Willow Lake Park

Located in Kongdong District, Willow Lake Park is a famous park in Pingliang City. Covering an area of 8.8 hectares, it is a natural park known for the unique sight of having willows in the lake and having lake in the willows. Every late spring, willow catkins dance everywhere around the lake and this wonderful sight is known as "Snow Flies in the Clear Day around the Willow Lake". The western part of the willow lake measures 4.9 feet deep and the eastern part measures 6.6 to 9.8 feet deep. Nuanquan, "Warm Spring" is the source of the willow lake. The spring remains at a high temperature all year round, no matter how the weather changes.

Since ancient times, people living in Pingliang have treasured this Willow Lake very much, because Pingliang City is located in the dry gullies in the Loess Plateau. Lacking the nourishing from water and green plants, the land is threatened by droughts all the year round. Therefore, the Willow Lake becomes very precious in this dry land. It is really a pearl in the vast Loess Plateau.

The Willow Lake got its name from Yuan Dynasty and the extension of it started from Song Dynasty. In all dynasties, it was the place where officials spent summer and men of letters came to teach and read. The common people would not be allowed to enter it. After China's liberation, it was opened to the public, thus local people could have a chance to view this beautiful sight in their hometown. The rising and declining of the park reflects the ups and downs of Pingliang in history.

The lake originates from the Warm Spring, with a stone tablet standing beside, in which Zuo Zongtang (a famous Chinese general in Qing Dynasty) has inscribed above two big characters ‘Warm Spring’ and below an epigraph that ‘Pingliang is cold for its height, and the same is true to the springs; while the spring here is warm, even in cold winter, it is not frozen.’.

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