The Flat-top Hill

The Flat-top Hill

The Flat-top Hill is one of the main scenes of the Mudu Scenic Spot of National Taihu Lake Scenic and Historic Spot. It is 14 kilometers west to Suzhou city with an elevation of 221 meters. Although it is high and steep, it is flat at the top, from which its name is got. 　　

The Flat-top Hill is famous for the three superbs grotesque rocks, clear fountains and red maples. Half way up the hill there is the White Cloud Spring. The water is mellow and sweet and is said to be praised as the “Number One Spring in the Wu area” by Lu Yu, the saint of tea. The old maple woods at the southeastern foot were brought back from Fujian Province during the reign of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty and planted in the ancestrily precious land by Fan Yonglin. It is a splendid sight that the red leaves covering the hill look like rosy clouds curling up in the late autumn. There is a praise saying that “the red maples on the Flat-top Hill are the finest under heaven”. 　　

Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Flat-top Hill Has been the famous tourist resort in south of the Yangtse River . So many poems, travels and relics left behind by the famous figures of Bai Juyi, Fan Zhongyan, Tang Bohu and the Emperor Qianlong attract the visitors to recall the past and find out the historical sites. The buildings, halls, corridors and pavilions were built according to the physical features of the hill with rocks, water, flowers and trees embellished among them. The hill and the trees show more delights. 　　

Climbing by the path onto the Flat-top hill, you will pass through the huge rock with a long linear crack in ,among the rock flying by, the Maple-seeing Pavilion, the White Snow Pavilion, the tall and erect peak, the terrace for looking at the lake, and finally come to the top of the hill above the clouds, from which you can see nearby as well as in the distance that the fields, the woods, the stretching hills and the vast Taihu Lake draw up a picture of hills and waters south of the Yangtse River full with the flavor of the times.