In 1736 AD (the first year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty), a scholar named "Wang Yuan" came from Hangzhou to Yangzhou, which is also located in the south of the Yangtze River. After having a full view of the scenery called "Baoshan Lake" outside Yangzhou, he wrote a few poems by hand: "The weeping poplar continues to pick up the remnants, and the geese 'teeth and the Hongqiao are drawing pictures. It is also a pot of gold, so it should be called Slender West Lake." Therefore, in the more than 200 years of history after him, no one remembered the "Guarantee Lake", and the "Slender West Lake" became famous instead.

The city was built in Yangzhou during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. It is located in the middle of Jiangsu Province, bordering the Yangtze River for thousands of miles in the south and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal for thousands of miles in the east. In China's first regional geography book,"Shangshu·Yu Gong", it is recorded as follows: there is much water in the state boundary, and the water rises and waves. So this city with a history of more than 2400 years was named "Yangzhou".

Yangzhou in history has been greatly praised by many literati and literati. The most famous one is "The Yellow Crane Tower Delivers Meng Haoran to Guangling" written by Li Bai, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty. Fireworks fell on Yangzhou in March, creating the most classic and famous line praising Yangzhou's scenery in the past. It was just that in Li Bai's era, Slender West Lake was not yet famous, and its name had not even been born yet.

The formation of Slender West Lake is actually closely related to Yangzhou's geographical environment. In the entire Yangzhou City, there are many water, rivers, and small wetland lakes. From the time when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went to Yangzhou to see Qionghua, the excavation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal dredged some river courses in and outside Yangzhou. The predecessor of Slender West Lake was a common river course in Jiangnan water towns. Historical data called it "Guarantee Lake".

The earliest name of Baobao Lake is actually "Baoyang River". During the Ming Dynasty, in order to resist the enemy, a city was built on the east bank of the Baohu River. An "enemy platform" was built on the city wall to protect the ancient city of Yangzhou. Therefore, the name "Baoyang River" came from it. However, in the early Qing Dynasty, the river course of the Baoyang River began to silted up, so some Yangzhou salt merchants who made a fortune invested in dredging the river course and built pavilions on the river bank, forming the original scenery of Slender West Lake.

The reason why "Slender West Lake" is called "Slender" is probably the landscape formed by the long river. Compared with the West Lake in Hangzhou, the "thin" here does not have the feeling of running water and banks. Even today, the water area of the Slender West Lake Scenic Area is only more than 700 acres, while the surface of the West Lake in Hangzhou reaches 9570 acres. The former is almost a "fraction" of the West Lake.

However, the scenery of Slender West Lake is not inferior to that of Hangzhou West Lake. As early as the early years of the Qing Dynasty, Slender West Lake had the reputation of "the prosperity of gardens and the best in the world." Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty each arrived at Yangzhou Slender West Lake six times and praised the scenery here. The "Yangzhou Painting Boat Record" records that "in the 22nd year of Qianlong... famous gardens were built on both sides of the Taiwan Strait." At this time, the "Slender West Lake" had transformed from an ordinary river course to a famous lake connecting the landscape of various gardens.

Today, Slender West Lake has about 14 major attractions, including Wuting Bridge, Twenty-Four Bridge, Lotus Pond, Diaoyutai, etc. Among them, the "Wuting Bridge" was built in the 22nd year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1757). It was built in imitation of the Wulong Pavilion and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge in Beihai, Beijing. The "Wuting Bridge" across Slender West Lake is a must-see attraction for tourists. Professor Mao Yisheng, a famous Chinese bridge expert, once commented: The oldest bridge in China is Zhaozhou Bridge, the most magnificent bridge is Lugou Bridge, and the most beautiful, The most artistic representative bridge is the Wuting Bridge in Yangzhou.

The Slender West Lake White Pagoda on the edge of the "Wuting Bridge", also known as the White Pagoda of Guanyin Temple, is 27.5 meters high and has eight sides and four corners. Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong visited the "Wuting Bridge" of Slender West Lake, he lamented: This place is like the Beihai of the extreme capital, but it is a pity that there is only a white tower missing. Unexpectedly, the emperor woke up the next day and opened his eyes to see a white tower standing beside the "Wuting Bridge". The accompanying local officials said that local salt merchants built the white tower overnight. This can be seen from the wealth of Yangzhou's salt merchants among the world.

Diaoyutai, now known as the "Chuitai", is named after Qianlong fishing here. This is a group of pavilions standing on the bank of Slender West Lake, but there are three walls built. The middle of the walls is hollow out into a circle. Visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Slender West Lake through the round hole. Diaoyutai cleverly uses the "framing" technique and has become a classic work of the "framing" art of Chinese classical gardens.

Fireworks fall under Yangzhou in March. Spring is always the most beautiful in ancient poems. Everything wakes up, the spring is shining brightly, everything is just beginning, and everything is full of hope. In this spring, we should go to Yangzhou to have a look and see the scenery there, the smoke willows there, and the jade flowers there. About the author: Photography by Lu Jianhua (photographer, traveler, self-media person)