Tantai Lake Park

Tantai Lake is located south of Tantai Lake Park. During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a man from the State of Lu named Tantai Mieming (styled Ziyu), who was very ugly and once studied under Confucius. Confucius, seeing his ugliness, didn't want to accept him as a student, but couldn't refuse directly, so he reluctantly agreed. Because of this, Tantai Mieming was treated coldly by Confucius. Later, he left Confucius's disciples and traveled to study in the Jianghuai and Nanchang areas. After arriving in the State of Wu, he discovered a secluded place south of the city, where he built a thatched hut and started a school, eventually having as many as 300 students. *Wu Di Ji* (Records of Wu) recorded: "Among the scholars of Suzhou, there is only one and a half who are disciples of Confucius; one is Yan Yan, and the half is Tantai Mieming." Later, Confucius heard about this and sighed with emotion, saying to his disciples, "I judged people's character and ability solely on their appearance, and as a result, I misjudged Ziyu." From then on, the idiom "judge a book by its cover" has been passed down. Over time, the place where Tantai Mieming built his hut and studied sank and became a lake. To commemorate him, the locals named the lake "Tantai Lake." The park has always been a place for citizens to enjoy the moon, and the Baodai Bridge located within it has a thousand-year history. Several pedestrian bridges have also been built on both sides of Tantai Lake, gradually forming a slow traffic system around Tantai Lake and along the canal's scenic belt. In 2015, the park and the children's play area were merged and rebuilt into Suzhou Wulong Bridge Park. To complement the canal's scenic belt project, Tantai Lake will be planned and redesigned with the theme of "Baodai Stringing the Moon," creating five major themes such as "Baodai Calm Waves" and "Goldfish Playing in Water." A pedestrian landscape bridge across the Grand Canal is also planned for the north side of the Tantai Lake area.