West Lake,

The West Lake area covers an area of 60 square kilometers, out of which the West Lake occupies 5.6 square kilometers with 3.3 kilometers from north to south and 2.8 kilometers from west to east. The lake has a circumference of 15 kilometers. It is surrounded by hills on tree sides and faces the downtown area on one side. The charming lake is a pearl that lay by the city. There are two brocade-ribbon-like causeways inside the lake, namely Bai Causeway and Su Causeway, and they divide the lake into five parts. Three man-made islands named Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Mid-lake Pavilion and Mr. Ruan Yuan's Mount stand elegantly in the outer lake. The "Ten West Lake Views" and the "Ten New West Lake view" add much more beauty to the West Lake.

The Spring Dawn Round the Su Causeway
The Spring Dawn Round the Su Causeway locates Nanshan Road, tops the list of the ten best known sights in Hangzhou. The causeway was built during the Northern Song Dynasty by Su Dongpo, a great scholar at that time. Stretching around 2.8 kilometers long, it is spanned by six bridges and heavily sheltered by green vegetation. When spring comes, the whole causeway is blanketed by peach blossoms and weeping willows, creating an especially charming scene.

In Southern Song Dynasty, Quyuan Courtyard was an official vinery which was located on the bank of the West Lake beside the Hongcun Bridge on the Linyin Road where many lotuses were planted. In summer breezes, the air was scented with delicate fragrance of lotus intermingled with the tasteful bouquet of wine. However, the courtyard was very much neglected and the nearby lake silted up. Started from 1983, an extension project has been under way to develop it to a huge park. Currently, the park includes five sections: Yue Lake, Bamboo Garden, Lotus Garden, Winding Garden and Lakeside Forest. Therefore it becomes more attractive and charming than before.

The park is a wonderful leisure place with the green willow leaves and orioles warbling, locating on the Nanshan Road. In the spring, the vernal breezes stroke the willows, their branches sway gently, bending over to kiss the rippling water. Walk in the garden, the orioles singing, the willows dancing, it is very wonderful. Now the park is combined by three gardens: Orioles Singing Garden, Friendship Garden and Collected Scenery Garden.

The eastern south of the garden is served as a traditional public entertainment site. An open stage was built there. In summer and autumn, the garden is served as an "evening garden". The lanterns exhibition, the traditional folk performance and cinema attract a lot of visitors every night.

Leifeng Pagoda, on the Evening Glow Hill situated on the south shore of the West Lake, was erected in celebration of his favorite concubine, Huang Fei, gave birth to a son. The 7-storied pagoda was a storied-pavilion type structure, built of brick and wood. When the sun was setting, the pagoda bathed in the evening glow looked radiantly beautiful. It was therefore named as "Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow". In the Ming Dynasty, the pagoda was fired by the Japanese bandits and collapsed at last on September, 25 1924 by the custom of local people to take a brick from its lower stories as a talisman or souvenir. The pagoda we see today was rebuilt in 2000 by the local government.

It snows almost every winter in Hangzhou, when the sun comes out after snowfall, the snow on the sunny side of the bridge melts first, while the snow on the shady side still lingers. Looked at a distance or from a nearby hill, the bridge appears to be broken. It is a favorite stopover for you. Especially on fine winter days after a snow, you may stand on the bridge to feast your eyes on the snow scene far and near. Distant hills, clad in white, grow more enchanting.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, a distinguished artist, Zhang Zeduan, did a painting entitled "Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill". Nanpin Hill lies along the south bank of the West Lake, less than 100 meters high, but extends as long as over 1,000 meters. It features the odd-shaped rocks and the green woods. Nanpin Hill offers different views due to the different weather.

In 972 A.D. a famous temple, named as "Xingjiao Temple" was built on the Nanpin Hill. After that, a few more small temples were built around it. Therefore, Nanpin Hill was locally called as "Buddhism Kingdom Hill". Formed of limestone, the Nanping Hill contains lots of caves and cavities. The shape of the hill is just like a painted screen. Therefore, when the bell was rung in the evening, its sonorous sound echoed through the caves and cavities, even reached as far as the other shore of the West Lake. And then the Ge Hill locating there sent back a big echo over the lake.

This spot is located at the southern end of the Su Causeway. A clean stream leads from Huajia Hill to the West Lake through here, so it named as "Flowery Harbor". Viewing Fish at Flowery Harbor now has been made into a 22 hectares park with many varieties of trees and flowers, featuring a peony garden which blooms in April and a goldfish pond which is the famous site for viewing fish.

It is located on western end of Bai Causeway. This teahouse with its cement terrace bounded on three sides by water, become one of the traditional places to view the West Lake, especially on the mid-Autumn night when the moon is full and bright, so it named as "Autumn Moon on Calm Lake". While sitting on the terrace to enjoy the middle autumn moon, you would be really impressed by seeing the reflections on the water, the cloud and the moon mingling with each other, the moonlight and the lake light enhancing each other's beauty. A famous couplet is dedicated to this scene: "The vast, calm lake is bright as a mirror; the year-round moon is the brightest in the autumn". The scenic spot covers an area of 6,000 square meters. Various garden plants and flowers intermingle pavilions and platforms.

The three stone pagodas, first built over 800 years ago, 2 meters in height, are the main scenic spot calling "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon". To the west of the isle stand three ball-shaped hollow stone pagodas with five round holes around. At the night of the Mid-Autumn festival, when the moon shines full and bright in the sky, a candle is lit inside each of the pagoda, the light and the moon cast their reflections through the holes on the water, hence the name.

Twin peaks are the Northern Peak and Southern Peak. One is located southwest to West Lake and the other northwest to West Lake. Northern Peak is with an elevation of 256.9 meters, while Southern Peak of 355 meters. The two peaks face each other at a distance of more than 5 kilometers. On a drizzly day in spring or autumn, visitors may find a spectacular view of the two peaks while they look up from the Hongchun Bridge. It seems as if an enchanting landscape painting was hanging before them with the peaks disappearing and appearing amidst drifting clouds.