"Above is heaven, below is Hangzhou."
This famous Chinese saying is an allegory to the majestic beauty of the city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zheijiang province. Located 180 kilometres southwest of Shanghai, Hangzhou is one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years. Aside from its reknowned and glorious past, the city is also well-known for its beautiful natural scenery, with the West Lake as the most well-known location.
The following is an excerpt from Wikipidea.org:
The West Lake is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with an area of around 6.5 square kilometers. The distance from north to south is about 3.2 kilometers, and east to west, 2.8 kilometers. The circumference is around 15 kilometers. The average depth of West Lake is 2.27 meters, and the capacity is about 14,290,000 cubic meters. The lake is divided by Gu Shan, Bai, Su and Yanggong Causeways into five areas. Ordered by their areas, they are Outer West Lake (外西湖), West Inner Lake (西裡湖, or 後西湖, or 後湖), North Inner Lake (北裡湖 or 裡西湖), Little South Lake (小南湖 or 南湖) and Yue Lake (岳湖). "Outer West Lake" is the largest. "Gu Shan" or Gu Hill is the largest natural island in the lake. Su & Bai Causeways run cross the lake. Three small man-made islands, "Xiao Ying Zhou" (小瀛洲), "Hu Xing Ting" (湖心亭), "Ruan Gong Dun" (阮公墩), lie in the center of Outer West Lake. Thus, the basic layout is "one hill, two causeways, three islands, and five lakes".
West Lake is not only famous for its picturesque landscape, it is also associated with many scholars, national heroes and revolutionary martyrs, thus embracing many aspects of Chinese culture. In addition, many ancient buildings, stone caves and engraved tablets in surrounding areas are among the most cherished national treasures of China, with significant artistic value.
Due to its prominent historical and cultural status among Chinese scenic resorts, West Lake was elected as a National Key Scenic Resort in 1982, one of Ten Scenic Resorts in 1985 and national 5A tourist resort in 2006. Moreover, the picture of "Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon" was printed on the backs of both the foreign exchange certificate one yuan bill issued by the government in 1979 and the fifth version of RMB one yuan bill issued in 2004, indicating the status of West Lake in China.
Traditionally, there are ten best-known scenic spots on the Xī Hú (West Lake), each remembered by a four-character epithet. Collectively, they are known as the "Ten Scenes of Xī Hú" (10 Scenic Spots in Xī Hú 西湖十景). Each is marked by a stela with the epithet written in the calligraphy of the Qianlong Emperor. They are:
- Dawn on the Su Causeway in Spring (蘇堤春曉)
- Curved Yard and Lotus Pool in Summer (曲院風荷)
- Moon over the Peaceful Lake in Autumn (平湖秋月)
- Remnant Snow on the Bridge in Winter (斷橋殘雪)
- Leifeng Pagoda in the Sunset (雷峰夕照)
- Two Peaks Piercing the Clouds (雙峰插雲)
- Orioles Singing in the Willows (柳浪聞鶯)
- Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond (花港觀魚)
- Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon (三潭印月)
- Evening Bell Ringing at the Nanping Hill (南屏晚鐘)
I had taken a trip down to Hangzhou, together with a few colleagues, when I was assigned at Wuxi last year for a few days. We took a bus around 7 AM from the Wuxi Central Station to Hangzhou and reached the city somewhere around 10:30 AM. We then took a cab to the West Lake and walked the whole perimeter of the lake the whole day. In between, we sampled the menu of a few (if memory serves me right, three) restaurants, trying out a mish mash of Chinese noddle, meat and vegetable dishes.
The scenery was very serene, relaxing to a fault. The sunset was spectacular; the colors playfully smearing the horizon with hues of red, yellow, orange, violet and blue. As if in unison, the lake, teasingly muddles up these colors revealing a rich golden tint.
Scores of tourists, both local and foreign, were around that day; awed, like me, with the beauty and magnifiscence of West Lake and the city that is "Heaven on Earth."
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