虎丘 - Tiger Hill

A popular scenic spot in Suzhou, Tiger Hill (虎丘) is also a remarkable destination to discover some of the vast history and architectural diversity of the city. There are several suppositions as to the origin of this hillock's name. The first is that the hill resembles a crouching tiger, though this attribute is much less evident when compared to the nearby Lion Hill in Suzhou, which more clearly resembles a crouching lion. However, the more fanciful legend states that the spot was so named following the death and burial of King Helu (阖闾) on the mount . . . at that time a white tiger purportedly appeared to guard the tomb. I am a fan of this story myself - how about all of you?

The above slide show shows a bit of the architectural diversity evident on the hill - collected over a long history indeed!

Regarding King Helu . . . His tomb reportedly does reside somewhere within the imposing mound. However, over the years, the size of the hill expanded as more tombs were added, and at the pinnacle of this peak there now exists a large seven-story pagoda, known as Yunyansi Pagoda (云岩寺塔). It was built approximately 1,100 years ago in the later part of the Five Dynasties Period. The foundation of the tower was built partially on the hill's rock and partially on the landfill covering over the monarchical tombs. As a result of the different densities of the substrate, over the years and as the fill compressed, the pagoda began tilting towards the backfill. This has caused many to dub the pagoda China's Leaning Tower - though it predates Pisa's famous landmark by about 200 years!

This picture is not crooked - the tower is!

Interestingly, the government recently had to suspend an archaeological dig into one of the tombs for fear of further destabilizing the foundation of the tower. Yet to the disappointment of many, they were within several yards of a chamber believed to hold a legendary stash of ornate swords - of priceless value. Perhaps one day the swords will be able to be unearthed without compromising the structure of the tower . . . At least the legend lives on for the time being.