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West Lake
Location	Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Coordinates	30°15′N 120°08′ECoordinates: 30°15′N 120°08′E
Basin countries	China

West Lake (Chinese: 西湖; pinyin: Xī Hú) 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 (苏堤) , Bai Di (白堤), and Yanggong Di (杨公堤).

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 refer to this lake.

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 realised 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 coolabah 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.

View of the West Lake from a row boat

Traditionally, there are ten best-known scenic spots on the West Lake, each remembered by a four-character epithet. Collectively, they are known as the "Ten Scenes of West Lake" (西湖十景). Each is marked by a stela with the epithet written in the calligraphy of the Qianlong Emperor. They are:

• Spring Dawn on the Su Causeway (苏堤春晓)
• Orioles Singing in the Willows (柳浪闻莺)
• Viewing Fish at Flower Pond (花港观鱼)
• Winery Yard and Lotus Pool (曲苑风荷)
• Evening Bell Ringing at the Nanping Hill (南屏晚钟)
• Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake (平湖秋月)
• Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow (雷峰夕照)
• Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (三潭印月)
• Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge (断桥残雪)
• Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds (双峰插云)

Yue Fei Memorial Hall

Other attractions include:

• Yue-Wang Miao, the tomb and memorial hall to Yue Fei.
• Lingyin Temple, a Buddhist monastery and surrounding hills and gardens.
• Longjing tea farms, an area renowned for the quality of its tea leaves.
• Galloping Tiger Spring, a spring famous for its mineral water.
• Tomb of Su Xiao Xiao, a famous courtesan.
• Tomb of Wu Song, famous for slaying a tiger; destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and rebuilt in 2004

Classical Chinese buildings inside the West Lake

The West Lake is said to be the incarnation of Xi Shi, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Hence, since ancient times, the West Lake was associated with a large number of romatic poets, profound philosophers, national heroes and heroines.

• Eastern Jin Dynasty philosopher Ge Hong practiced Taoism in the Ge Mountain, and wrote his great philosophical work: Bao Pu Zhi (抱朴子).
• Tang Dynasty poet Luo Binwang reclused in Lingyin Temple
• Tang Dynasty poet-governor Bai Juyi built the first causeway, which the Bai Causeway.
• Song Dynasty poet-governor Su Dongpo, dredged the lake and built up the Su Causeway, made it into another beautiful landmark of West Lake. He also invented a special recipe for preparing pork: the Dongpo Pork. Dongpo Pork is on the menu of every restaurant in Hangzhou
• Song Dynasty national hero Yue Fei was buried near the West Lake

Lotus in the Breeze at the Winding Courtyard

• The great Ming Dynasty essayist Zhang Dai, wrote a number great essays about the West Lake in Reminiscence and Dream of Tao'an (陶庵梦忆), and a whole book: Search for West Lake in Dreams (西湖梦寻).
• Kunming Lake, the central lake on the grounds of the Summer Palace in Beijing, was created by extending an existing water body to imitate Hangzhou's West Lake.

The West Lake has been famous for its exquisite beauty for more than one thousand years. Hangzhou was the site for the 2006 World Leisure Expo.

Qian King Temple, the front entrance into one of the major attractions of the West Lake: Listining Orioles Singing in the Willows.	Sculptures inside the West Lake
Evening Sunshine over Leifeng Pagoda	A traditional West Lake entrance

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West Lake