Mulan Lake Bird Island Travel Notes

On October 2, 2018, during the National Day holiday, my family took a car along the Huota Highway and went to Mulan Lake for an autumn outing. In the golden autumn season, the weather is clear and the sun is shining brightly. The villages, fields, rivers, creeks, hills, trees... all along the way are full of vitality.

 

The vehicle crossed the Mulan Lake Dam and drove onto the mountainous road along the bank of Mulan Lake to the west of Mulan Lake. At about eleven o'clock, it arrived at Targang Street. After getting off the bus, we walked along the spacious Targang New Street for about 300 meters and saw a tall archway. The archway spanned both sides of the street and was painted with colorful patterns. It was very spectacular. There was the former Vice Chairman of the Military Commission above. General Liu Huaqing inscribed "Mulan Lake" with three large gilt characters.

 

After passing the archway and walking a short distance, we came to Mulan Square, located on the edge of Mulan Lake. A tall statue of General Mulan stands on the square. On the carved seat, General Mulan sits astride a war horse, twists her body, bends her bow and arrows, and looks ahead, creating a picture of a heroic heroine.

 

After crossing the huge Mulan Lake Square, we entered the Targang Street dock. What appeared in front of us was the vast Mulan Lake: Mulan Lake is a vast expanse of blue waves with sparkling waves. The entire lake is surrounded by mountains. Mulan Lake is like a crystal clear lake. The sapphires are set in the mountains and are dazzling.

 

In the distance, the mountains are like thousands of galloping horses, rolling up and down; at the dock, a dozen cruise ships and speedboats are lined up; on the lake, there are cruise ships full of tourists cruising briskly towards the bird island in the center of the lake, and there are also a few speedboats riding the wind and waves. Ups and downs; at the ticket office at the pier, there was a long line of tourists buying tickets to go sightseeing on Bird Island.

 

About 300 meters east of the pier, a hillock about two meters high above the water surface is exposed on the lake. There are seven gourd-shaped columns around the hillock, just like the columns in the "Three Pools Reflecting the Moon" in Hangzhou's West Lake. It is most spectacular; Bird Island, which is far away from the pier in the southeast, is located in the center of the lake. From a distance, you can see towering peaks and lush trees; at the pier at the foot of the mountain, there are cruise ships moored there; the villages at the pier have red tiles and white walls. Quite beautiful. There is a pavilion halfway up the mountainside of Bird Island, hidden and reappearing under the shade of green trees.

 

I got on the cruise ship and headed towards Bird Island. I fully enjoyed the scenery of Mulan Lake and the mountains: the blue waves on the lake were rippling, the blue sky and white clouds were reflected in the lake, the water and the sky reflected each other, and the waves shimmered. To the west of Mulan Lake, the undulating Mulan Mountains extend along the banks of the Mulan River; to the south, the Mulan Lake Dam is like a giant python crossing the canyon, cutting off the water of the Changyan River, a tributary of Sheshui River, making Mulan The lake has become a true "high gorge emerging from a flat lake".

 

To the east, the winding lake branches extend forward along the lake shoreline, and some bays are so long that there is no end in sight. Nearby, the boat station and village houses on the right side of the pier have been renovated. The raised cornices on both sides of the gatehouse of each house, the glazed tiles on the roof, the snow-white walls, and the weeping willows in front of the doors are all reflected in the lake. , extremely magnificent.

 

About 10 minutes later, the cruise ship docked near the Bird Island Pier. We stepped onto the steps on the shore, passed through the service station that receives tourists on the pier, came to the foot of Bird Island, followed the steps up the mountain, and climbed up step by step. The steps are paved from the foot of the mountain to halfway up the mountain. Each step is about five meters long and thirty centimeters wide, and is entirely paved with bluestone slabs. There are about a hundred or so steps, and the slope is not very steep. From a distance, it looks like a waterfall flowing down the mountainside, which is spectacular.

 

Bird Island is located in the center of Mulan Lake, surrounded by water, with lush vegetation on the mountains, which can be said to be beautiful. On the way to the mountain, my energy doubled, and I felt like "standing up to climb the mountains and raising my eyes to illuminate the distant sky."

 

Without much effort, we followed the tourists up to a pavilion halfway up the mountain. There are no steps above the pavilion, but there is a path leading to the top of the mountain on both sides of it. At this point, I didn’t plan to go any further, so I stopped here and rested in the pavilion.

 

The pavilion is very spacious, surrounded by eight pillars. There is a corridor of about 60 cm between the pillars. The corridor is paved with marble countertops for visitors to rest. There are vendors setting up stalls outside the pavilion, selling some tourist souvenirs related to the scenery of Mulan Lake, as well as archery, air rifle shooting and other entertainment projects for tourists to try their skills.

 

I sat on the corridor, facing Mulan Lake, looking far into the distance, and felt relaxed and happy. Fan Zhongyan, a writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, has this sentence in "Yueyang Tower": "As if spring and the scenery are bright, the waves are calm, the sky above and below is bright, and the vast expanse of green..." Although Mulan Lake is not as famous as Dongting Lake, it is not as famous as "The Legend of Yueyang Tower". Yueyang Tower" is a masterpiece, but in terms of water quality, it is better than Dongting Lake.

 

The water of Mulan Lake is so clear and transparent that you can see people's figures. It is so clear that it is refreshing and intoxicating. Washing your face with the cool lake water will make you feel refreshed; taking a sip of the cool lake water will make your mouth full of sweetness. Cruise ships come and go on the lake, cruising briskly, while speedboats chop through the waves and stir up dazzling waves. Sometimes the lake is open, sometimes narrow, sometimes a branch appears in front of you, sometimes a harbor is hidden among the mountains.

 

Although this island is called Bird Island, I haven't seen a single bird in the estimated time I've been here, but I can still see bird's nests on the branches in the mountains. During the day, the birds may not dare to appear because they are disturbed by tourists. At night, after the tourists leave, the birds return to their nests, and you can imagine the joyful scene. As the Song Dynasty writer Ouyang Xiu said in "The Drunken Old Man's Pavilion": "The woods are dark and full of sounds, and the birds are happy when the tourists are gone."

 

It was already noon and it was time to have lunch. We followed the steps down the mountain and ordered a few farm dishes with Mulan Lake characteristics at a farm restaurant at the pier. This was also a good introduction to the ingredients of Mulan Lake. It's an experience.

After lunch, we came to Bird Island Pier and boarded the cruise ship again. After the cruise ship set sail, it cruised toward the Targang Street dock again. After the cruise ship arrived at Targang Street Pier, we disembarked and came to Mulan Square again, then walked along Targang Street, passed the archway, and got on the bus in the parking lot.

 

As the vehicle drove along the mountainous road along the Mulan River, the beautiful lakes and mountains once again came into view. When I looked at the Bird Island located in the center of the lake again from the car window, I felt that it was like a bright pearl inlaid on the natural sapphire of Mulan Lake. It was crystal clear and dazzling. It was so beautiful!