Ma Zhou Park: The Fountain's Romance with Rong Lake

★ Travel location: Taizhou Jingjiang Ma Zhou Park.

On the February holiday, I didn't want to travel far, so I set my sights on Jingjiang, just across the river. My phone navigation showed Ma Zhou Park was very close, and although the sky looked overcast, I still cheerfully set off.

Located in the center of Binjiang New City, Ma Zhou Park is the largest comprehensive public park in Qingjiang. The new administrative center is to its north, and the wide Sunshine Avenue runs along its south. Its location is absolutely advantageous.

The parking lot was very empty, and at this time a light rain began to fall, adding a chill to the late winter weather.

However, having arrived, I certainly wouldn't return empty-handed. I got out of the car holding an umbrella. Unfortunately, the rain couldn't be called 'apricot blossom rain'—it was more desolate and less poetic.

A comprehensive park naturally includes a lake, and Rong Lake occupies more than two-fifths of Ma Zhou Park's area. The park has pavilions, towers, lawns, and trees built around Rong Lake, so there was no need to plan a route—just stroll along the lake.

"The Yangtze River before my house is long, shining like a golden necklace. The clear Rong Lake is a pearl, a token of love held in the palm..." Is this song 'Love of Rong Lake' about the lake before me?

I looked at the lake in pleasant surprise. It was not round but ribbon-shaped, with a bridge connecting its middle. From a distance, Rong Lake roughly resembled a horseshoe, giving the name 'Ma Zhou' (Horse Shoal) its due. The lyrics suggested that Rong Lake's water originates from the Yangtze River.

On the southwest side of the park, there is a Cultural Stele Wall, 90 meters long and 2 meters high, with ten black granite reliefs displaying the history and culture of Jingjiang's centuries-old port opening.

White Horse Carrying Sand, Ma Zhou Ancestors, Opening Port and Establishing Administration, Hanhui Flood Control, Anti-Japanese Pirate Struggle, Anti-British Struggle, Gushan Temple Fair, Land of Precious Scrolls, Industrial and Commercial Magnates, Love Fills a Thousand Sails—although Jingjiang's port opening history is not long, and its economy lags slightly behind the Jiangnan region across the river, looking at these reliefs is like opening a thick historical book.

If you are a local of Jingjiang, you might resonate more with this wall. Just like when we see the reliefs of Yan Yingyuan resisting the Qing at the side of Xingguo Pagoda, it's like taking a time machine back to that bloody and tearful history.

The themed sculpture 'Life Rhythm' is on the north shore of Rong Lake. Because it is bright red, you can see it from far away. The lines are simple and powerful, but the theme expresses the mystery of life.

The most delightful part was the Rong Lake Fountain. Hearing the music from afar, I no longer lingered on the zigzag bridge and headed straight for it. Fortunately, we arrived just in time; the fountain show had just started. The music was powerful, and the fountain was equally energetic.

Water jets, high or low, fast or slow, converged into vivid scenes. Through the fountain, you could see the tall and imposing administrative building, and the bright red national emblem shone even without sunlight.

Deng Ziqie's 'Like You' played for a long time, and I personally think the fountain performance for this song was the most magnificent. Unfortunately, due to the rain, besides our group (and in the end only I remained), there were no other visitors.

No matter how hard the fountain performed, there weren't many applauding it. I thought, it must be lonely too, right?

However, they didn't cut corners. As each piece of music played, the fountain danced its show, even without an audience or applause, moving to its own rhythm.

Sometimes a pillar shooting skyward, sometimes gently swaying, each had its unique charm. I stood a bit too close, and the water droplets splashed densely onto me.

But I couldn't bear to move farther away. Perhaps because the walk had been a warm-up, the moist wind felt like the gentle spring breeze that doesn't chill the face. It seeped into my heart strand by strand.

What puzzled me was that throughout the entire fountain feast, I didn't hear 'Love of Rong Lake.' That absolutely shouldn't be!

Perhaps it had already played while we were on the zigzag bridge? It would be most fitting to use that song as the fountain's opening dance.

Only after the fountain show ended did I reluctantly leave. By then, my two companions had already taken shelter in the car, leaving me alone to take a full loop around Rong Lake.

Beside Rong Lake, there is also a children's playground, named 'Children's Paradise.' Since it's for kids, they didn't give it a poetic or obscure name. Just like the Cultural Stele Wall, it doesn't use a tongue-twisting name to show cultural depth—just four simple characters that tell you at a glance it's a stele wall showcasing Jingjiang's cultural history.

Unfortunately, spring had not yet emerged, so the trees by the lake were still bare. Only a few early plum trees had eagerly bloomed, adding a touch of bright pink to the dull winter.

Across the river, twenty li is a short trip;

Just take the chance of the new spring to visit Ma Zhou.

Hear the music, view the lake, cross the zigzag bridge;

Among green bamboo, one knows no sorrow.