What to see
Mo Hill
The mass appeal of the city of Wuhan lies in the East Lake, and the showstopper of the East Lake is Mount Mo that provides a dazzling backdrop for poor city slickers buzzing around all day long.
Bordering on three sides the 8,154 acres East Lake, Moshan mesmerizes and intrigues not only with its sublime scenery, but also with multi-million yuan modern touristy developments showcasing the ancient culture of the State of Chu.Walk into Moshan, and the first thing that your eyes will settle on is a mock-Chu city wall, toppling down a hill slope and diving into the water. Enter through either of the two gates-water gate and land gate.
A small lane inside the city is a shopping arcade of mock-Chu businesses offering a veritable treasure trove of memorabilia - bite-sized versions of ancient war chariot, sailboat, machetes, sword, folded fan, jade implements and Chu style attire. Expect a shopping spree if you are flush with cash.
A short stroll from the market is the Garden of Chu's Great Minds (Chu Cai Yuan), which is home to over 100 ornately carved out statues depicting Chu's historical luminaries from outstanding court officials and brilliant artisans to legendary figures – King Zhuang steers his horse-drawn chariot and goes into fighting; Ci Fei kills two serpents and saves himself in an inhospitable environment; Shu'ao leads people in a huge endeavor to cut a furious river down to size and build a dam that even predates famed Dujiang Dam of Sichuan by three centuries and a half. Zhu Rong, a legendary ancestor of the Chu, teaches people to farm and harvest.
Leave the Garden, and you will see a flight of steps vanishing into greenery. Up there a patch of yellow peeks out from tree canopy. That is a yellow-tied roof of an ancient style building. Get to the hilltop, and the Chu's Celestial Terrace (Chu Tian Tai) welcomes you with open arms. It is credited with the local government that once picked the brains of the country's architects and cultural experts about how a Chu spirit-imbued building should be like, and the landmark was built on one of the designs submitted by bidders.
The Chu's Celestial Terrace is perched on the second higher peak of Mount Mo. On a 0.5-acre huge terrace stands a huge building topped by a 12-meter high bronze phoenix statue. Its facade is a 600-plus marble price jigsaw puzzle depicting dramatic sceneries and a red bird facing the sun.
The excitement outside just warms you up for more inside. The building houses a large collection of reproductions of unearthed relics - good news for relic's fanatics. You do not want to miss the Bianzhong performance always put on to packed houses (Bianzhong is a musical instrument in remote antiquity). Young girls dance to the music played by musicians, all dressed the way the ancients were.
Step onto the top floor and take in the sweeping views of the East Lake, where the sun plays on ripples set off by small pleasure boats and light breeze.
