Three Pools Mirroring the Moon
三潭印月
The largest islet in West Lake, where “there is a lake within the island and an island within the lake.” Its three stone pagodas appear on the reverse of the one-yuan banknote.
Xiaoyingzhou is the largest of the three islets in West Lake. It was built up during the Ming-dynasty dredging of the lake. Inside the island, a nine-turn bridge, the Nine-Lion Rock, the Kaiwang Pavilion, and the “Wo Xin Xiang Yin” pavilion create a garden that is a lake within a lake. Three stone pagodas stand in the lake to the south of the island. They make up “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon.” They are about 2 metres tall, and on Mid-Autumn night candles are lit inside them, so the moonlight and the lamplight reflect in the water. The island can only be reached by boat. Official tour boats leave from the Hubin, Yue Temple, Huagang, and Zhongshan Park piers. Boat tickets, which include island admission, cost about RMB 55 to 70. The round trip takes about 1.5 hours.
Opening hours
Boats about 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Nearby sights
- West Lake
- Leifeng Pagoda
- Su Causeway
- Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor
- Liulang Wenying (Orioles Singing in the Willows)
- Taiziwan Park
- Zhejiang Provincial Museum
- Gushan Hill & Xiling Seal Engravers' Society