On the north bank of the Yangtze River, between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River lies Chaohu Lake, one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. It is vast and boundless, with many beautiful legends. In "Huainanzi" written by Liu An of the Han Dynasty, the story of "the capital of Liyang was transformed into Xianhu Lake overnight". There is also a story about gold coming out of Chaohu Lake in "Lunheng" written by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty. As for the name "Chao Lake", one theory is that the lake is shaped like a bird's nest; another theory is that in ancient times, people around the lake used trees as nests to avoid floods.
An ancient poem says: "The great lake is elegant and the West Lake is charming, but not as majestic as Chaohu Lake." The beauty of Chaohu lies mainly in the lake, the island and the mountains. Laoshan is located in the center of the rippling blue lake, with the exquisite Wenfeng Pagoda on it. The middle temple is the Chaohu Goddess Temple, standing on Fenghuangji that protrudes into the lake. From the central temple to the east you can see the faint Yinping Mountain, with thousand-year-old Yinping peonies taking root on the cliffs. Under the strange flowers, it is said that it is the "Immortal Cave" where Lu Dongbin practiced. Regarding the Silver Screen Peony, it is said that it was a peony fairy who disobeyed Wu Zetian's will and refused to open in the snow. She was demoted from Luoyang, the capital of peony, to Chaohu Lake. Another myth says that Lu Dongbin came to Yinping Mountain to practice and accidentally left an elixir, which was nurtured by the light of the sky and the earth. Precisely because there are so many magical legends about silver screen peonies, tourists from far and near come to see the peonies in an endless stream every year before and after Grain Rain.
Chaohu Lake is rich in aquatic products, and its specialties include silver-white and tender white rice shrimps, and large and fat golden-armored red hair crabs. The little whitebait is a treasure among fishes. It is said that Meng Jiangnu turned into a whitebait when she passed through Chaohu Lake in search of her husband. There are also saury fish in the lake. According to legend, Luban scattered wood shavings when he built the Zhong Temple. Laoshan is the most scenic spot in Chaohu. It is said that when Chaohu Lake was about to collapse, there was a prophet named Jiaopo who prepared boats to save the people. Later, when the boat was full of people, Jiao Po was afraid that the boat would capsize, so she jumped into the lake and turned into a mountain, which later generations called Laoshan. Jiao Wu, who sacrificed himself to save others, turned into a mountain of grandma, and his daughter turned into a mountain of aunts. The mother and daughter were beyond reach, and the daughter cried sadly day and night, with tears pouring down her cheeks. The water in Chaohu Lake rose and people fled. Lu Dongbin traveled here and sympathized with the Jiao family and his daughter, and was very dissatisfied with the Jade Emperor's capture in Chaozhou. Then he used magic to make the stormy Chao Lake calm and clear, and Jiao Gu's tears turned into strings of silver fish, floating between Laoshan and Gushan, conveying mother and daughter's Aiwen Peak Tower, which is seven stories high.* **There are more than 100 levels, built of azurite bricks, with 8 wind chimes on each floor. There are brick Buddha statues and stone plaques and inscriptions inside the tower. The pagoda was first built during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty and was rebuilt on the initiative of Li Hongzhang in the Qing Dynasty. According to folklore, after Li Hongzhang became an important minister in the Qing Dynasty, when he was "blocking the waves" (meaning powerful in Hefei dialect), a geography gentleman said to him: "Hefei has a good terrain and a lot of people came out. It's just the gate of the mansion." Facing Chaohu Lake, Laoshan is a bit flat and cannot stand out, so Hefei will not be able to produce the top scholar. If the tower is built and named "Wenfeng Pagoda", it will be in line with the proverb: "If Laoshan is sharp, Hefei will be the top scholar." The next year, Li Hongzhang's nephew was about to take exams, so he entrusted Wu Yufen, Jiangsu Procuratorate, to raise money and add three more floors. However, the news that "a sharp point leads to the top prize" somehow got to the attention of the craftsmen. They were dissatisfied with Li Hongzhang's practice of "charging the public for private benefit", so they found an excuse not to install the top of the tower. Laoshan did not have a "sharp point". In this way, Hefei will not have the top pick.