West Lake, Hangzhou

West Lake in Hangzhou is the most celebrated and romanticised lake in China, a serene expanse of water that has inspired poets and painters for over a thousand years. A UNESCO landscape of classical beauty, it is ringed and crossed by willow-lined causeways, arched stone bridges, islands, temples and pagodas, framed by soft, misty hills. Strolling or boating its shores, with their poetic named views, is the quintessential Chinese scenic experience.

History

West Lake began as a shallow bay that became a lagoon about 2,000 years ago, and in the Eastern Han the local official Hua Xin built a seawall that cut it off from the sea; in 591 the seat of Hangzhou moved to a new walled city east of the lake. Continuous dredging kept it from turning into a swamp: in 822 the poet Bai Juyi dredged it and built the causeway named after him, the Wuyue king Qian Liu had soldiers dredge it every year, and in 1089 the poet Su Shi built the Su Causeway from dredged silt and placed three stone pagodas to stop water-chestnut planting, perhaps the origin of the Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon. A tourist attraction since the Tang, it became one of the most visited places in China after the Song capital moved to Hangzhou, and by 1275 patrols policed the lake against littering (Wikipedia, West Lake).

What you'll find

• The causeways - the willow-lined Su and Bai causeways across the lake.
• The pagodas and bridges - the Leifeng Pagoda and arched stone bridges.
• A boat trip - the classic row across to the islands.
• The tea villages - the Longjing green-tea plantations in the hills.

When to go

Spring and autumn for the mildest weather and classic misty beauty; spring brings blossom and willows, autumn crisp clarity. It is easily reached by fast train from Shanghai. Avoid Chinese public holidays, when it is overwhelmingly crowded.

Good to know

It is extremely popular with domestic tourists, so it gets very crowded, especially at weekends and on Chinese holidays, when the causeways are shoulder-to-shoulder; a weekday and an early start help. It is a landscape to stroll and absorb slowly rather than a single sight, and the famous mist that gives it magic is weather-dependent.

Nearby

The Longjing tea plantations and the water town of Wuzhen are nearby; Shanghai is an hour away by fast train.

Key facts