village that is the birthplace of Lu You. Though his former residence has been abandoned, the beautiful scenery has not changed, making visitors forget to return.