Chaohu Stone (Figure 2.45), produced in Yin Ping (Yinping Mountain), Bantang (Li Zhi Mountain), scattered soldiers and other places in Chaohu City, Anhui Province, is the general name of various modeling stones formed by external dynamic geological processes of carbonate rocks. Because of the characteristics of Taihu stone, it is also called Chaohu Taihu stone. In the early days, it was called Silverscreen Taihu Stone, and some stone appreciators listed it as Taihu Stone or called it "Taihu Stone". The stone is excellent in shape and quality, exquisite and vivid, and is called "the pride of the stone".

Chaohu stone has a long history of development and utilization. There is a Chaohu stone in the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, which is more than three feet high. The holes are connected, one hole burns incense, and all the holes smoke. According to legend, this stone was produced in Yin Ping in the early Sui Dynasty. The "Mi Yuan Zhang worships the stone" in Fei Zhou's Records of Liang Man in Song Dynasty, and the "Shixiong" and "Zhang Shi" worshipped by Mi Fei, a famous calligrapher in Northern Song Dynasty, are Chaohu Stone (Wuwei County, Chaohu, Anhui Province). Up to now, this stone still remains in the Migong Temple in Wuwei. Because of its age, it has lost its former glory. Therefore, Chaohu Stone is also called "Wuwei Military Stone" and compiled into the book Yunlin Stone Spectrum. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Chaohu Stone was transported to Yangzhou to build a garden rockery. According to folklore, Song Huizong was building Genyue at that time. Due to the excessive demand for stones and the shortage of Taihu stones produced in the surrounding areas of Taihu Lake, officials privately collected and transported some Chaohu stones to replace them. At present, there are many beautiful stones in the gardens in Beijing and other places.

From the appearance, Chaohu stone is very similar to Taihu stone, but the color is purple. In addition to the peculiar shape of Taihu Stone and the commonness of "thinness, wrinkling, permeability and leakage", Chaohu Stone also has the characteristics of fossil attachment, round cavity, strange tendons and different veins, rough posture, fine energy and huge abnormal protrusion, which has become a double ornamental stone favored by people.

Chaohu stone, as a high-quality stone for building and landscaping in gardens, can be used to stack large-scale waterfront or summer rockeries, large-scale dry mountains and so on. And it is exquisite and gorgeous. It is tall and beautiful, and can be used alone for three-dimensional flower beds, forming a stone and a scene; Small and exquisite, it can also be used for indoor advertising for collectors to collect and play with (Figure 2.46).