Ten Views of the West Lake

West Lake has long been a widely-known scenic spot both at home and abroad, nestled in the west of Hangzhou, noted for its wonderful views. The West Lake is surrounded by Longjing Mountain, Linshi Mountain, Nanping Mountain, Phoenix Mountain and Lingyin Mountain, the pearl-like West Lake right situated in the middle, presenting an appealing scene of "A myriad of stars surround the moon".

On June 24, 2011, the West Lake was officially listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Among all the beautiful sights in the West Lake, ten views are the most famous, which were selected early in the Southern Song Dynasty, here listed these ten sights below.

1.Spring Dawn at Su Causeway: the best one among these ten sights.Su Causeway, as long as 2,000 meters long, is named for commeration of Su Shi, a famous poet in the North Song Dynasty. There are peach and willows on the causeway, to enjoy them dancing in the breeze is of great pleasure.

Spring Dawn at Su Causeway

2.Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard: in summer, this one will surpass all the others for the pond filled with blooming lotus flowers.

Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard

3.Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake: this one is particularly attractive in the autumn, to appreciate the full Moon inverted reflection in water is especially magnificent.

Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake

4.Melting Snow on the Broken Bridge: as the name suggested that, the snow covered view is the best. It is not only known for this view, but also for the legend "Madam White Snake and Xu Xian", a sad and beautiful story.

Melting Snow on the Broken Bridge

5.Orioles Singing in the Willows: it was once the imperial garden in the past, while, now, it is a widely favored park for the normal, it is built on the tone of verdent willows and pleasant warbler singing. Various kinds of willows can be seen here, attractiong numerous birds.


Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard

6.Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor: after rebuilding, the garden reaches an area of approximately 300 mu (1 mu=1/15 hectare), the whole scenic spot consisted of 5 parts, the fish park definitely plays the major role.

Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor

7.Sunset Glow over Leifeng Pagoda: ranked the 7th among these ten sights, in the time of sunset, sunset glow reflected on the tower is really gorgeous.

Sunset Glow over Leifeng Pagoda

8.Twin Peaks Piercing Clouds: namely the north mountain and the south mountain in the scenic spot area of the West Lake, looking from afar at each other. Seeing from far distance, the peaks are immersed in clouds.

Twin Peaks Piercing Clouds

9.Evening Bell at Nanping Hill: it is the earliest existed name in these ten views. Nanping Hill strenches on the south bank of the West Lake, there is a temple named "Yongming Temple" on the hill, every dusk, the bell would ring, the sound goes between these mountains, making people meditate more.

Evening Bell at Nanping Hill

10.Three Pools Mirroring the Moon: as the last one in these ten views, it is also known widely, the three pools are the largest island among all the islands in the West Lake, as listed on onlinechinatours, noted for its tranquil water and bright reflection of Moon on the water.

Three Pools Mirroring the Moon