Mo Hill

Situated at southeast of East Lake, Mo Hill, also name Millstone Hill, is a very important part of East Lake. Surrounded by water in three parts, the area has natural sceneries as beautiful as pictures, and also man-made landscapes rich in culture from the Chu Dynasty. The graceful east peak that looks like a millstone gave the hill its present name, Millstone Hill. Covering a total area of about 5 square kilometers, it boasts abundant plants and unique gardens, amid the biggest culture area of the State of Chu (one of the seven warring states before Qin (221BC - 206BC) in China's first feudal dynasty). Chu Culture Area and the Botanical Garden are the most famous in Mo Hill.

On the first peak of the Mo Hill stands the pavilion called Zhu De's Stele Pavilion. Two stories high, it is famous for a red stele lying in front on which is carved the epigraph of Zhu De (an important leader of the Chinese revolutionary period), and an attached horizontal board inscribed 'Zhu De's Stele Pavilion' by Guo Moruo (a famous Chinese author). The second floor of the pavilion affords an excellent view of the beautiful lake.

Fans of Chu culture will particularly enjoy the State of Chu culture theme park. Many historical places such as the City Wall of the State of Chu, the Chu Market, the Chu Talent Garden, the Chu Heaven Platform, etc., introduce the current State of Chu in this area.

At the entrance to the State of Chu's cultural sightseeing area is the City Wall at 23.4 meters (77 feet) tall and 11 meters (36 feet) wide. Chu people prefer the color red. The surrounding wall made of reddish-brown stones is magnificent in its primitive simplicity. The street of the Chu Market with special craftworks and distinctive local foods exemplifies Chu architectural styles. Not far from the Chu Market is the Chu Talent Garden, where over a hundred statues in the garden depict outstanding Chu litterateurs, scientists, myths characters and so on.

 

The Chu Heaven Platform affords clear views of Chu relics, great paintings, calligraphy, and waxworks of famous persons. Thirty-six meters (118 feet) tall and with an area of 2260 meters (7415 feet), it has 345 steps in front, culminating in the soul part of Mo Hill - the four-floor Chu Heaven Platform. Wearing classic Chu costumes, bandsmen play upbeat ancient music. Lifelike waxworks of eminent persons are displayed on the second floor, while Chu relics are exhibited on the third floor. A panoramic view of the entire East Lake Scenic Area is available from the summit.

The Botanical Viewing Garden on the south side of Mo Hill has 13 special gardens and 360 kinds of plants. Mo Hill's cherry garden is 25 acres, and it is known as one of the best in the country. You'll enjoy the fresh air and the park scenery in the middle of the park on Mo Hill. The hill is bounded on three sides by lake.

As the most beautiful tourism resort in Wuhan City, it receives about one million tourists from home and abroad every year. The four special characteristics of Mo Hill Area are splendid mountains and rivers, abundant plants, unique garden parks and the rich Chu culture.

What's more, the area is also called the sea of flowers, with thousands of flower species. Among them, plums, azaleas, cherries, orchids, lotuses, sweet scented osmanthuses, Chinese roses, begonias and peach blossoms are the representative ones. The plum blossoms have as many as 206 varieties of about 20,000 plum trees and plants.

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