Taihu Lake

Lying between Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Taihu is one of China’s four major freshwater lakes, covering 2,420 square kilometers. In its vast, misty expanse there are some forty islands, whose graceful hills are dotted with pavilions, terraces, and palaces. Turtle-Head Islet (Yuantouzhu), extending into the lake southwest of Wuxi, is surrounded by water on three sides and is shaped like a huge turtle. It has been a park since 1918.

Three Hillocks (Sanshan)

A scenic spot not to be missed, these islets can be approached by boat from Turtle-Heat Islet. With a total area of eleven hectares and rising over fifty meters above the water, the three hillocks are linked with each other by highways and bridges.

Liyuan Garden

Southwest of Wuxi on the shore of Lihu Lake (formerly Wuli Lake), this famous garden occupies 5.4 hectares, almost half of which is water area. It is said that in the fifth century B.C., Fan Li, a senior official of the State of Yue, retired after having helped his master King Gou Jian defeat the State of Wu. He went boating on Wuli Lake with Xi Shi, a famous beauty, and changed the name of the lake to Lihu after his own given name. Liyuan Garden, with its pavilions, corridors, and causeways at the lake side, is exquisitely designed and harmonious in color. Its manmade hills were erected to resemble the shapes of clouds. They are ascended along spiraling, labyrinthine paths.

Huishan Hill

Another name for this famous hill, which stands in a west suburb of Wuxi, is Nine Dragons (Jiulongshan) as its nine hilltops look like dancing dragons. According to a fairy tale, nine sons of the Dragon King fell asleep after playing ball and turned into the nine peaks of Huishan. There are a dozen famous springs on the hill, including the “second spring under heaven” and Dragon’s Eye Spring (Longyanquan),Chunshen Gully, Huishan Temple, and Gold Lotus Bridge (Jinlianqiao). In 1958 the hill was linked by a manmade lake with Tin Hill (Xishan) to become Xihui Park.

(china.org.cn)