Xing Bridge 荇桥

Xing Bridge is located north of the Marble Boat and connects the south end of Xiaoxileng with the piedmont. With archways standing on each end, the bridge is considered the western starting point of Back Lake. A double-decker pavilion straddles the bridge and four life-like stone lions sit on the bridge piers. The name of the bridge came from a very old poem which portrayed women picking xing plants. Xing, 荇, is an edible water plant having medicinal properties. As the bridge was near Xi Si Suo, the residence of the emperor’s concubines, the meaning of this bridge implied the virtue of wives.