Yuyuan Lake Park was a pleasure spot of the Emperors. In the past it was known as Anglers Terrace (Diaoyutai) because in the Jin Dynasty, an official named Wang Yu secluded himself here in the guise of a fisherman. The great beauty of this natural scenic area was described in a poem written over 800 years ago:
Grass grows lushly on Yuyuan Lake,
The gurgling spring flows into distant streams.
Weeping willows line the pools before the darkening hills.
Peach blossoms float on the water at sunset.
One Jin emperor wrote: "His Majestys carriage has made several trips here; the splendor of the Anglers Terrace compares with that of the Terrace of Gold."
The history of the park reflects the rise and fall of successive dynasties.Under the Yuan it was renamed Yuyuantai and belonged to a family named Ding. In the Ming Dynasty, from the time of Emperor Wanli (reigned 1573-1619) it was the personal villa of a nobleman named Li. Due to neglect, by the end of the Ming Dynasty there was neither a terrace nor a pavilion to speak of, though the name of the park was passed down through the centuries by the local people. In the early 20th century, Puyi, the last Qing emperor, made a gift of the park to his teacher Chen Baochen, but Chen only came here to celebrate his birthdays.
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