The Sword Pond
And its waterfall.
Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CyberCop — CC BY 3.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · User:CatOnMars — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CyberCop — CC BY 3.0 · User:CatOnMars — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walter Grassroot — CC BY-SA 4.0 · User:CatOnMars — CC BY-SA 4.0
A green mountain of the Tianmu range in Deqing County, some sixty kilometres from Hangzhou and two hundred from Shanghai, famous for over a century for its mild summers, which made it a retreat for Shanghai's wealthy; dense bamboo forests, tea terraces and waterfalls cover its slopes. Legend says the famous swordsmith Gan Jiang and his wife Mo Ye forged a pair of swords here for the King of Wu in the Spring and Autumn period, and the mountain takes its name from theirs; its best-known spot is the Sword Pond, where a waterfall drops between the rocks. From the 1880s foreigners came to the mountain to escape the summer heat and built European-style villas; by 1910 some three hundred of them had summer homes here, and many of those villas still stand, some now hotels and guesthouses among the bamboo. Tickets cost CNY 80, 100 in July, August and national holidays and 50 in the quiet season, valid three days with re-entry, and it is open from 8 am to 5 pm, per visitor guides.
And its waterfall.
On the slopes.
Among the trees.
Deqing County, Huzhou, about 60 km from Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Summer is the classic season, as the mountain is much cooler than Hangzhou and Shanghai, but it is also the busiest and priciest; spring and autumn are quieter and lovely for walking.
Choices are few on the mountain, so bring food and look in Hangzhou or Huzhou for restaurants run by Muslims under the halal sign.