The Shihu Lake area offers tourists beautiful landscapes and rich cultural relics from the Wu and Yue states.
As a lagoon of the Taihu Lake, it was given the name because of its stone bed. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the lake was used by the King of Wu as a leisure site, but it also served as a battleground of fights between the Wu and Yue states. Since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), folklore activities, called Chaining Moons on the Stone Lake, have been held here on the 18th of the eighth month of the lunar year every year.
It's said that in the Spring & Autumn period, Yue State dug a channel through the mountain foot to reach Suzhou so as to fight against Wu State. This channel became today's Shihu Lake. From the lake, you can see the Lengjia Hill on one side and green waters on the other side. In front of you is the panorama of charming rural scenes. The lake's wide surface looks like a huge verdant mirror. The scenic area boasts abundant Wu and Yue relics as well as ancient temples, towers, tombs and villas of celebrities such as Fan Chengda, a Song-dynasty poet. The area also claims scenic wonders such as fish village, Tianjin House, Xinchun Bridge, Yuehen Bridge, Gu Yewang's Tomb, Yuechen Bridge and cultural relics from the Stone Age. On the 18th day of the lunar eighth month, when you stand at the head of the Xinchun Bridge, you can see moon reflections in a string floating upon the waves. People from Suzhou and other parts of China make night tours to enjoy this marvelous scene of “Shihu Moon String.” The adjacent Mount Shangfang offers another cluster of sights: King Wu's Worshiping Platform, King Wu's Well, troop-hiding cave, Lengjia tower, Fan Clan Hall, Chaoyin temple, etc.
The development of the Shihu Lake Scenic Area is currently speeding up. Shihu Holiday Resort and Wu-Yue Spring Autumn Park are under construction.
(China.org.cn June 24, 2004)
