In 211 BC, XuanWu Lake was the first lake that became a royal lake for the kings. And because Nan Jin had become the capital for six extremely long times, The capital moved to Beijing in 1421 the lake had become a garden for the kings. it was not open to the citizen before, it had always only been used for important festivals. The name XuanWu means Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols of Chinese astronomy. An old and powerful monster in Chinese myth.

My watermark at XuanWu Lake happened when I was in grade four. It was a Saturday morning, in summer and the sun was high, big and powerful. But the cool wind was also bellowing very intensely, like a strong nature fan that follows you around. It seemed like a perfect day for boating. So my friend and I with both our moms went to XuanWu Lake.

When we arrived at the ashore. I looked at the lake, the sun and the shiny sun gave the water a beautiful glowing jacket, like a huge diamond made of water. We put our life jackets on. We were all set up. My friend and I went on the same boat, we started boating slowly with the flow of the lake. Around us, all the willows on the shore wagging with the same speed. All together it looks like a green water wave. There were also many people playing on the shore, kids were playing catch, their parents were talking to each other, and all the old people were either doing workouts together or fishing. The cool wind gently petting on our skin, everything just seems so … wait is the boat shaking or is it just
I’m …
“Putong” “Splash”... It’s definitely the boat.
By the seconds I realized, I was already in the water.

I got scared, I didn't know how to swim at that time. I actually didn’t even like water. The fear just filled me. I was pushing the water like a crazy dog. But after a while, I felt a little bit coolness.On a hot day like that, it actually feels pretty good in the cool water. This is my first time in the water and I liked it. Because I’m wearing a life jacket, I didn't sink down. I’m floating in the middle of the lake.
It is just so relaxing and comforting. All the water is pushing you, like a bed. Imaging lying on your bed, but it’s floating on the water and all these beautiful views surround you. But happy times always end fast, they picked me up and we had to go home because I was wet. Still, what a nice “boating”.