{"id":18883,"date":"2015-09-26T18:35:58","date_gmt":"2015-09-26T10:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/?p=18883"},"modified":"2021-09-16T07:46:05","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T23:46:05","slug":"stroll-around-three-ponds-mirroring-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/zhejiang-travel\/hangzhou-travel\/stroll-around-three-ponds-mirroring-the-moon","title":{"rendered":"Stroll around Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Santanyinyue (\u4e09\u6f6d\u5370\u6708), or Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, is the largest island on the Outer West Lake in Hangzhou. Its name comes from the three deep pools ( the three deep areas in the lake ) south of the island where three magic stone pagodas stand. The stone pagodas were originally built in 1089 Song Dynasty ( 960 \u2013 1279 ). They stand on the three deep-water pools respectively in a triangle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three stone pagodas south of the island known as Three Pools Mirroring the Moon are the landmark of West Lake and the symbol of Hangzhou. The three stone pagodas are printed on the back of the one yuan paper banknote of 1 RMB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the name of the island “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon” suggests, in Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival ( Moon Cake Day ), candles are lit inside the round holes of each pagoda (south of the island), creating the mixed splendor of candle light, moonlight and lake light on the three-pool area in the lake, hence the name of Three Pools Mirroring the Moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Pools Mirroring the Moon is taken mostly as just a symbol since unfortunately most travelers can’t be so lucky to see the charming and romantic scene like this. But getting on to the island for a stroll is very easy and many first-time visitors will make a pilgrimage \u00a0boat trip to the island during their Hangzhou tour<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There \u00a0are several docks around West Lake where you just pay 55 yuan for a return boat trip to the island known as “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon”. \u00a0If you walk along Su Causeway<\/a>, you may buy your boat ticket at the dock opposite the entrance to Fish Viewing at Flower Park between the first bridge and second bridge along Su Causeway<\/a>. \u00a0But you don’t have to return to the dock where you come. Instead you you are able to take a boat to other docks like Hubin Park ( Lakeside Park ) on the east shore of West Lake west of the downtown Hangzhou or Zhongshan Park on the largest island known as Gushan Island on the north of West Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow me to have a glimpse of the island known as “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon”.  Actually Three Pools Mirroring the Moon is like a lake within West Lake. The whole island resembles a traditional Chinese water and mountain painting – zigzag bridges, lily ponds, curved-eave pavilions and densely forested trees, a perfect place for a leisure afternoon stroll.  Avoid coming here on China public holiday due to the hordes of domestic tourists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dock at Huagang \u82b1\u6e2f\u7801\u5934 ( Dock by Fish Viewing at Flower Park\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The dock at Huagang<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pay 55 yuan and get on a wooden boat for a return trip to the island known as “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon”. Every 15 minutes a shuttle boat will leave the dock for the island,  full and go with free seating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"boating
Pay 55 yuan and get on a wooden boat for a return trip<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

From your boat, you can have a distant view of Su Causeway like a green belt lying on West Lake from the south to the north dotted with six moon bridges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Have
Have a distant view of Su Causeway<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It is not a bad idea to rent a rowing boat for a romantic cruise. You see the young couple comfortably sitting in a rowing boat with the background of three stone pagodas on the south of the island, Leifeng Pagoda atop the  southern hill of West Lake and City God Pavilion on the summit of Wushan Hill protruding into Hangzhou city center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"west
It is not a bad idea to rent a rowing boat for a romantic cruise<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now we are board the island – a lake within West Lake – pavilions, bridges, ponds, flowers and trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
Now we are board the island – a lake within West Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The charming reflections on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The charming reflections on the water<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The large dock area on the northern shore of the island, a nice place for a broad view of West Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The large dock area on the northern shore of the island<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Look into the distant northeast shoreline of West Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Look
Look into the distant northeast shoreline of West Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Snap a picture of the beautiful island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Snap
Snap a picture of the beautiful island.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A pleasant and comfortable boat cruise on West Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A pleasant and comfortable boat cruise on West Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Related travel blog:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stroll along Su Causeway<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip:\u00a0 Hassle-free Hangzhou Guided Tours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Hangzhou Guided Tours:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hangzhou Tour<\/a>
Hangzhou 4-Day Tour Package<\/a>
Hangzhou 3-Day Tour Package<\/a>
Hangzhou Private Tour<\/a>
Hangzhou Theme Tour<\/a>
Hangzhou Side Trips<\/a>
Hangzhou Car Rental with Driver<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Readings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Top 10 Attractions in Hangzhou<\/a>
Top 10 Photography Spots in Hangzhou<\/a>
Night View of West Lake in Hangzhou<\/a>
The Best hiking trail in Hangzhou<\/a>
The best time to visit Hangzhou<\/a>
Hangzhou East Railway Station<\/a>
Hangzhou Airport Arrival Hall<\/a>
How to Visit Feilai Peak Grottoes in Hangzhou<\/a>
Where to stay in Hangzhou<\/a>
Hangzhou Bicycle Hire<\/a>
Wushan Night Market in Hangzhou<\/a>
Pedestrian Streets in Hangzhou<\/a>
Hangzhou\u2019s Best Bars & Nightclubs<\/a>
Best Way to Visit Hangzhou from Shanghai<\/a>
How to Visit Grand Canal Hangzhou<\/a>
How to Visit Xiling Seal Engravers\u2019 Society<\/a>
How to Visit Liuhe Pagoda<\/a>
Hangzhou Tea Plantation<\/a>
How to Visit Leifeng Pagoda<\/a>
How to visit Hupao Spring (Tiger Spring) Hangzhou<\/a>
How to Visit Yellow Dragon Cave in Hangzhou<\/a>
The Best Place to View Sunrise over West Lake Hangzhou<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any question, just drop a line.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Santanyinyue (\u4e09\u6f6d\u5370\u6708), or Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, is the largest island on the Outer West Lake in Hangzhou. Its name comes from the three deep pools ( the three deep areas in the lake ) south of the island where three magic stone pagodas stand. The stone pagodas were originally built in 1089 Song…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[138,1914],"tags":[3150,3147,3149,3148],"class_list":["post-18883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hangzhou-travel","category-zhejiang-travel","tag-how-to-get-to-how-to-visit-three-pools-mirroring-by-boat","tag-how-to-visit-santanyinyue","tag-how-to-visit-three-ponds-mirroring","tag-how-to-visit-three-pools-mirroring-the-moon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18883"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27523,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18883\/revisions\/27523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}