It This has a lakeside of 5 kilometers in all and covers a land and water area of 40 ha. It enjoys a fame of being the first scenic spot in Jingling (another name for Nanjing). It was said that in the Southern Qi Dynasty, a girl named Mochou (no worry) from Luoyang city married to Nanjing. She was mistreated by her mother-in-law and missed her hometown. She often spent her time on the lakeside in a sad and nostalgic mood, hence the lake got Mochou as its name. This is after all, a legend, but actually the lake itself, about two thousand years ago, was the bed of the Yangtze River. Historical records of the lake were only found in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. (around 14^th century). When Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty chose Nanjing as his capital, Mochou lake Lake was built as the residential place for his close minister Xuda, a very powerful and influential figure in the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Then it It was then built into a park and the scenery was so beautiful that people honored it as the number one sight in Jinling. In the its long history, the lake experienced numerous ups and downs and lots of beautiful poems were written praising the scenery. The beautiful park was destroyed by wars and fires in the Qing Dynasty when Xianfeng was the emperor. It was rebuilt again in 1871 and turned into a park in 1929 but was unfortunately destroyed again in the Anti-Japanese War and Liberation War and was virtually abandoned until the 1950s.

There are a lotmany of scenic spots in the lake, but the most famous of all is the Shengqi Tower (Chess-winning Tower ). It was said that Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty often played chess with Xuda here in this tower. Xuda was an excellent player but he often deliberately lost in the playgame. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang knew his intention. He was unhappy and demanded that he should play with all his skill. Xuda agreed but tactically won the Emperor by arranging the chessmen in the shape of a Chinese character "longevity". Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was so pleased that he gave the tower under which they played chess as a gift to Xuda and named it as "Winning Chess Tower".

Today, the lake is restored and enlarged into one of the largest gardens in Nanjing. On the one hand, it keeps the historical face of the lake, andwhile on the other hand, created a lot of scenery. The layout of the lake structure is the combination of traditional Chinese architecture among trees and flowers, water and mountains. In the west of the Shengqi Tower is the Yujin Hall, where you can see the imagined portrait of Mochou girl and a huge Chinese character "swine" by artists from the Qing Dynasty. Out of the tower to the west you can see the Watching Fish Pond. Winding your way through the corridors and steps further up closer to the Square Pavilion, the beautiful scenery will remind you of many charming poems in praise of the lingering waters amid the purple mountains, with the white mists afloat in the sky around rolling peaks like silk ribbons; , willows swinging swaying in the wind beside the lakeside reflected by water ripples rippling in front of the stone city. What a picture!