Ruiyun Peak

Located within the campus of Suzhou No. 10 High School in Jiangsu Province, Ruiyun Peak is a Taihu Lake rock, renowned as one of the "Three Famous Rocks of Jiangnan" alongside Jade Exquisite and Wrinkled Cloud Peak. This crescent-shaped stone, standing 5.12 meters tall, 3.25 meters wide, and 1.3 meters thick, features intricate hollows and overlapping folds, earning it the reputation of being the most exquisitely crafted rock south of the Yangtze River. It is a relic from Emperor Huizong of Song's "Flower and Rock Expeditions." Historical records indicate that Ruiyun Peak was originally quarried from Dongting Mountain in Taihu Lake by Zhu Mian, bearing the inscription "Presented by Your Servant Zhu Mian." Amid the chaos of the Jingkang Incident, it was abandoned by the riverside. Later, it came into the possession of Chen Jicheng, ancestor of Zhu Wangmu, who built a grand estate in Shangbao, Hengjing, Wuxian County, featuring five prominent rocks in front of the hall, with Ruiyun being the largest—towering and majestic, though geomancers deemed its fire-like shape inauspicious, leading to its height being reduced by about two meters. Initially transported from Dongting, the rock and its base were lost when the boat capsized. Locals constructed dikes and drained the water with pumps, recovering the rock after immense effort, but the base remained submerged. The rock eventually passed to Dong Fen of Huzhou, who employed ingenious methods (including spreading crushed scallion leaves for traction) to transport it. At the original sinking site, the rock mysteriously submerged again, only for the long-lost base to resurface instead. After further diving efforts, the rock was recovered a mile away, reuniting the pieces in a miraculous twist of fate. Transporting it back to Wu County damaged countless bridges. Soon after, the owner passed away, and the rocks lay neglected for decades until his son attempted to restore them, only to die within a year, fueling beliefs of the rock's ill omen. During the Ming Dynasty, the rock was acquired by the Dong family and gifted as a dowry to wealthy Suzhou merchant Xu Shitai, who placed it in the East Garden (precursor to the Lingering Garden), renaming it Ruiyun Peak. In 1799, it was relocated by a eunuch of the Imperial Silk Manufacture to the western garden of the manufactory—a temporary palace for Emperor Qianlong's southern tours. Now standing 6.23 meters tall and over 2 meters wide at the center of a pond, Ruiyun Peak embodies the ethereal qualities of Taihu rocks: porous, slender, perforated, and wrinkled, with a striking contrast between its rugged front and smooth back. Advance reservation required for visits.