Eight Scenic Spots of Hushu

    “Eight Scenic Spots of Hushu” is proposed by Wang Bufan in Ming Dynasty, namely: Jiacheng on the Moon Night, River Rises in Spring in Doumen, Flowers Bloom in Spring in Bandao, Xishan Dressed in Green at Dusk, Oriole Singing in the Flower Garden, Snow Cover in Gaoting, Evening Rain of Jiangqiao and Misty Village in Baidang.

    Jiacheng on the Moon Night： According to The Travel Notes of the West Lake: Jiacheng on the Moon Night ranked top in the eight scenic spots. Jiacheng refers to the Lane of Jiacheng in Hushu. It is said that on the Mid-Autumn night, if you stand on the Desheng Bridge which is in the east of the Jiacheng Lane to watch the moon, you could see the Moon slowly rise above the bridge as if the moon were walking on the bridge. Zhang Wenzhao in his poem Wulǜ also described the scenery of the ebb of the tide and the rise of the moon in Jiacheng in autumn, which says “when the tide ebbs away, the moon rises in the east; the whole Jiacheng is then covered in the moonlight”.

    River Rises in Spring in Doumen: Recorded in The History of Hushu in Qing Dynasty, Doumen refers to the area around Shengtang Floodgate. The lines in Wanghong’s Posuanzi, and Nie Danian’s Immortal at the River read that “The river suddenly rises in spring, shocking the Kunlun Mountain with its frightful waves”, giving the deep impression of the grand scene and the tremendous momentum of river rises in spring in Doumen.

    Bloom in Spring in Bandao: In The Travel Notes of the West Lake, it is said that in ancient times, peach trees were planted along the two sides of the road. When the trees were in full blossom in spring, they looked like red fire; and when the leaves fall from the trees, it looked like red rain. Thus the place is named “Bandaohong”. Wanghong in his poem Bosuanzi just wrote: A night’s spring rain makes the river go up; Sunlight at dawn reddens thousands of trees. So just image the beautiful blooms of thousands of peach trees, which is as wonderful as the famous scenery of willows flying along the West Lake.

    Xishan Dressed in Green at Dusk: According to The History of Hushu, Beixinguan (now called Daguan), which is near Heteng, is close to water on one side. When you look into the distant Xishan at dusk, the picturesque scene between the cloud and water is just like a painting, full of green. Thus Xishan Dressed in Green at dusk is also called Heteng Dressed in Green at Dusk. Wanghong’s Bosuanzi described it as “Oblique sunlight at dusk shines the curtain; and the green mountains are dressed in the evening mist after the rain”.

    Oriole Singing in the Flower Garden: In The Travel Notes of the West Lake, East Mateng and West Mateng lie to the north of Liushui Bridge, divided by the river. In the time of King Qian, it was the place for horse-raising. The number of the horses ever reached over 3,000 and the place was nicknamed the sea of horses. Thus came the term Teng. It is said that the soil in Mateng was so fine that it was very suitable for the trees to grow. Four-season flowers were largely produced here and the place was known as South Garden. Ten miles north from here was Banqiao and was known as North Garden. In East Mateng and West Mateng, the flowers were mostly planted in the greenhouse and could be supplied regardless of the season. As there are always orioles singing among the flowers, the place is so named “Oriole Singing in the Flower Garden”.

    Snow Cover in Gaoting: According to The History of Hushu, there is a Shanyan Dam to the north of Shengtang Bay, and nearby the dam there stands a pavilion. Emperor Xianfeng of Qing Dynasty ever passed through and rested in the pavilion when he fled from the palace in the Gengshen Rebellion. It is said that there used to be a winch in the pavilion, pulling ships crossing the Dam. When it snows in winter, the snow view of the pavilion can provide you with a particular flavor.

    Evening Rain of Jiangqiao: In The History of Hushu, Jiangzhang Bridge and Huaguang Bridge form an angle over the broad river. When it rains, the view is quite poetic. Every night, when the fishing-boat lights are on, it just looks like the stars in the sky, giving the beautiful view of Fishing Lights of Jiangqiao. This is how the Evening Rain of Jiangqian comes from. Ni Danian’s Immortal at the River well depicted the half hidden beauty of Jiangqiao, evening rain, and fishing lights.

    Misty Village in Baidang: According to The History of Hushu, Baidang Village had a tomb of administrative officer Cai in Qing Dynasty. He was a scholar in Emperor Qianlong, and was appointed officer in Guizhou. His family was excellent at official tests as 7 generations succeeded in passing the tests. Legend told that his tomb brought Fengshui to his family. The tomb lied in an open area, with spacious space from every side. As far as the geography is concerned, it is believed that only people with high moral standards are qualified to obtain this tomb with good Fengshui. And this is how Misty Village in Baidang is from. The place is simple, harmonious but full of field funs.
Eight Scenic Spots of Hushu are largely local place of interest, and many derive their names simply from the poems made by the poets out of impulse. With the erosion of weather after long time, most of the spots are no longer found except few places with some remains and only by reading the poems and essays can we appreciate the charm of the places at the time.