Numerous pavilions dot the landscape around Daming Lake in Jinan, serving as a canvas for literary figures throughout history to express their emotions. Although the structure of a pavilion may appear straightforward, it is of great significance to the garden's setting. The pavilions encircling Daming Lake are steeped in history and culture, including Lixia Pavilion, which is enveloped by water and renowned for a couplet adorning its column.

In the year 745, Du Fu, a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), passed by Jinan to visit his brother, Du Ying, in Linyi (a county presently located in Dezhou). Li Yong, head of Beihai city (now Qingzhou, a city at the county level in Weifang) happened to be in Jinan at the time and arranged a banquet at the Lixia Pavilion to meet with Du Fu. In this pleasant setting, Du Fu spontaneously composed a poem.

The poem contains a total of 12 lines. The preceding four lines explained the purpose of the visit to Lixia Pavilion, highlighting its age and location on land to the west of the sea, and the presence of numerous scholars and poets at the banquet. The accuracy of the third and fourth lines is attested to by the abundance of talented individuals in Jinan since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), which has earned them the distinction of being engraved as a renowned couplet on the pavilion's columns for visitors to appreciate.

The subsequent four lines portrayed the exquisite surroundings and festivities, featuring rolling clouds, bamboo groves, melodious music, and singers who together fostered a cheerful ambiance for Du Fu, Li Yong, and other attendees to revel in their gathering.

In the final four lines, Du Fu expressed his delight with the convivial gathering, yet lamented the difficulty of arranging future meetings due to the busy schedules of everyone present. He wondered when such an enjoyable reunion would occur again.