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Though the Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake refers nowadays
to a fixed location and one of the top ten attractions around the
West Lake, it was in the South Song Dynasty a general reference to
the autumn nights when people went boating on the lake appreciating
the bright moon and enjoying the cool breeze.
The poetic reference stayed general until the Qing Dynasty when Emperor
Kangxi summed up his sightseeing tour in Hangzhou and named the top
ten West Lake attractions. A stone tablet was erected with the Autumn
Moon over the Calm Lake inscribed on it at a location near the Solitary
Hill and the west end of the Bai Causeway. Since then the lakeside
spot has been the pronoun for the autumnal night boat trips on the
lake.
A boat trip on the lake or sitting leisurely by the placid lake at
a moonlit night has long since been acknowledged as one of the best
human experiences of nature.
Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake is the best location for such a night.
Sitting and leaning over the window on the top floor of the pavilion-like
waterfront building, you can command a broad view of all the lake
and surrounding hills.
The moon is bright over the calm Lake, the water and the sky merge
in one color; cool breezes, the lake and the moon are of one; willow
trees and flowers show different charms in moonlight; people and the
moon have a private conversation. Time and space are beyond human
reach, but seeing each other at such a night on the lake is a pleasure
human beings can enjoy. All the human vicissitudes vanish through
centuries, but the changing moon is eternal. The moon in autumn may
not be as soft as spring breeze, and the spring breeze is still jealous
of the brightness of the autumn moon.
Since 1950s Autumn Moon Over the Calm Lake has been refurbished and
extended several times. The |
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