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山塘

shāntáng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 mountain pond
  2. 2 reservoir in the hills
  3. 3 Shantang (historic Suzhou street/canal, capitalized Shāntáng)

Examples

山塘里养了几条鱼。
Shāntáng lǐ yǎng le jǐ tiáo yú.
A few fish are kept in the mountain pond.
苏州山塘街晚上非常热闹。
Sūzhōu Shāntáng Jiē wǎnshang fēicháng rènao.
Suzhou's Shantang Street is very lively at night.

Tips

history
The most famous 山塘 is 苏州山塘街 — a seven-li canal-side street dug around 825 CE when Bai Juyi served as governor of Suzhou. He ordered the canal built to connect 阊门 with 虎丘, and it became the commercial spine of old Suzhou, praised by Cao Xueqin in 《红楼梦》 as 'the most prosperous place in all the mortal world.' The name means literally 'mountain pond' but refers to the Huqiu hill it runs toward.
usage
As a common noun, 山塘 is a small hillside water body used for irrigation or fish farming — interchangeable with 山池. In place names it's always Suzhou's Shantang Street.

Stroke Order

山 shān
塘 táng