In 1936, as war loomed after the 1931 Mukden Incident, the Hunan Provincial Government built a sanctuary of resistance at the eastern foot of Yuelu Mountain. They dammed a rushing mountain stream to create a twelve-hundred-square-meter pond, raising a four-meter-tall hexagonal pavilion directly from the water. This structure, the Yuewang Pavilion, stands today on the Erliban campus of Hunan Normal University, a key part of the Yuelu Mountain Anti-Japanese War Culture Park.

Visitors cross an approach bridge to reach the stone-and-wood structure. Above, a double-eaved, hexagonal-conical roof clad in yellow glazed tiles curves upward at the corners, catching the mountain light. Inside, the air is cool and damp from the surrounding waters. At the center stands a massive stone monument, three meters tall. On its front, a rough bluestone relief depicts the face of Yue Fei, the legendary Southern Song Dynasty general. On the reverse, the smooth white marble bears the Chronology of King Yue Wumu, carved from the brushstrokes of Hunan scholar Yan Changyao.

The human history of this site spans generations. Just steps away, the Patriotic Poetry Corridor displays stone slabs carved with classical poems. Here, the bold calligraphy of Yan Jialong, the grand-nephew of Yan Changyao, preserves the words of Mao Zedong. This rare pairing of ancestral and descendant brushwork connects the pre-war resolve of 1936 with the post-war recovery.

In autumn, golden ginkgo leaves carpet the stone-paved walkways, and the scent of sweet osmanthus drifts from the campus. When the seasonal rains arrive, a thick fog rolls down from Heshipo, enveloping the yellow tiles and the stone safety railings in a soft shroud. This atmospheric display, known as Yueting Yanyu, or the Mist and Rain at Yuewang Pavilion, remains one of the university's celebrated scenes. The pavilion serves as a quiet space where the sound of splashing water from the nearby stream meets the silent weight of historical memory.