The Grand Embankment and the Monument
2 min readThe Grand Embankment around Tai Lake is one of the key projects in a comprehensive way to protect and tackle the problems of Tai Lake. It started in the 1990s stretching 3.6 kilometers into the resort area with 7 meters wide on the top of the Grand Embankment. As a newly man-made scenery, trees are planted along the inside of the embankment, which form a natural shelterbelt. The reed grows up from the water extending along theoutside of the embankment, which gives visitors an additional view of Tai Lake. The Monument of Tai Lake Control Project with 21 meters in height stands at the intersection of Meizhou Road and Qiucheng Road in the center of the Tai Lake tourist resort.
The set-up of the monument as the same as a legend passed down from ancient times has similar implications. Once upon a time, the water surface of Tai Lake was frozen over during the fishing season. Fishing boats were blocked by heavy ice, and fishmen fell in an awkward predicament. For the fishermen’s livelihood,a man called Wang Er opened up a water way through the lake. It was his endeavours that helped many fishermen survive the natural disaster at that time. Later, some fishermen built up a temple out of their respect to worship Mr. Wang Er. He was called the Ship God of Tai Lake. Every year people hold a memorial ceremony in the temple. As aconvention, even now some fishermen still pray the Ship God for the harvest and safety before they sail out fishing on Tai Lake.
The Grand Embankment around Tai Lake benefits future generations, and becomes the best spot for tourists to be close to Tai Lake at the same time.
