Ruan Mount" refers to the Revered Mr. Ruan's Mount, the smallest one of the three islands in the West Lake. It was built by Ruan Yuan, the Zhejiang governor in Qing Dynasty, who mobilized peasant workers to dredge up the West Lake, and pile up the island with the silt from the lake. The Revered Mr. Ruan's Mount was named by later generations in Memory of him.
After Mr. Ruan's Mountcame into being, there were only willows on the island and there were no buildings of any
kind due to the soft foundation, thus it was called jokingly as the "Soft Mount" (Soft also pronounced as Ruan in Chinese). In 1982, the authority in charge of gardening made a plan for the island, and built various pavilions, chambers, halls and loftiest with bamboo structures and simple and elegant shapes. Today, there are the Cloud and Water Residence, the Yiyun Pavilion, the Huanbi Chamber and other bamboo structures on it. Because the island is surrounded by green water and covered with lush grass and trees, it is named as Huanbi Village, and the spot is thus called as Ruan Mount in Green Water. It has been opened as the first fishing area in the West Lake.
The specific feature of Mr. Ruan's Mount is the summer night tour, in imitation of the traditional practice. The activity re-stages the uproarious occasion when the master and his servants gave reception to their guests in the old times. There are new programs every year. In recent years, for instance, there has been the program of Emperor Qianlong Visiting the Southern China in Plain Clothes, sitting in the huts or bamboo rooms, visitors can enjoy the music over their teacups, and be totally free of summer heat and the day's fatigue.
