Jinji Lake is situated in the middle Industrial Zone in Suzhou. Covering of 7.4 square kilometers as water area, the lake is a tributary of the Taihu Lake. The lake flows to the Wusong River and finally joins into the Hungpu River. It is the top scenic site for business tourism purpose in China. The main attraction includes the Music Fountain, Ferris Wheel on Water, Bridge with Waterfall and the Li Gong Dike.
The name of the Lake comes from a historic legend in Spring and Autumn Period (770 to 476 B.C.). The Country Yue was defeated and then Xi Shi, the renowned Four Beauties of Ancient China, was sent to be imperial concubine of Guo Jian. The name of the daughter of the King Fu Chai of Wu was Qiongji. She told her father to be aware of the King Gou Jian of Yue for ulterior purpose. But Qiongji was scolded by her father and banished to a distant island to introspection. Several years later, King Guo Jian endured hardships and managed his retaliation. When the army of Country Yue approached the capital of Country Wu, King Fu Chai intended to send his daughter Qiongji as a gift to ask for peace. After heard the news, Qiongji jumped into the Lake to commit suicide from the humiliation and pains. To memorize this young princess, people called the Lake the Jinji Lake due to the similar pronunciation of Qiongji and Jinji in local accent.
In the 1990s, with the development and construction of Suzhou Industrial Zone, Jiji Lake also began to transform from a fish pond to a high-end resort. The bottom of the lake is flat with the water depth of 1.8 meters averagely. The deepest area of the lake reaches 5 meters or so.
The Ferris Wheel on Water is the main attraction and highlight of the Jinji Lake Scenic Area. As the largest domestic ferris wheel on Water, it reaches 120 meters high and could contain 360 visitors at the same. From the ferris wheel, the visitors could overlook the whole lake and the Suzhou Industrial Zone. The giant circle turntable is equipped with 3,000 square meters of LED lights, which could stimulate various visual effects based on different times and environment. There are some exotic boutique restaurants next to the ferris wheel.
The 1400-meter long dike Li Gong Dike was built in the Qing Dynasty. Now the dike is positioned as an international walk street by water integrating by high-end catering, entertainment, sightseeing, leisure and culture. Some of the architectures in the long dike still remain the traditional features. There are also the bars, cafes, shopping malls, embroidery stores, stone carving stores, art museum and so on.
The Music Fountain in lake covers 28,000 square meters. The fountain show performs as the music and dance show of the realistic actors. The fountain show is performed each Friday starting from 20:00 and ending at 20:30.