The lake of seven-storey towers

Lotus Pond began as an irrigation reservoir. A local magistrate ordered it dredged and embanked in 1686, and it was expanded in the eighteenth century to water the fields around Zuoying. The lake covers about 42 hectares, and its name comes from the lotus that once grew across the surface. Zuoying was an early walled settlement, and the old town, with its gates and lanes, stands a short distance from the water. The lake has been a leisure ground since the Qing period, when visitors came to admire the lotus and the hills behind it.

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas were built in 1976 on the southern shore of the lake. Each tower is seven storeys high, with yellow walls, red pillars and orange tiles, and they are joined to the shore by a zigzag bridge. Visitors enter through the dragon's mouth and leave through the tiger's, a sequence meant to reverse bad fortune. Inside, the walls are painted with scenes of the underworld and with figures from Confucian and Daoist tradition. The towers are relatively recent, but they have become the image most often used to represent Kaohsiung's temple life.

Further along the shore are the Spring and Autumn Pavilions, two hexagonal towers built in the 1950s and linked by a bridge, with a statue of Guanyin riding a dragon in front of them. The Confucian temple on the north bank was built in 1976 and is smaller and quieter than the lakeside shrines. Around the lake there are walking paths, paddle boats and food stalls, and the dragon boat races are held here each year. Zuoying's old streets, the East and North gates, and the Guangshan Temple are within a short walk. The lake is a place where the city still keeps its festivals.