Across the river is the Qiantang River Bridge, the first two-tier bridge designed and built by Chinese engineers in modern times. The other great feat of earlier engineering is the Grand Canal. Linking Hangzhou in the south with Beijing in the north, it is the longest man-made waterway in China that surpasses both the Suez and Panama canals.

The West Lake's beauty lies in its lingering charm that survives the changing seasons. To present the most beautiful aspect of the West Lake, 10 top sites were named by the public, including "Melting Snow at Broken Bridge," "Spring Dawn at Sudi Causeway," "Sunset Glow over Leifeng Hill," "Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard," "Autumn Moon on Calm Lake," "Listening to Orioles Singing in the Willows," "Viewing Fish at Flowers Harbor," "Evening Bell at Nanping Hill," "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon" and "Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds."

 Cultural essence

Legend has it that the lake used to be an auspicious pearl hewn into its sparkling shape by the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix, which was later stolen by the Mother Queen of the West. When the Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix fought the Mother Queen, the pearl accidentally fell onto the land now known as Hangzhou.

The legend, which is pure fiction, sheds precious light on the fact that West Lake is a treasure that the laboring people of Hangzhou have created via numerous generations of hard labor.

In remote antiquity, what are today's Hangzhou and the West Lake, was a lagoon -- a quiet branch of the sea. In 210BC, when China's first emperor, Qinshihuang, was passing by Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou) on his way to Huiji (present-day Shaoxing ) to offer sacrifices and libations to King Yu, the wind rose and the waves in Qiantang River surged so violently that he had to tie his ship to a rock at the foot of Baoshi Mountain south of the West Lake. Today, the rock still remains.

Later, Qiantang River was silted, including the mouth of the lagoon, which appeared and disappeared with the flow and ebb of the sea. It was not until the Sui Dynasty (581-618) that a lake took shape. The lake was first known as Wulinshui Lake and was later renamed Qiantang Lake. It finally assumed its present name after the City of Hangzhou moved from the Lingyin Mountain to the Phoenix Mountain, with the lake situated in the west.

Page:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12