What is even more beautiful than the cherry blossoms at Jiming Temple is the Xuanwu Lake, which was almost buried by Wang Anshi due to being separated by just a wall

Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing is a dazzling pearl of the Jiangnan region, a natural lake formed by crustal movements, with a history of nearly 1 million years. Since the construction of the Yuecheng in Nanjing, it has been historically known as 'Sangpo', 'Moling Lake', 'Lian Lake', 'Hou Lake', and so on, with Huanzhou, Yingzhou, Lingzhou, Liangzhou, and Cuizhou islands within it. The reason for renaming it Xuanwu Lake is that Xuanwu represents the north in mythological stories and is also known as the God of the North, hence the name Xuanwu Lake replaced Beihu (North Lake). The Xuanwu District in Nanjing is also named after the presence of Xuanwu Lake. Xuanwu Lake is the largest urban park in the Jiangnan region and the largest royal garden lake in China, as well as the only remaining royal garden in Jiangnan. During the Six Dynasties period, Xuanwu Lake was much larger than it is now, directly connected to the Yangtze River, and the lake could serve as a training ground for the navy. The shrinkage of Xuanwu Lake was due to geographical changes and also to the great statesman Wang Anshi. During the Northern Song Dynasty, when the people were suffering and the court's military and financial affairs were mired in difficulties, Wang Anshi stepped forward and initiated a sweeping reform. A major transformation that shocked the nation began, and Wang Anshi urgently needed some examples of reform to facilitate the continuation of his work, and Xuanwu Lake became one of the starting points. In the seventh year of Xining, Wang Anshi petitioned Emperor Shenzong of Song to 'drain the lake to convert it into farmland'. This reform drained the spirit of Nanjing, turning Xuanwu Lake into fields of rice paddies, severely affecting the drainage within Nanjing city, and Xuanwu Lake disappeared for nearly 300 years. This land reclamation not only failed to benefit the people but also brought about natural and man-made disasters. It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that two dredging efforts were made to dig out Xuanwu Lake again, but its scale could no longer match the grandeur before Wang Anshi's abandonment of the lake. Faced with the dramatic changes in the status of Xuanwu Lake, countless literati expressed their emotions. Despite this, the rebuilt Xuanwu Lake is still regarded as the 'Pearl of Jinling' by the people of Nanjing, loved with complex feelings for thousands of years. At the end of the cherry blossom avenue of Jiming Temple is an entrance to Xuanwu Lake, Jiefangmen. Stepping through this gate, you officially enter the Xuanwu Lake Scenic Area. In March, the plum blossoms at Xuanwu Lake are in full bloom, the early cherry blossoms are just beginning to open, and spring flowers such as cherry blossoms, camellias, February orchids, and crabapples are successively blooming, with the prelude to a riot of spring flowers slowly unfolding. Besides the earlier blooming Kawazu cherry blossoms, early cherry varieties such as the Chumeiren and Yingchun are successively blooming. Come to Xuanwu Lake to enjoy the spring and admire the cherry blossoms!