Travel Records (36) Entering the Yangcheng Lake Service Area

Article/Konoye Mountain

The poem says: Since ancient times, inns have come a long way, and Chenghu New Inn is the best. Gardens and mountains and rivers are used as ink scrolls, and the delicious food on the tip of the tongue is prepared for you. The journey along Jiangnan Road is full of beautiful scenery. The feelings of the water town are still there in the dream, and Tianyuan has the chance to come and visit again.

The beginning of the ancient style. This Yangcheng Lake Expressway Service Area is located in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, on the Jiangsu-Ninghu Expressway. It has been rated as "the most beautiful garden cultural service area in the country" by the China Highway Society.

This service area is one of the largest service areas in China. It is said that this service area started operation in 1996; in 2018, the service area was renovated with an area of ??40,000 square meters, and it was officially put into use in 2019.

We drove from Shanghai to Suzhou and stopped to rest before arriving at this service area. When you go in, you will see that it is indeed unique. Not only is it spacious, but the architectural style is also unique. Although it is a modern building, it has a Jiangnan cultural heritage and antique feel.

The first thing that catches the eye is the plaque on the main entrance in front of the service building, which reads "Yangcheng Lake Service Area". On the wall next to the plaque are eight large characters: "Dream of Water Town, Poetry and Painting of Jiangnan". It is the architectural concept and true portrayal of this service area. There is a huge stone standing in front of the door, which is particularly eye-catching. There are three lines of red letters in front, which read: "The most beautiful garden cultural service area in the country" and the signature is "China Highway Society, Eleventh Month, 2019."

On the back of the boulder there is a poem called "Xinyi Fu", which says: In the middle of summer in Yihai, in the southern corner of Chenghu Lake, the high-speed Xinyi Station was written into a poem.

Capture the elegance of Jiangnan gardens and the elegance of Gusu scenery. It attracts countless people from afar to see the thousand-meter-long scroll like a dream and a painting, and watch the smoke and water of Wumen like a startling giant. Whenever I wander along the Zhenshui Long Street, I can still vaguely look at the city view in front of me, as if I am in Shantang Street.

Wherever you are excited, you can appreciate the elegance of intangible cultural heritage, occasionally test the starry sky of science and technology, listen to the dream of visiting the garden again, stroll to the backyard garden, rest in the post station and enjoy the beauty of the forest and spring. Isn’t it great to travel at high speed and enjoy the scenery of mountains and rivers?

Only when I return home do I realize how far away the rivers and lakes are. After traveling a thousand times, I realize the closeness of my hometown. The Chinese scenic spot is as bright as the stars and the expressway station is the most beautiful. "Although it is a huge stone, it has a cultural atmosphere.

His facade also has a style. The short buildings lined up on the north side have white and black walls, blue bricks and green tiles. The houses are duplex, high and low. It has ups and downs.

At first glance, it is beautiful and graceful. It has elements of ancient southern garden architecture and the style of modern architecture. It is ingenious in design and exquisite in craftsmanship. When you go to Suzhou, you can also appreciate the beauty of ancient Suzhou gardens.

On the left side of the service area, there is a parking square in front of the house, with generous green brick paving and clean and tidy corridors outside the building. There are guardrails between the parking lots to allow pedestrians to travel safely.

The parking lot is large and has many vehicles parked. It has exits for both the east and west sides, making it very convenient for driving and parking. After looking outside the building for a while, we entered the service area building through the main entrance.

This building is larger than we imagined. There are only a few functional areas in other service areas. This service area is like bringing the garden scenery into the building.

The first thing that comes into view is the huge canopy on the top of the main building, which is painted in the color of blue sky and white clouds. At first glance, it seems to be seeing the clear sky in the wild. Under the light, it looks like daylight, giving people the feeling of being in the wild.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, a landscape river channel 8 meters wide and 140 meters long is set up in the building. It is said that water from Yangcheng Lake trickles in.

The south and north commercial pedestrian streets are formed on both sides of the river. , connected by bridge corridors, and interspersed with pavilions and pavilions. Various shops are distributed on both sides of the river. Stone bridges are arranged on the river. The pavilions in the water echo the ripples under the water. The fishing boats are docked in the water, echoing the fish basket sculptures and koi carps in the distance. While swimming, you will experience the pleasant scenery of life in a water town.

There are one to five bridges on the river connecting the neighborhoods. In addition to the main channel in the middle, there are two modern glass bridges and two stone bridges. These two stone bridges were moved from the countryside in the south of the Yangtze River and have a history of nearly a hundred years.

On both sides of the river there are central restaurants, fine dining restaurants, fish markets, gardens, etc. It is said that the main building has a total length of 260 meters and a height of 14-24 meters, making it magnificent.

On both sides of the entrance to the main building are Hanbi gardens. The two mirror pools on the left and right of Hanbi Garden cover a total area of ??1,800 square meters. Together with simple and unsophisticated small artworks and flowers and trees, they have become the focus of the building entrance. The pink walls and black tiles are reflected in the mirror pool, like a profound picture displayed in front of everyone.

Visitors wandering through the picturesque ancient streets and rivers feel as if they are in a dreamy water town. Here they can taste delicious food while admiring the beautiful scenery, and take photos to share with family and friends back home.

There are many restaurants here. In addition to the central restaurant, there are also Burger King, KFC, Dairy Queen, BreadTalk, Coffee, Juewei Duck Neck, Jixiang Wonton, and Tea Pavilion. Chinese time-honored brands Daoxiangcun, Caizhizhai, Chu Laoda, Qian Shengyuan, etc.

We originally planned not to eat here, but because we were fascinated by the gardens and landscapes here, we chose to eat here. In the central restaurant, we chose some meals and snacks adapted to the eating habits of northerners, and then tasted the food here while admiring the surrounding scenery, which also gave us a sense of pleasure.

After we replenished our energy, we went out from the east (right) exit behind the building and looked at the open-air gardens and landscapes here. There are pavilions and pavilions, screen walls and empty corridors, Taihu hollowed-out rocks, and ponds. There are flowers, plants, brocade trees, fenced woodcutting roads, meandering bridges and running water. It is a quiet paradise that makes people forget to leave.

If you haven’t been to Suzhou, you won’t know the beauty of ancient Suzhou gardens. This is also the epitome of ancient Suzhou gardens. There is an endless stream of people coming here, all attracted by the unique scenery here. Everyone wanted to stop and visit. After seeing it, it was unforgettable.

After looking at the garden landscape on the right, go back to the left entrance of the back building of the hall and look at the open-air garden landscape on the left. There are four-corner pavilions on the left, cornices and brackets, blue bricks and black tiles, and stone and wood structures. , there is a two-story small building next to it, and there is a pond in front of the building. The water is as clear as a mirror, surrounded by flowers and trees, and the reflection is flowing.

The road is paved with colorful cobblestones and planted with precious trees, including boxwood, water wax, podocarpus, heather, euonymus, pittosporum, safflower, etc. The high and low configurations are in order.

The hollowed-out Taihu Stone Mountain and the standing boulders are even more beautiful and ingenious in shape. Surrounded by green trees, they look particularly eye-catching.

To the east of the four-corner pavilion is a two-story pavilion with blue bricks and black tiles, flying eaves resting on the mountain. It is located in the water. There is a bright pool in front, reflecting the beautiful scenery. Behind the pavilion, there are rows of white walls and green pavilions. Tile apartment.

These apartments may be used for accommodation, but we are not allowed to know. However, there are small stone bridges connecting waterways. There are stone guardrails on both sides of the stone bridge, which are exquisite.

People who come here usually climb up to the pavilion to have a panoramic view. We also followed the others and boarded the pavilion to feast our eyes on it.

It took more than two hours before we finally looked around, so we took a bus to Pingjiang, Suzhou. This is exactly what it is: a picturesque water town, a trip to the south of the Yangtze River is worth it.

Pingjiang Apartment on April 6, 2021