Edit Pearl in Heaven – the West Lake

The West Lake is a famous fresh water lake located in central Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province of eastern China. The lake is divided by three causeways called su di, bai di, and yanggong di.The name ”West Lake” (Xi Hu) is also used by a large number of lakes in China and surrounding countries (with 800 West Lakes in China according to Lonely Planet). However, the lake in Hangzhou is the most famous of these, and the terms ”West Lake” and ”Xi Hu” generally refers to this lake.

History

One of the major attractions in West Lake: Three Pools Mirroring the Moon island. In middle of the Tang Dynasty Zhenyuan era (785-804), poet Bai Juyi came to Hangzhou as governor. Already an accomplished poet, his deeds at Hangzhou made him a great governor. He realized that the farmland nearby depended on the water of West Lake, but due to negligence of former governors, the old dyke had collapsed, the water level of West Lake dried out, and the local farmers suffered severe drought. He ordered the construction of a stronger and taller dyke, with a dam to control the flow of water, and thus solved the drought problem. The livelihood of local people of Hangzhou improved over the following years. Now that Bai Juji had more leisure time to enjoy the beauty of West Lake, he visited West Lake almost every day. He ordered the construction of a causeway connecting the Broken Bridge with the Solitary Hill, to facilitate walking on foot, instead of depending on boat. Then he planted peach trees and willows trees along the dyke, making it a beautiful landmark of West Lake. This causeway was later named Bai Di Causeway in Bai Juyi’s honour.Over two hundred years later, in the beginning of Song Dynasty’s Yuanyou era (1086-1094), another great poet, Su Shi (Su Dongpo), came to Hangzhou as governor. By that time, the farmers suffered drought again, due to overgrowth of the weeds at the bottom of the lake clogging the irrigation ducts. He ordered dredging of the lake and piled up all the mud into another causeway, in the style of Bai Causeway, but much wider and nearly three times as long, he also planted willow trees along its banks. This causeway was later named after him as the Su Causeway. There are six bridges along the 2.6 km Su Causeway. ”Spring Dawn on the Su Causeway” is one of the attractions at the West Lake.There are hundreds of scenic spots around the West Lake. The most famous are top ten scenic spots of the West Lake, they are:

1. Spring Dawn on the Su Causeway

2. Orioles Singing in the Willows

3. Viewing Fish at Flower Pond

4. Winery Yard and Lotus Pool

5. Evening Bell Ringing at the Nanping Hill

6. Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake

7. Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow

8. Three Pools Mirroring the Moon

9. Lingering Snow on Broken Bridge

Now you may wonder which season is the most beautiful one in Hangzhou. I will tell you different seasons have different sceneries. And every season has its feature. There was an old saying: Up above is the paradise, down below is Suzhou and Hangzhou. We regard Hangzhou as paradise, mostly because of the West Lake, and the West Lake is a pearl in the paradise. And Hangzhou citizens are also very warmhearted. We welcome international friends to visit our hometown.