Lvjiang River

Legend has it that Lvjiang River was specially excavated by Wu Zixu in order to facilitate the access to Taihu Lake by his water forces. The earth dredged from the river was also used to build the Helv City. Wu really achieved two things at one stroke. After Wu Zixu was murdered, his body was packed in a leather bag and thrown into a river by Fu Chai. The river was the “Lvjiang River”. Later, Lvjiang River gradually turned into a channel for inland waters to discharge water to Taihu Lake, as well as a vital water way for privately-owned boats. Since Zhihu Harbor was launched into use in 1958, Lvjiang River has gradually got out of use and become a stand-by river. The Lvjiang riverway you see now is the result of dredging and straightening done after liberation. Viewing from the large-scale map, you will find out that Lvjiang River is apparently an ancient channel which leads northward to Beiyang Lake in Luoyang Town, Wujin District, Changzhou City, and leads southward to Taihu Lake. After reaching the west of Baiyao Mountain, the river is artificially diverged into two channels, with one taking its course to the east to Taihu Lake from the east Helv City, and the other taking its course from the west Helv City, passing through the seat of government of Xueyan Town and leading southward to Taihu Lake through Yapu. The diverge produces two outlets. The ancient warships can directly navigate from Taihu Lake and through Lvjiang River to anchor near the Helv City. In addition, the south moat of Helv City squarely connects with the east and west lake-entering water channels. The perfect combination of river and moat enhances the defensive capacity.