Jiaxing South Lake

I often go to Jiaxing, but I have never been to Jiaxing South Lake. This time I had a free afternoon, and finally made the trip.

South Lake is located in the urban area of Jiaxing. The area is not large, with only more than 800 mu of water area. You can see the opposite bank at a glance, but it is known as the three famous lakes in the south of the Yangtze River along with Hangzhou West Lake and Nanjing Xuanwu Lake, and its fame is evident. It is late spring, and the trees surrounding the lake are already lush. From Nanhu Tiandi, towards the direction of Zuixian Tower, I started to circle the lake clockwise. I first passed Shaoyuan Garden, then to Wuxiang Shrine, passed Xiaoyingzhou Island and returned to the starting point. It didn’t take much effort to walk a circle.

Jiaxing South Lake has been recorded in the history books of the Three Kingdoms. From ancient times to the present, people have continuously built pavilions and terraces around the lake and on the islands. Nowadays, it seems very cramped, not as wide as big rivers and lakes.

There are two scenic spots in South Lake that are quite famous. One is called the Misty Rain Tower. In Jin Yong’s “The Legend of the Condor Heroes,” the adult martial arts contest between Yang Kang and Guo Jing was set here. Originally, the Misty Rain Tower was on the shore of South Lake. Later, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The current Misty Rain Tower was rebuilt on the mid-lake island during the Republic of China period. The other place is Wuxiang Shrine. The shrine is not big, and it is dedicated to Wu Zixu, the Prime Minister of the State of Wu. There is also a seven-story pagoda in the temple, called Haogu Pagoda, but this pagoda is not an ancient object, but a modern building with a reinforced concrete structure. Visitors can freely climb to the top of the pagoda and enjoy a panoramic view of South Lake.

In addition to these two ancient buildings, another reason for South Lake’s fame is that the later meeting of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held on a pleasure boat in South Lake. Now South Lake has built the South Lake Revolutionary Memorial Hall, which has become a revolutionary holy land and has the Red Boat Spirit. I learned a few interesting knowledge points in the Revolutionary History Museum. First, the First National Congress of China was originally held in Shanghai. After being discovered by detectives, it had to be temporarily moved to outside Shanghai. Second, the reason why Hangzhou and Jiaxing were the first choices after leaving Shanghai was that the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway had been opened at that time, making travel convenient. Third, a small incident in 1921 became a big event to be recorded in history books after 1949. The parties involved recalled this incident, but the time was too long ago, and everyone’s memories were blurred. The memoirs displayed in the exhibition hall show that the memories of those who experienced the event conflict with each other. Some recalled that the meeting place was temporarily changed from Hangzhou West Lake to Jiaxing South Lake before getting on the train. Some said that everyone had made a plan before the meeting, and if there was an emergency, they would move to South Lake. Others said that after being discovered by the patrol room in Shanghai, they thought of going to South Lake for a meeting. Fourth, the boat used at that time no longer exists. What is moored in front of the Misty Rain Tower now is an imitation commemorative boat.

Anyway, a sudden event changed the fate of a small city.

Published at: Nov 24, 2024 · Modified at: Dec 24, 2025