With crystal clean water surrounding an island, Gantang Lake in the centre of Jiujiang City makes the city elegant and graceful. Covering an area of 800,000 square meters (197.6 acres), Gantang Lake is a naturally formed lake fed by water from Lushan Mountain. A 60 meters (196.9 feet) long embankment was built in the year 822 to avoid the overflow from the Yangtze River, thus dividing the lake into two parts. Though the two parts initially had different names, they are both called Gantang Lake now.
The lake is said to have been the military base of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280). On the island in the central lake was once located General Zhou Yu's training platform. Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), started to build a pavilion on the platform during his commission period in Jiujiang and it was named 'Jinyue Pavilion'. By the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127), a 'Yanshui Pavilion' was added to it. Though both were destroyed in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), groups of buildings were erected continuously in later days. Still called Yanshui Pavilion, the whole construction is comprised of many halls, pavilions, kiosks and doorways. Strolling in between the buildings, visitors experience their exquisiteness and elegance. There is a bridge connecting the island and the bank.
Entrance Fee: CNY 10
Opening Hours: 08:30 - 17:30
Transportation: Take Bus 16, 101, 102 or 103 and get off at Yanshuiting stop.
More Tourist Attractions in Jiujiang:
Donglin Monastery Nengren Temple Stone Bell Hill
Xunyang Tower Suojiang Tower Wave Well
