Solitary Hill – A Lovely Spot

The Solitary Hill is also known as Solitary Island or Gu Shan. It is located in northwest of the famous West Lake and surrounded by water. In fact, Gu Shan is the largest island and the only nature island among the West Lake hills. It is a perfect tourist destination to explore where travellers can have the access to the good lake views as well as numerous significant attractions. The Solitary Hill is an ideal place to visit for all the people who are much interested in the history, legend and symbolism of China. The island is very crowded with beautiful monuments and attractive sites. Tourists from all over the world will have an unforgettable memory and amazing experience here with a reasonable budget.

It has to be noted that in the northern side of the Solitary Hill, there are many other interesting scenic spots such as Wenlan Pavilion, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Zhongshan Park, and others. The museum is actually housed as a division of an ancient imperial palace. In its western side, there is Xiling Seal Society which does sit at the top of a beautiful hill. At the hill’s foot, there is a tomb of the famous female writer and anti-Qing revolutionary named Qiu Jin. Being a former pro-democracy campaigner as well as member in Sun Yatsen's team of nationalist fighters in twentieth century, Qiu Jin is considered a great person. There is another tomb with significance – tomb of Wu Song, who was a well-known hero in a classic novel Water Margin. The tomb of Su Xiao Xiao is also of national importance. She was a prominent courtesan as well as patriotic poet who lived in fifth century. She died at age of 19 tragically. The tomb, destroyed by the Red Guards during the period of Cultural Revolution was perfectly restored in the year 2004.

In north eastern corner of Solitary Hill, there is a tiny pavilion called as Fànghè Tíng or Ascending Crane Pavilion which is built in the memory of Lin Hejin, a well-known Song Dynasty poet. The Solitary Hill in Hangzhou is an ideal spot for tourism. The name “Solitary Hill” has a literal meaning - hill surrounded by water and standing alone in West Lake. It has a height of only one hundred and twenty five feet. When compared with other hills near West Lake, this hill is the lowest one but with the highest reputation among the hills in West Lake Scenic Area.

In centre of Solitary Hill, Zhong Shan or Sun Yat-sen Park began to open to the public in the year 1927 in the honour of a famous politician, Sun Yat-sen, who served as provisional president and established a new republic after fall of Manchu in the early twentieth century. The Zhong Shan Park was reconstructed on the spot of imperial garden of Qing Dynasty period. It is well dotted with ponds, plants, streams, flowers, pavilions, bridges etc. For its unique feature, this park is recognized as the wonder of West Lake in China.
People can visit this place at anytime.