Situated at the southern end of Laiyan Bridge by the beautiful Qinhuai River, it was the former residence of Li Xiangjun, a noted prostitute in the period of the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty. In spite of being a prostitute, she was clear on matters of the principle, good at telling the loyal from the evil, and noble in keeping national integrity, hence enjoying admiration of people in following generations.

With a total length of 110 kilometers, the Qinhuai River is the “Mother River” of Nanjing. When flowing into the city, it is divided into two tributaries at Nine-dragon Bridge outside Tongji City-Gate in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing. As the city moat, one is called the outer Qinhuai River circling the city-wall built in the Ming Dynasty. Termed as the inner Qinhuai River with a total length of nearly 5 kilometers and historically reputed as “Five-kilometer Qinhuai”, the other enters the city from Dongshuiguan Sluice and exits from Xishuiguan Sluice.

As a bright pearl in Qinhuai scenic area, Egret Park covers a total area of 15.3 hectares with a lake-water area of 3.8 hectares. Successively being called Xu Zhongshan Garden, Eastern Garden and Taifu Garden in history, it was a garden of Xu Da, a founding general of the Ming Dynasty. Thanks to its charming sceneries of unique rustic appeal, it has always been the place for many noted scholars to get together, writing poems and drinking wine. In the period of the Republic of China, it was formally turned into Egret Park.