Hangzhou

“There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below.” As the capital city of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou is not only an important political, economic and cultural center in the south of the Yangtze River, but also has a unique urban tourism resource – West Lake.

Beautiful West Lake

Hangzhou West Lake covers an area of about 6.38 square kilometers, surrounded by mountains on the south, north and west, and adjacent to Hangzhou City on the east. West Lake provides Hangzhou with valuable resources in nature, history, culture and ecology. In 2011, West Lake was selected as a World Heritage Site, once again proving its importance to Hangzhou and even China.

West Lake is the name card of Hangzhou. Since ancient times, writers and poets have used West Lake as a theme for their works. There are so many famous lines about West Lake that even a book could not contain them all: “West Lake compares to Xi Zi the beauty at her best, She is gorgeous richly clothed or plainly dressed”, “The uncommon West Lake in the midst of sixth moon, Displays a scenery to other months unknown”. Ancient emperors were also fond of West Lake, and the Kunming Lake in Beijing’s Summer Palace was built in the image of West Lake.

Ten Views of West Lake

During the Southern Song Dynasty, people summed up the famous ten scenes of West Lake according to the different seasonal landscapes of different locations:

Spring Dawn at Su Causeway (苏堤春晓)
Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard (曲苑风荷)
Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake (平湖秋月)
Melting Snow at Broken Bridge (断桥残雪)
Orioles singing in the willows (柳浪闻莺)
Viewing Fish at flower harbor (花港观鱼)
Sunset glow at Leifeng pagoda (雷峯夕照)
Twin peaks piercing Clouds (双峰插云 )
Evening bell at Nanping hill (南屏晚钟)
Three pools mirroring the moon (三潭印月)

They are highly refined and summarize the beauty of West Lake, and are widely recognized by posterity.

Attractions around West Lake

In addition to the enchanting natural scenery, West Lake is surrounded by many cultural attractions, including Buddhist temples, celebrity tombs, historical districts and various museums.