Solitary Joy Peak

A night view of Solitary Joy Peak in Prince Kung's Palace

Solitary Joy Peak, a five-meter-high rock excavated from the Taihu Lake area in East China, is located to the north of the famous Western-style Gate in Prince Kung's Palace. It adds considerable beauty to the garden of Prince Kung's Palace.

Many traditional Chinese gardening experts believe that Solitary Joy Peak concurrently serves as a screen wall and folding screen for the Western-style Gate in Prince Kung's Palace. It is believed that its name originated from the Garden of Solitary Joy (Dule Yuan in Chinese) built by Sima Guang (1019-1086), a well-known historian and politician of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

Due to long-term weathering, Solitary Joy Peak has developed a special form of natural beauty, which makes it look like a vortex or a floating cloud imbued with elegant, simplified poetic, and picturesque taste.

Solitary Joy Peak in Prince Kung's Palace

It is very easy for people to discern the Chinese characters of Lefeng (joy peak) on the surface of Solitary Joy Peak while the Chinese character of Du (solitary) is hidden on its top, creating a special imaginative effect for its viewers.