In 1736 AD (the first year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty), a scholar named "Wang Yuan" came from Hangzhou to Yangzhou, which was also located in the south of the Yangtze River. After enjoying the scenery of a place called "Baobao Lake" outside Yangzhou City, he casually wrote a few poems: "The weeping poplar continues to pick up the broken Wu, and the goose toothed Hongqiao is like a painting. It is also a pot of gold for sale, so it should be called the Skinny West Lake." Therefore, in the more than two hundred years of history after him, no one remembered "Baobao Lake", and "Skinny West Lake" became famous instead.

The city was built in Yangzhou during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, located in the central part of Jiangsu Province, adjacent to the Yangtze River for thousands of miles to the south and the Grand Canal for thousands of miles to the east. In the first regional geography work in China, "Yu Gong" in the Book of Documents, it is recorded that there are many rivers in the state borders, and the water waves rise. So this city with a history of over 2400 years was named "Yangzhou".

Yangzhou in history has been highly praised by many literati and scholars. The most famous is the famous poem "Farewell to Meng Haoran's Guangling at the Yellow Crane Tower" written by the great Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. The fireworks set off in Yangzhou in March, creating the most classic line of praise for the scenery of Yangzhou throughout history. In the era of Li Bai, Shouxi Lake was not yet famous, and its name had not even been born.

The formation of Shouxi Lake is actually closely related to the geographical environment of Yangzhou. The entire city of Yangzhou has abundant water, rivers, and numerous small wetland lakes. Starting from Emperor Yang of Sui's visit to Yangzhou to see the Qionghua River, the excavation of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal dredged and connected some rivers inside and outside Yangzhou. The predecessor of Shouxi Lake was a common river in the water towns of Jiangnan, known as the "Baobao Lake" in historical records.

Baoyang Lake, in fact, its earliest name was "Baoyang River". During the Ming Dynasty, in order to resist enemy invaders, a city was built on the east bank of the lake to protect the ancient city of Yangzhou. A "enemy platform" was built on the city wall to protect the city, hence the name "Baoyang River". But in the early Qing Dynasty, the Baoyang River began to silt up, so some wealthy Yangzhou salt merchants invested in dredging the river and built pavilions and towers on the riverbank, forming the initial stage of the Slender West Lake scenery.

The reason why it is called "Shouxi Lake" is probably due to the landscape formed by the long river channel. Compared to West Lake in Hangzhou, the 'skinny' here does not have the feeling of being connected by the water. Even today, the water area of the Shouxi Lake scenic area is only about 700 acres, while the lake surface of West Lake in Hangzhou is as large as 9570 acres, the former being almost a "fraction" of West Lake.

The scenery of Slender West Lake is not inferior to that of West Lake in Hangzhou. As early as the early Qing Dynasty, Slender West Lake had the reputation of "flourishing gardens, unparalleled in the world". Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty each visited Shouxi Lake in Yangzhou six times and highly appreciated the scenery here. In the "Yangzhou Painting Boat Record," it is recorded that "in the 22nd year of the Qianlong reign... famous gardens were built on both sides." At this time, the "Slender West Lake" had transformed from an ordinary river into a famous lake that connected the landscapes of various gardens.

There are approximately 14 major scenic spots in the current Shouxi Lake, including Wuting Bridge, Twenty Four Bridge, Lotus Pond, Diaoyutai, etc. The "Wuting Bridge" was first built in the 22nd year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1757), modeled after the Wulong Pavilion and the Seventeen Arch Bridge in Beihai, Beijing. The "Wuting Bridge" spanning the Slender West Lake is a must visit attraction for tourists. Professor Mao Yisheng, a famous bridge expert in China, once commented that the oldest bridge in China is the Zhaozhou Bridge, the most magnificent bridge is the Lugou Bridge, and the most beautiful and artistically representative bridge is the Wuting Bridge in Yangzhou.

The Skinny West Lake White Pagoda, also known as the Guanyin Temple White Pagoda, next to the Wuting Bridge, is 27.5 meters high and has eight sides and four corners. Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong visited the "Wuting Bridge" in Shouxi Lake, he sighed and said, "This place looks like the North Sea of the capital city, but unfortunately it is missing a white pagoda. Unexpectedly, the Emperor woke up the next day and upon opening his eyes, he saw a white tower towering beside the "Wuting Bridge". The accompanying local officials said it was a local salt merchant who built the White Pagoda overnight. Yangzhou salt merchants are the richest in the world, which can be seen.

Diaoyutai, now known as the "Blowing Platform", is said to have been named after Emperor Qianlong who once fished here. This is a group of pavilions standing on the shore of Shouxi Lake, but with three walls. The middle of the walls is hollowed out into a circular shape, and visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Shouxi Lake through the circular hole. Diaoyutai cleverly employs the technique of "framing scenery", becoming a classic work of Chinese classical garden "framing scenery" art.

Under the fireworks in March in Yangzhou, the spring in ancient poetry is always the most beautiful. Everything awakens, the spring is bright and beautiful, everything is just beginning, and everything is full of hope. In this spring, we should go to Yangzhou to take a look, see the scenery there, the smoke and willows there, and the flowers there. Author Introduction: Photography by Lu Jianhua (photographer, traveler, self media person)