Quyuan Fenghe means “the lotuses in Quyuan Yard”. It is at the place where Jishajian River flows into the West Lake. In the Southern Song Dynasty there used to be a royal wine distillery where there was a pond. The people working in the distillery raised lotuses in the pond. In summer, the scent of the lotuses and the fragrance of the wine got mixed and wafted around. Passers-by smelled it and got drunk without even tasting the wine. Afterwards, the distillery fell into ruin. In the Qing Dynasty, when Emperor Kangxi went to the south of the country for a visit, he arrived in Hangzhou and ordered to have the site of the distillery removed to the Sudi Dam. He wrote “Quyuan Fenghe”, and the characters were inscribed in a plaque which was put up in a pavilion there.
The old Quyuan Yard was small: it consisted of only one stele, one pavilion and covered only 300 square metres. After the expansion, the now Quyuan Yard extends about a mile across to include 70 acres, and it is the largest park in the West Lake area. It is divided into five sections: Yuehu Lake, Zhusu Garden, Fenghe, Quyuan, and Hubin Forest. On its east there is Yuehu Lake, on its south Guozhuang Village, and on its north Zhusu Park, Botanic Garden, and Yuefei Tomb Temple. Fenghe is the most beautiful section of Quyuan Yard. There you can see on the calm water surface all kinds of lotuses: red lotus, white lotus, Chongtai lotus, Sajin Lotus, Bingti lotus, etc.
Related posts:
