Checking in at Maha Pond

Maha Pond Park is a place where the lake ripples with emerald waves, and the water is so clear that the bottom is visible, reflecting the beautiful scenery. The lotus flowers and water lilies floating on the surface are intoxicating. The lakeside is lush with green trees and the lawn is covered with green grass like a carpet. The pond is surrounded by a riot of flowers, with crabapples in spring, lotuses in summer, and hibiscus in autumn. Strolling around Maha Pond is like entering a fairyland on earth, making people linger and forget to return. Maha Pond has a long history and has undergone many changes. During the Sui Dynasty, when the King of Shu, Yang Xiu, built the sub-city of Chengdu, the large pits left by the massive excavation of soil were the original Maha Pond. Maha Pond is named after the Sanskrit 'Mahāgongbīlā', meaning 'vast with dragons'. In the Tang Dynasty, river water was diverted into Maha Pond, making it a popular place for boating and sightseeing. Officials of all levels, scholars, and the common people would boat, feast, and gather here. The former Shu Emperor Wang Jian built a palace by the pond, renamed it Longyue Pond, and incorporated it into the imperial garden, making Maha Pond an exclusive royal garden, inaccessible to the common people. During the Later Shu period, Maha Pond reached its peak, renamed back to Maha Pond, and the water surface was expanded to over 1,000 acres, with the garden being extremely luxurious. During the Song Dynasty, Maha Pond gradually declined and the water source dried up. In the Ming Dynasty, the Shu King Zhu Chun filled in most of Maha Pond to build the Shu King's Mansion. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, a tribute academy was built on the ruins of the war-torn Shu King's Mansion, with only a small amount of water remaining in the northwest corner. In the third year of the Republic of China, Maha Pond was completely filled in to serve as a drill ground, and since then, the millennium of prosperity and splendor has been hidden. In 2013 and 2014, archaeological discoveries revealed the site of Maha Pond, and in July 2023, the newly built Maha Pond Park officially opened. This park, which condenses 2,300 years of Chengdu's historical culture and has long been sealed, is finally able to be showcased again.