★ Tourist location: Misty Peak, Xishan Mountain, Suzhou

Having climbed the second peak of the 72 peaks of Taihu Lake on Dongshan Mountain, we naturally couldn't miss the first peak. In fact, we were already at the door last year, but due to weather reasons, the scenic area was not open for safety reasons, so we returned in disappointment. Today's weather is showing signs of gradually clearing up. I think it will not disappoint us again, right?

Early in the morning, we excitedly followed the navigation and drove to the scenic spot. However, when we clearly saw the gate of the scenic spot, we saw a notice posted at the door and the ticket office was at the entrance of Hancun. Later, we learned that the navigation took us to Shuiyue Dock, and the entrance to the scenic spot was called Hancun Dock. At that time, we were a little confused and the navigation was a little confusing. We drove forward and saw a geological museum, but it didn't open until nine o'clock. When I searched the map of Gaode again, I saw a Miaomiao Peak bus stop. It must be not far from the ticket office, right? Fortunately, we hit the right place this time and bought two round-trip transportation tickets. It turned out that it was our special car. We could get on the bus and leave without waiting for guests. According to the driver, during the peak season, sixteen transportation vehicles are dispatched and used in a unified manner, so there are very few customers in the off-season.

Miaomiao Peak is located in the west of Xishan Island. It is the main peak of Xishan, with an altitude of 336 meters. Logically speaking, it is not too high. With our physical strength, climbing a mountain that is less than 400 meters above sea level should be a small CASE. However, it is said that it takes 20 kilometers to go back and forth from the door to the hiking trail, and we need to pass through three villages. Because the summit is often shrouded in clouds and mist, like the legendary ethereal fairyland, the ancients named it Ethereal Peak.

We took a "special car" from the winding mountain road to the mountaintop parking lot, which was not far from the top of the mountain. The straight steps lead directly to the top of the mountain, and the long concrete frame is filled with winter emptiness. Looking at the climbing vines beside me, I think there should be a fragrance of wisteria in late spring in April. There was a puppy on the steps looking at us silently, as if to welcome guests. When we climbed up the stairs, it followed.

"The dog is accompanying us to climb the mountain!" The little friend said with a smile.

"Yeah, it climbed easier than me..." I looked at the puppy's gentle posture with a little admiration. Compared to my panting, I feel like I'm taking a stroll in a leisurely courtyard. This gap is too obvious.

King Fuchai and Xi Shi of Wu often climbed Miaomiao Peak to view the beautiful scenery of Taihu Lake. In order to please the beautiful people, Fuchai built a large scale of construction and built a watchtower on the top of the mountain. At that time, a summer resort was built in Xiaoxia Bay. From the palace to the south side of Misty Peak, a hundred pavilions have been built, connected by corridors, known as the Baiting Corridor, leading directly to the top of the mountain. This is also a big evidence that Fu Chai only favored Xi Shi, or that Xi Shi consumed Wu.

In fact, the original intention of building the lookout tower was not necessarily built by Fuchai to travel around the mountains and rivers. Its name lookout should be more of a military early warning base. Of course, from here, Xi Shi can also see the homeland of Yue across the lake, which can also be regarded as a solution to the pain of lovesickness. Therefore, the watchtower is also called Wangyue Pavilion, which looks at the moon in my hometown. At the same time, the moon homophones "Yue", which is also called Wangyue Pavilion.

The current Wangyue Pavilion was rebuilt in 2007. It has four floors and eight sides, and is 20 meters high. It is an important forest fire prevention warning facility in Taihu Lake Xishan National Forest Park. When we arrived at the top of the mountain, the tower was still locked. After we made a big circle, someone opened the door for climbing. It was actually opened because we bought a ticket. In the off-season, it is usually only open on weekends and holidays.

There is another legend about this watchtower from the Southern Song Dynasty. It is said that this tower was built by Yang Xuan, a bandit from Taihu Lake. Of course, the bandits did not build the tower to admire the lakes and mountains, but to really look out. If you see ships transporting goods on the lake, you can lead people down the mountain quickly to arrange plunder. After years of looting, this group of bandits accumulated nine vats and thirteen jars of gold and silver treasure. Yue Fei sent troops to suppress the bandits. Yang Xuan buried the treasure in the mountains of Miaomiao Peak and later poisoned all the treasure holders. This treasure house has become a mystery. For a long time, people have been searching for this treasure.

Climb the tower and look into the distance, and you can have a panoramic view of 36,000 acres of Taihu Lake. If the weather is fine and the weather is fine, you can really see Huzhou opposite, and further away you will be the seat of Yue State, the hometown of Xi Shi.

The top floor cannot be boarded. The staff said it was for some facilities and declined to visit. But because Misty Peak itself is higher than the peaks, it is enough to overlook the entire island of Xishan by climbing three floors. The lowest floor is used as a warehouse. The stairs can be lowered and some fire-fighting equipment is placed inside.

There is a huge stone next to the watchtower, commonly known as the Immortal Terrace. It is said that it was a place where the famous hermits "Shangshan Sihao" in the early Han Dynasty gathered to play chess, so it is also called the chessboard stone. It can only be said that the divine powers of immortals are different after all. Even playing chess requires such a large chessboard. It is really impossible without some immortal energy. According to theory, the Shangshan Sihao has nothing to do with the Xishan Mountains of Suzhou. They were originally four of the seventy doctoral officials in the late Qin Dynasty, and later lived in seclusion in Shangshan. Even if they become immortal and cut off the mortal world in the future, they may not think of Misty Peak as a place where they often come to play chess, right?

There is also a myth. There was a woodcutter Chen Fude in Chenxiang Village, Xishan Mountain, who used to go up the mountain to chop firewood. He found someone playing chess on Miaoxiang Peak. Because he was usually good at playing chess, so when he saw masters playing chess, he couldn't help but be fascinated. The two immortals playing chess were Lu Dongbin and Chen Tuan. They probably saw that Chen Fude had some wisdom, so they took out a date and gave it to him. When Chen Fude returned home, he realized that things had long changed."When you meet an immortal, you will have a day of leisure, and a hundred days will pass in the world."

Although the legendary story is well-told, it is somewhat far-fetched. However, there are several cliff stone carvings on the summit and poems passed down by famous people such as Fan Chengda, which can better illustrate the beautiful scenery of Misty Peak. The most famous of these cliff stone carvings is the "Ethereal Peak" engraved by Li Genyuan, a veteran of the Kuomintang and teacher of Commander-in-Chief Zhu De in the 18th of the Republic of China.

There is also a small high platform on the edge of the summit. Although it is surrounded by colorful flags and the stones have fallen off slightly, it seems that as long as there are no crowds from the peak, there should be no danger. So we crossed the rope and went straight to the high platform. The line of sight was naturally better than standing below.

A building also seems to be under repair and is a little dilapidated, but it should not have been built for a long time and is not open now. However, the rockery still has some flavor. In addition, there is a carved stone of the "First Peak of Taihu Lake" next to it, leaving a shadow seems to be sorry for the effort it took to reach the summit.

An old man stepped up with his staff when we were about to leave and asked us to take a photo of him. During the conversation, we learned that there are actually many ways to climb the mountain on Miaomiao Peak. The mountain length is five kilometers, the mountain is not steep, and the physical requirements are not as high as imagined.

Return the same way and get down to the parking lot via the Misty Peak Meeting. In fact, to put it bluntly, it is a commercial street. Because it is not the peak season or weekends and holidays, the doors of the shops are closed. Someone checked the ticket at the door, and our "special car" was already waiting. So I took a bus to the Shuiyuewu Parking Lot and continued to visit the Geological Museum and Shuiyue Temple.

Then we arrived at the Western Hills and visited the old land, and all the peaks swept away the clear waves.

Immortals play chess against chessboard stones, singing evening songs in front of the Ethereal Building.

--Seven Wonders