Fèngxiáng

Fengxiang stands on the western Guanzhong plain, near the ancient city of Yong, a capital of the Qin state. Its palaces and ancestral temples recall the centuries when Qin's rulers established their power in this fertile country. The later prefectural town retained a rich collection of monuments, including stone inscriptions and works attributed to celebrated Tang painters.

In 1062 the scholar Su Shi served as an official at Fengxiang. He organised the dredging and enlargement of the old Yin Feng pool, drawing water from Phoenix Spring and planting willows and lotuses around the resulting East Lake. Pavilions, bridges and gardens made it a place of leisure as well as a work of water management. A Ming gazetteer recorded the lake and nearby gardens among the town's notable sights, preserving the memory of Su's work alongside Fengxiang's much older Qin past.