Lanting is the residence of Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is located at the foot of Lanzhu Mountain in the southwest of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. The area around Orchid Pavilion is a beautiful place with high mountains, lush forests and bamboos, as well as clear and turbulent streams, reflecting the scenery on the Shanyin Road. According to legend, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, planted orchids here during the Spring and Autumn Period, and set up a post pavilion in the Han Dynasty, hence the name "Orchid Pavilion Gathering for Drinking and Composing Poems." During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a stream at the foot of Lanzhu Mountain in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Gou Jian, the king of Yue at that time, in order to paralyze the king of Wu Fu Chai believed that he no longer wanted to revive the country, so he bent down by the creek and reclaimed the beach to plant orchids.
Gou Jian's orchids were very good. When the orchids bloomed, the flowers on both sides of the creek were fragrant. People then called this creek Lanxi. Later, someone built a pavilion beside Lanxi and named it Lanting. Later, Lanting became the residence of Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. On the third day of March, people go to the water to swim, and on this day, people gather at the waterside to hold sacrificial rituals and wash away dirt and evil in order to get rid of the bad luck. It started in the Han Dynasty, and after the Jin Dynasty, it gradually evolved into an entertainment for literati and poets to go on an outing, drink wine and compose poems.