Chillin' in China Part 2 - West Lake Hangzhou

Although it was still early, the lake entrance was already packed with visitors. The majority were Chinese locals, all dressed in their best Sunday outfit. Never before had I seen such eagerness to discover nature’s beauty; a definite far cry from Sunday crowd I’ve seen at the Shah Alam Lake.

The famous West Lake covers an area of 5.6 km² in Hangzhou. Surrounded by hills on three sides and by the downtown area on one side, the lake is divided into five parts by the Su and Bai causeways. West Lake is known for its panoramic scenery, weeping willow trees, flowering peach trees, rockeries, ancient stone bridges, and hills dotted with multi-tiered temple pagodas.

Sunday crowd making their way to West Lake

The famous Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo (960-1127) composed this poetic verse when he likened the lake to Xizi, a Chinese Cleopatra, for its allure.

"Ripping water shimmering on sunny day,
Misty mountains shrouded the rain;
Plain or gaily decked out like Xizi;
West Lake is always alluring."

It must have been this scenic surroundings that had inspired Su Dongpo to come about with such poetic sentiments.

Contrary to my initial thoughts, West Lake is a not a natural lake. It’s man-made lake, with an average depth of only 6 feet. It was a historically important source of water for the local farmers, but when the dyke collapsed during the first century, West Lake nearly dried out.

We spent the entire morning at the lake, enjoying the marveling serenity and calmness and its surrounding. Sit back now, and enjoy these pictures as much as we had enjoyed the enchanting West Lake.

"Hi my name is ...." This brave little man came to me and conversed in English. He was good!!

Boat to go visit the Yingzhou Islet, a 20 minute ride got us to this little island in the middle of the lake

Boat ticket...

Smaller boats for scenic rides

Pagodas at the islet

Water walk and weeping willows

Another pagoda on the opposite side of the islet

Kois of West Lake

Ahhhh....what a beauty

Garden of colours

Boat wait...take another boat to the other side of the lake

Shimmering ripples....

to be continued....