West Lake

The West Lake (Chinese西湖, Pinyin Xī Hu) in the city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang is one of the most famous tourist magnets of the People's Republic of China. A local name is Xīzǐ Hu (Chinese西子湖) according to Xīzǐ, one of the Four Beauties of ancient times.

The lake is divided by two dams. Both are named after famous poets, who worked as officials in Hangzhou:

If the Chinese saying " Above is Heaven - below are Suzhou and Hangzhou " (上 有 天堂,下 有 苏杭/上 有 天堂,下 有 苏杭, Shang you Tiantang -. . Xia you Su- slope ) is called, is meant by the West Lake with automatically the landscape.

The West Lake has been copied in many Chinese cities. In total there are 36 West Lakes in China and also a few in Japan. The lake stimulates the imagination of the Chinese and is the goal of many honeymoons.

Formation

According to legend, was a pearl around which a phoenix and a dragon quarreled, on the earth and formed the West Lake. In fact, the lake was created as a bay of today three kilometers away Qiantang River in the 8th century. At that time, during the Tang Dynasty, the lake was excavated to its present average depth of 1.5 meters and separated by a sand bank from the river.

Attractions

The West Lake is the Su Causeway (named after the song - time poet Su Dongpo ) and the Bai Causeway (named after the poet Bai Juyi Tang ) divided into three parts. While the Su- dam was actually first created by Su Dongpo during his time as an official in Hangzhou, is the combination of Bai Causeway and Bai Juyi later date. Originally Baidi simply meant "white dam ". A third old dam, the Yang Gong Causeway, runs today as a road on the western shore of the lake.

In the central area of ​​the lake, the largest of the three artificial islands, Xiao Yingzhou ( Little Paradise Island) lies with four small ponds, tea houses and gardens. South of the island stand three small stone pagodas from the water (三潭印月, Santan Yinyue, the three depths, reflecting the moon). The two smaller islands are called Huxinting ( Pavilion in the heart of the lake) and Ruangongdun ( islets of the Lord Ruan ).

The ten sceneries of the West Lake

In the Southern Song Dynasty first ten scenic places and scenes on the lake "ten sceneries of the West Lake " (西湖 十景) were grouped under the term. Each scene is described with a four-note phrase. Since the Qing Dynasty, the ten places are marked by stelae, showing the name of each scene in the calligraphy of Emperor Kangxi. The Ten scenarios are:

  • Spring Dawn on the Su Causeway (苏堤 春晓/苏堤 春晓)
  • Warbler singing (柳浪闻莺/柳浪闻莺) in the Willows
  • Consider the fish at Flower Pond (花港观鱼/花港观鱼)
  • Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard (曲院风荷/曲院风荷)
  • Abendläuten at Nanping Hill (南屏 晚钟/南屏 晚钟)
  • Autumn moon over the calm lake (平湖秋月)
  • Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow (雷 峰 夕照)
  • Three depths Mirroring the Moon (三潭印月, also motive of the Chinese one - yuan note )
  • Melting snow on the broken bridge (断桥 残雪/断桥 残雪)
  • Twin peaks that pierce the clouds (双峰 插 云/双峰 插 云)

Attractions in and around the West Lake

  • Su Causeway
  • Bai Causeway
  • Broken bridge
  • Lingyin Temple
  • Gushan island
  • Small paradise island ( Xiao Yingzhou )
  • Island Ruangongdun
  • Temple of General Yue Fei
  • Yuedai Bridge
  • Lotus Park
  • Grave of Qiu Jin
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