A PLACE, A STORY / Hangzhou
West Lake
Causeways and islands frame Hangzhou’s celebrated lake. Notice how a shoreline view changes as water, trees and distant hills overlap.
© Jakub Hałun · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Resized and JPEG compressed. · Original source · License
© Windmemories · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Resized and JPEG compressed. · Original source · License
West Lake is a landscape shaped by both nature and people. Its causeways, islands, pagodas and gardens helped turn the lake into a sequence of composed views. Writers and artists have celebrated it for centuries, and its influence reached gardens beyond China.
Choose one view rather than trying to collect them all. A tree in the foreground and a distant hill can tell different parts of the same story.
Editorial sources
Editorial review:
Before travelling, check current access, opening times and entry requirements with the relevant official sources.
