★ Tourist location: Suzhou Wangshan Jiulong Lake

There was still some time to get out of Baimajian, but it was a little early to return, so we decided to go to Wangshan Jiulongtan. There was not much detour on the way back. Even if we didn't have time to play, we should just go and identify the way.

I found a parking lot at the foot of Wangshan Mountain. Fortunately, the parking lot is not full yet. I guess the guests who came to play have already made their way home. However, the surroundings look quite lively and there are many farmhouses. We walked in along the road. It was quite a long way, but we could actually drive the car in again. However, there were still some small scenery along the road, so we only regretted it for a second and continued to walk forward happily.

Walking to the entrance of Shangshantang Scenic Area, you will enter a long corridor. Looking at the remaining leaves, I can tell that this should be a wisteria corridor. If it comes in April, it should be very beautiful.

Jiulong Lake is located in the north of Shangshantang, at the foot of Qizi Mountain. It is said that this pool is made up of mountain spring water. The area of the pool water is not small yet. The pool water is clear, but the bottom is not visible. Reflecting the surrounding mountain scenery, even the veins of the leaves are clearly visible.

It is said that nine little dragons were imprisoned under the pond who stole precious bottles to save people from the drought. There is no more detailed version of this story, but we can guess that roughly a long, long time ago, Wu encountered a drought that was not seen in a century. The crops were dried up, and the harvest that year was about to lose. There were nine little dragons. It doesn't matter whether the little dragons are from Taihu Lake or the East China Sea. Anyway, dragons can ride clouds and fog, but everywhere is quite convenient. The dragons were born with a compassion for the world. Seeing the foreseeable tragedies in the world, they decided to go to the sky and steal the precious vase to water the crops in Wu. The little dragons cooperated with each other. Although the process of stealing the treasure bottle was not smooth enough, they still managed to steal it as they wished. As a result, after a long drought, the crops in Wu began to grow lush again. When the Jade Emperor learned of the actions of the dragons, he was naturally furious. The Jade Emperor was never lenient towards immortals who violated the rules of heaven, so he suppressed the nine dragons to the bottom of a deep pool in Wu. In order to commemorate these nine dragons, local people named the pond Jiulong Pond.

I made up a story and felt that it was quite reasonable, so I wouldn't delay appreciating the scenery anyway. My friends laughed when they heard this, but they processed it again and perfunctorily explained the details of stealing the precious vase, how to compete with the heavenly soldiers and generals, how to make persistent efforts after failing to succeed, and met several kind little fairies in the process of stealing, how they worked together to help these lovely dragons, and how the few immortals we usually dislike set up various obstacles... and so on. I laughed: "If I keep making it up, I can write a novel!" But while walking, I said that the journey was really a lot more fun.

There are large tea gardens next to Jiulong Lake. They are planted against the mountains and grow happily, with green and bright rows. This is the ginkgo tea tree base, with a total planting area of more than 300 acres. Ginkgo and tea trees are interplanted, of which more than 50,000 ginkgo trees are planted. The unique botanical properties of ginkgo can help drive out the insects that corrode tea trees, and tea trees can grow better under the protection of ginkgo. This interplanting method can ensure that the tea produced by the base is a truly green ecological agricultural product. At the same time, this kind of planting also helps to increase the ornamental value. Tea in spring and ginkgo in autumn are very beautiful. But now we came a little late, and the golden ginkgo leaves all over the mountain had fallen into pieces.

The tea trees have already bloomed. Judging from the flower type, this tea forest should be Biluochun. The largest number of tea trees are planted in the Taihu Lake Basin, probably because the water and soil in this area are more suitable for the planting of Biluochun.

The seven mountains and rivers of Jiulong Waterfall gather the natural waterfall landscape formed after Jiulong Pool. Unfortunately, it only appears during summer thunderstorms. It forms a nine-water-column waterfall under the pool, which is slender or thick when gushing. It is said that the scene is very magical. Legend has it that this is caused by nine dragons imprisoned under the pond writhing and playing in the water at the bottom of the pond. Therefore, although these nine dragons are imprisoned, they are still very optimistic.

Although Koushan Pavilion is just a pavilion, it is quite large in scale and quite like a pavilion. It has a black lacquer wood structure with double eaves and a small attic on the top of the mountain, but it cannot be climbed and should be just for viewing. Although this pavilion is very new, the name is old, and there is also a legend.

Legend has it that there is a family of seven brothers on the bank of Shihu who make a living by fishing. One year, the emperor came to Suzhou on a southern tour. This emperor is most likely Emperor Qianlong. The government ordered fishermen in Shihu to fish and pay tribute within a limited time limit. The emperor heard that Shihu had beautiful scenery, so he became very popular. The government hurriedly sealed off the lake in case the emperor was lucky. On the one hand, they urged people to go fishing in the lake and demanded tribute, while on the other hand, they sealed off the lake and made it impossible to fish. This practice angered the fishermen, and the seven brothers took the lead in resisting. Of course, the fishermen had no way to fight with the officers and soldiers with their crude tools, so the seven brothers were arrested and killed. The villagers buried them on the mountain, and the mountain was named "Seven Sons" from then on. Because the seven brothers were killed in resisting the government, the villagers did not dare to make a public memorial ceremony. They could only build a pavilion at the foot of the mountain to commemorate the seven brothers in the name of "Yishan".

The lotus pond is not big. I don't know if lotus flowers or water lilies are planted in summer, but I can't tell anything now. Lotus and "integrity" are homophonic. The lotus leaves the mud without being stained, which is quite consistent with the character that "integrity" advocates.

Although Wangshan Scenic Area looks quite large, the attractions are scattered, and the Jiulong Lake we visited is just one corner of it. Because it is not the season for waterfalls, the scenery is not necessarily that outstanding.

Back at the foot of the mountain, I took a walk around Qianjiawu. It was already the beginning of the lights. The farmhouse here was very lively. We returned to the parking lot. The parking lot, which was half empty just now, was already full of cars. It seems that the highlight moment here is still the time for dinner? We hesitated for a moment whether to go back for dinner, but what we wanted to do here was Suzhou local cuisine, which was not so attractive to us. We still took advantage of the light to drive to the highway intersection and go to the Meicun service area.