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The Illusionary Peak gazes at the TaihuLake. A brandishing sword, an icy-cold palm, theworld of martial art is but illusionary, I will just take it easy. Jin Yong so depicts the Illusionary Peakin his ‘Heavenly Dragon the 8th’: “The peak is locked in mist theyear around, look at it, but you are not so sure if it is there or not, and itis therefore called the Illusionary Peak”. Underneath the peak, evolved thelove and hatred of Wu Yazi with his fellow female martial art apprentices.
Master Jin did not specify the exactlocation of the Illusionary Peak, the phrase simply fits with it--the lead peakof the seventy two peaks of the Taihu Lake. The peak hides behind a mist, soillusionary as if a fairy land separated by a sea of mist, or hills linked byjade ribbons in the evening glow. To climb Mount Taishan is to gaze down atother smaller mountains, and by climbing the Illusionary Peak, you feel thatyou possess the whole Taihu Lake. Fan Chengda, a poet in the Song Dynasty wrotea poem after ascending the peak: “A lonely boat in oak carries a boat-full of leasure,by blowing wind it arrives at the fairy land. Do not say your ambition is allpent-up, Try climbing the Illusionary peak and gazing down at the Taihu Lake”.While the Prime Minister Wang Ao from the Ming Dynasty so expressed hisfeeling: “How can Mount Taishan look down upon other mountains? And who says ithas no rivalry in the Land of Wu?”. He simply compared the Illusionary Peak toMount Taishan in the Land of Wu. 
If your eyes look far, your heart isnaturally able to enter the land of illusion. At the top of the peak, there isa giant rock in shape of an eagle mouth, and over the rock, there is aninscription ‘the Illusionary Peak’ by a Kuomintang founding member, Li Genyuan.In ancient times, there was a tradition around the Taihu Lake to climb theIllusionary Peak on the Double Ninth Day. Lanes from Huiyuewu, Hancunwu,Yiliwu, Banshanwu, and Dongcai all could lead to the peak. Ginkgos, red orangesand chestnuts were fully-blown in early autumn, and the residents around thelake used to ascend and pray. They expressed their gratitudes to their mother,the Taihu Lake, with their loving and far-reaching gaze. 
Add.: Tangli village, Jinting town, Wuzhong district, Suzhou,Jiangsu province Tel.: 0512－66272858
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