A pavilion in the middle of the lake in the Xixi Wetlands Park. Love the foreground! The formation of the Xixi wetland can be dated back to the Liangzhu culture, some four or five thousand years ago. It is the birthplace of the Hangzhou culture. At that time, the land of Xixi was waterlogged and turned into a big lake by the flood from Tianmu Mountain during spring and summer. When the flood waters receded, the wetland was formed. That was the first stage of formation of the Xixi wetland. The formative stage lasted for about 1,000 years, from the construction of the South Lake in 172 AD (the first year of the Xiping Period, Donghan Dynasty) to the end of the Tang Dynasty, the period of Five Dynasties and Ten States (907-979 AD). During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the government of Song started to build Xixi Town there in 988 AD, which marked a new stage in the development of Xixi. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the social economy and culture around Xixi got an all-round development with varied activities like fishing, sericulture (silkworms), farm production of bamboo, tea and other multiple agriculture and sideline occupations.