East Lake (Taizhou Ancient City)

East Lake is located on the east side of Linhai Ancient City. It was excavated during the Northern Song Dynasty […]

East Lake is located on the east side of Linhai Ancient City. It was excavated during the Northern Song Dynasty and was originally a place for the navy to moor ships and station troops. In 1071, the fourth year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty, Qian Xuan, the prefect of Taizhou, dredged and expanded it into a lake and developed it into a garden. Since the Song Dynasty, East Lake has been repaired in successive dynasties. Especially in 1676, the eighteenth year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty and 1871, the tenth year of Tongzhi, after two renovations by Bao Futai and Liu Wangao, the prefects of Taizhou successively, its scale was very impressive and it became the top garden in Taizhou. Yu Yue, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, once said: ‘Hangzhou has West Lake, and Taizhou has East Lake. The beauty of East Lake is like a smaller West Lake.’ In recent years, the Linhai Municipal Government has carried out a large-scale renovation of East Lake referring to its historical features, making this nearly a thousand-year-old garden glow with even more dazzling brilliance. The southeast entrance is Yishui Mountain Villa, named after Du Fu’s poem ‘Famous gardens rely on green waters’. There are buildings commemorating Qian Xuan and the Qian family, commonly known as ‘Qian Garden’. Opening hours: Open from 07:00 to 17:00 all year round.