Rivers and Mountains on the Islet

Five thousand years ago, by the shores of Taihu Lake, Liangzhu was just beginning to rise.

In a small village on the riverbank, the ancestors lived on rice and revered jade, struggling to survive storms, natural disasters, and barbarian tribes from every direction.

From thatched huts and wooden houses to three mighty walls;

from scattered tribes to a royal city on the water.

They built dikes, dug waterways, raised granaries, and carved jade cong, using the strength of ordinary people to shape a land of mountains and rivers.

But Heaven is impartial, and the floods came crashing down.

Enemies seized the chaos, and flames spread along the shores.

The granaries turned to ash, the royal city teetered on the brink, and lives were devastated.

Some fled, some died, and some would rather die than retreat.

A group of the most ordinary ancestors

made spears of bone, defended their city with blood, and protected their civilization with their souls.

The city may collapse, the dikes may burst,

but this land of mountains and rivers by the shore, and the flame of Huaxia,

will never be extinguished!