Shouxi Lake

Why Shouxi Lake in Yangzhou is special
Shouxi Lake is the highlight of Yangzhou, a city renowned around the world for its gardens. This long, narrow lake is beautifully landscaped with gardens, weeping willows and pavilions - and crossed by stunning bridges.

Shouxi Lake tips and insights
How to pronounce
Shouxi: shoo-she

South vs. North China gardens
Shouxi Lake embraces the Yangzhou garden style. It's a successful blend of the northern and southern Chinese garden styles, which markedly differ:

• In the north
  Gardens tend to be grand, expansive affairs - almost as if to show off. The imperial gardens of the Beijing's Summer Palace exemplify this style.
  
• In the south
  Although the gardens in the south also try to impress, they do it more subtly. They are smaller and more intimate, with more elegant architectural details.

Five Pavilion Bridge
This is the lake's most striking feature (see photo). Five Pavilion Bridge was built in the 18th century to honor a visiting emperor.

Xiaojin Hill
Another major Shouxi Lake attraction is the islet of Xiaojin (little golden) Hill in the middle of the lake. It's crowned with pavilions and the gardens are treasures.

Ge Garden
Yangzhou's other famous garden spot is Ge Garden. It was privately owned by a salt merchant and epitomizes the Yangzhou garden style even more than does Shouxi Lake. Its rockeries are exceptionally outstanding.

Size
Shouxi Lake is slightly over 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) in length.

Name
Shouxi Lake means "Slender West Lake". This is a competitive reference to the roundish West Lake in Huangzhou (also a Hillman Wonder).

Nearest major city
Yangzhou is about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province.