Liu Lake Park in Pingliang, Gansu

Liu Lake Park in Pingliang City is located in the center of the urban area of Pingliang City, covering an area of more than 88,000 square meters, equivalent to 133 acres, of which the lake area is 32 acres. It is a famous natural landscape garden in Eastern Long, with the terrain being high in the west and low in the east, sloping in the south and flat in the north. Each lake has underwater springs and overflows, hence the saying of 'a hundred springs'. Among them, the West Lake is 1.5 meters deep, and the East Lake is 2 to 3 meters deep, especially with a natural warm spring, which is long-renowned. Liu Lake was first constructed in the first year of Xining during the Northern Song Dynasty (1068 AD), when Cai Ting, the governor of Weizhou at the time, led the spring water to form the lake. Because willow trees are suitable for water, willows were planted everywhere, with tall branches and lush leaves, and a verdant color reaching the sky, hence the name 'Liu Lake'. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Han Fan, the Prince of Zhao, took it as a garden and carried out large-scale expansion, and it was granted the name 'Chongwen Academy' by Emperor Wuzong of Ming. After the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was repaired several times, and in the fifth year of Qianlong (1740 AD), it was renamed 'Baiquan Academy', and later changed to 'Gaoshan Academy'. In the early years of the Tongzhi era, Liu Lake was destroyed by war. In the twelfth year of Tongzhi, Zuo Zongtang, the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, stationed troops in Pingliang and restored it, renaming it 'Liu Lake Academy', and inscribed the plaque 'Liu Lake' himself. In the fifteenth year of the Republic of China (1926), it was changed to the Seventh Normal School of Gansu Province. The beauty of Liu Lake begins with the warm spring. There is a warm spring in the area, with a water temperature of about 17°C, flowing all year round. The warm spring is the source of Liu Lake, and next to the spring is a stone stele inscribed with the words 'Warm Spring' by Zuo Zongtang, with inscriptions such as 'Pingliang is cold, and the water springs are very clear, this one is warm, and it is tested that it does not freeze in the deep winter' below. Now the warm spring has been refurbished, surrounded by iron railings, and protected. Liu Lake is known for its unique 'willows in the lake, lake among willows'. In the late spring, the willow fluff floats lightly, spreading over the lake, known as 'Liu Lake's Clear Snow', and is listed as one of the eight scenic spots of Pingliang. 'The clear light reflects the wild pond, where does the white snow come from to fill the air. The jade flakes dance with the wind, and the silver light goes wild around the shore. The clothes get wet under the moon, and the face feels cool in the wind. Liu Lake has the charm of the West Lake, which makes the poets' interest grow.' This is the ancient praise for 'Liu Lake's Clear Snow'. In 2013, in cooperation with the compilation of 'Kongtong Inscriptions' by the CPPCC Cultural and Historical Data Committee of Kongtong District, the author discovered the Ming Dynasty 'Yanxuan Temple Record' stele lying in the northwest corner of Liu Lake Park while collecting inscriptions within the territory of Kongtong District. This was the first discovery of the stele after it had been abandoned in this place after several twists and turns. The stele is huge, with the stele's head and base already damaged, leaving only the body of the stele. The stele body is 2.52 meters long, 1.1 meters wide, 0.42 meters thick, and weighs about 3 tons, which can be regarded as the crown of stone steles seen in Pingliang. After coordination by the CPPCC of Kongtong District, a crane was used to turn the stele face up, and the inscription on the sunny side of the stele was well preserved, with clear handwriting. The stele is named 'Yanxuan Temple Record', with a total of 649 characters, 19 lines, and varying from 4 to 46 characters per line, with a character diameter of about 4 centimeters, and the font is regular script. The stele was written and inscribed by Zhu Fan, the grandson of Zhu Song, the twentieth son of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and the second-generation Xiangling King, and was erected on the ninth day of the seventh month of the fourth year of Hongzhi (1791 AD). The side of the stele facing up is the shady side of the stele, with most of the inscriptions severely damaged by human actions, leaving only a few remaining inscriptions. After some identification, the damaged inscriptions record the names of the descendants of the Han Fan royal family stationed in Pingliang and words such as 'General of the State Fan Jie' etc. When the stele was abandoned in Liu Lake Park is unknown, and now it is only based on the inscriptions for some superficial exploration, seeking correction from experts. From the end of the Ming Dynasty to the beginning of the liberation, Pingliang went through many wars, natural disasters, and the 'Anti-Religious Privilege' movement, and Taoist temples suffered severe damage, with the temples demolished and a large number of cultural relics and historical sites destroyed. The 'Yanxuan Temple Record' stele was not easy to preserve. The inscription on the stele records in great detail the geographical location of Yanxuan Temple, the ideological motivation of the builders, the original site, the construction process, and the source of funds, which is a precious historical material for studying the development of Taoism in Pingliang during the Ming Dynasty. Geographical location Liu Lake Park in Pingliang is located at the northwest corner of Kongtong City, south of the Xilan Highway, 480 meters long from east to west, and 185 meters wide from north to south, with a total area of 133 acres, including a lake area of 41 acres.  Main attractions Liu Lake is a natural landscape garden in Eastern Long, known for its unique 'willows in the lake, lake among willows' landscape. If you stroll along the stone steps and secluded paths, you can see the lush willow shade, the sparkling lake, the scattered flower beds, the hidden and misty scenery, the exquisite pavilions, and the light boats, which are refreshing and make one linger and forget to return. In the late spring, when the willow fluff floats lightly, it spreads over the lake willows, known as 'Liu Lake's Clear Snow', one of the eight scenic spots of Pingliang. In the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), Zuo Zongtang, the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, stationed troops in Pingliang, restored it, named it Liu Lake Academy, and inscribed the plaque 'Liu Lake'. He wrote 'Praise of the Warm Spring', also known as 'Reconstruction of the Pingliang Warm Spring Stele'. In the fifteenth year of the Republic of China (1926), Liu Lake Academy was changed to the Seventh Normal School of Gansu Province. After liberation, it was successively occupied by some schools and units, and after 1977, the units moved out, the park was restored, the old system was added, new scenes were added, and it was officially opened on May 1, 1979.