| What about that Pool of FiVe Dragons in diading? |
Located in Jiading district, the Pool of Dragons, known as tluilongtan in Chinese, was first built in 1588, the 16th year under the reign of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty. The name "Huilongtan" is derived from the fact that here is the convergence of five watercourses from north. With Yingkuishan, a small hill embraced on all sides by waters in the pool it looks very much tike five dragons playing with the pearl.
The park consists of two major parts in the north and south. The southern part is the natural landscape of Yingkuishan and the Pool of Dragons. On mounting the Siyi Pavilion at the hilltop you'll get a bird's eye view of the Pavilion of Literary Elite, Jade Rainbow Bridge, Jasper Lotus Pond and an opera stage doting round the place. The stage, known as "All Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," was built in 1888 and used to be an opera stage in the Monetary Guild of Zhabei District it was removed into the park in 1976 for protection.
The northern part features a relatively concentrated scenic spots including the Broken Jade Spring, Jade Lotus Pond, Plantain Tree Yard and Afterglow Pavilion and so on. They are all laid out in an orderly way, looking very exquisite and nice to the taste. In addition, there is still the Yi'an Hall built in 1885, Zhui'an Hall put up in 1886, Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda, Grand View Tower, Bridge of Nine Twists and Turns and Jiale Pavilion in the garden. The park is considered to be one of the five ancient parks in the area of Shanghai. |
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