当你游览北京众多的皇家园林（如故宫、颐和园）时，常会在介绍手册或导游牌上看到“一池三山”这个说法，用来形容皇家园林的构造，给很多游客造成困惑。今天就来为大家解释一下这个有趣的说法。它的意思可不是“一个池塘里有三座山”啊。

The layout of the park is based on an ancient Chinese legend. According to the legend, there were supposed to be three islands to the east of Bohai Bay where the gods lived. One of them was called Penglai Island where a kind of herbal medicine grew, that was supposed to prolong life. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty wanted to live fovrever. He sent people to the islands to look for the longevity¹ medicine, but failed. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty also wanted to live an eternal life. He ordered that a big pool be dug at the back of his palace, complete with three artificial hills to represent Penglai and the other islands. So these legendary² hills were built in the eastern capital of Luoyang during the Sui Dynasty and also in the Tang Dynasty capital of Chang'an. Such a traditional style of gardening was followed during the succeed ding dynasties and Beihai Park was built after this traditional style.