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| Daming Lake |
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The name of Daming Lake was first recorded in the Annotated Book of
Waters written by Li Daoyuan, a writer in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
The park takes an area of 86 ha., with the lake covering 46.5 ha.
Inside the park, willows queue around the lake with lotus overlapping
on the lake. For its beauty, Daming Lake has been the converging place
for celebrities throughout history. In 13 century, the Italian traveler,
Mark Polo marveled here as "what a beautiful landscape of lake
and rocks." In the center of the lake perches the Lixia Pavilion,
upon which hangs the horizontal name scroll written by an ancient
emperor and the vertical scroll, "Old is the pavilion in central
China and many are celebrities in Jinan", written by Du Fu. With
some other scenic spots dotted inside, such as "Rest Garden",
"Jiaxuan Temple" and "Beiji Temple", the Lake
has become very popular among tourists from home and abroad.
Situated in the downtown of north part of Jinan, together with
Baotuquan Spring Park and Mt.Qianfo, Daming Lake is listed as one
of the three key points of interest in the city. Claimed as a city
of springs, there are over hundred gushing springs, among which
72 are well known. Daming Lake is thus formed naturally with the
constant spring waters. Flowing from the south bank into the lake
and out through the water gate built in Song Dynasty when the lake
is full. Since the lake bottom is of staunch rock, the water level
is constant all year round, as is said to be not flooding even with
everlasting rain and not to dry up in the severest drought.
The clear water, the hovering birds, the springing fish, the drifting
boats appeal to everyone who loves natural scenery. With the lotus
ever since ancient times, weeping willows on the banks, scattered
flowers and trees everywhere, the beauty of the lake is best manifested
by lines in a poem " With lotus on all sides and willows on
three sides, the lake presents half of the beauty of the mountainous
city of Jinan." The park is rich in cultural relics, too. The
centuries-old historic culture is best reflected in such historic
sites and key points of interest as Lixia Pavilion, Tiegong Ancestral
Temple, Nanfeng Ancestral Temple, Beiji Shrine, all being surrounded
with green trees and blooming flowers.
Of these spots, Lixia Pavilion and Tiegong Shrine are listed as
the municipal protected cultural relics. Each year there are a variety
of recreational programs held in the park, such as temple fair during
the spring festival, flower show in the beginning of spring, lotus
show, folk-custom cultural activities, miniscape show and odd stone
show, to mention just a few. In the lake center is the widely known
Lixia Pavilion Island, where in 745 Dufu, a poet of Tang Dynasty
hosted a feast for Li Yi, a calligrapher. Over the feast, Dufu improvised
a poem with the lines "Of pavilions west of the sea, this one
is the oldest; of the eminent scholars, Jinan has the most."
The Tiegong Shrine was built in memory of head of war ministry of
Ming Dynasty, who protected Jinan from attacks by King of Yan Empire
and was killed when refused to surrender after being defeated. Nanfeng
Ancestral Temple was set up in honor of Zeng Gong, a literary writer
of Song Dynasty. Born in Nanfeng, Jiangxi province, he served as
mayor of Jinan in 1072. During his term, he built the north water
gate against flooding, winning popularity among the folks for his
achievement in his post. |
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