Hangzhou Scenic and Historic Sites
West Lake Scenic Area
West Lake Scenic Area is a national-level scenic area. The total area is 60.04 square kilometers. Starting from Songmuchang and Bao Road in Hangzhou City in the east, turn to the north of Children's Palace Square, passing through Baisha Road, Huancheng West Road, Hubin Road, Nanshan Road to the south of Wansongling and all the scenic spots of Wushan, Ziyang Mountain and Yunju Mountain; in the south, it starts along the Drum Tower The foothills on the east side of Wushan Mountain, Ziyang Mountain and Yunju Mountain pass through Fengshan Gate along Fenghuang Mountain Road to Tianhua Mountain along the West Lake diversion channel to the north bank of the Qiantang River, then turn to the Coral Sand Reservoir to the north of Liufangling; in the west, from Liufangling, Zhugan Mountain, Jiufan Mountain Quling, Mingmingling to Meiren Peak, Beifeng Mountain, Lingfeng Mountain to the east of the ridgeline of Laohe Mountain; in the north, from the foothills of Laohe Mountain (the west wall of Zhejiang University), turn 30 meters north of Qingzhiwu Road and connect to Yugu Road and Zhejiang University Road, Shuguang Road to the south of Pine Tree Farm. The peripheral protected area covers an area of ??35.64 square kilometers, starting from Nanxingqiao Riverside Park, Jiangcheng Road, Fengshan Bridge, Zhongshan South Road, Gulou to Hefang Street, Yan'an South Road, Yan'an Road in the east, to Qingchun Road, Wulin Road, Jiaochang Road to The area to the west of Huancheng West Road; to the middle line of the main channel of Qiantang River in the south, the area north of Hangfu Road to Zhuantang; to the west is the area east of Liuzhuan Road; in the north from Liuzhou, through Hanghui Road and Tianmushan Road to Wulinmen Southern region. With West Lake as the core, the West Lake Scenic Area has 60 national, provincial, and municipal level cultural relics protection units and more than 100 scenic spots, including the Ten Scenic Spots of the West Lake and the New Ten Scenic Spots of the West Lake. West Lake was formerly known as Wulin Water, Qiantang Lake, Mingsheng Lake, Jinniu Lake, etc. It is surrounded by mountains to the north, west and south, urban area to the east, cloud mountains on three sides and city on the other. People in the Tang Dynasty called it West Lake because the lake was in the west of the city. Su Dongpo wrote a poem when he was guarding Hangzhou: The clear water is beautiful when the water is shining, but the mountains are also strange when they are empty and covered with rain. If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, it is always better to put on light makeup and heavy makeup. Therefore, it is also called West Lake. The outline of the lake is approximately oval, with an area of ??6.03 square kilometers, of which the water surface area is 5.66 square kilometers and the lakeshore circumference is 15 kilometers. The bottom of the lake is relatively flat, with an average water depth of about 1.5 meters, the deepest point is about 2.8 meters, and the shallowest point is less than 1 meter. Bai Causeway and Su Causeway divide the lake into five parts: outer lake, inner lake, Yue Lake, Xili Lake and Xiaonan Lake. There are four islands in the lake: Gushan, Xiaoyingzhou, Huxinting and Ruan Gongdun. The main streams flowing into the West Lake are Jinsha Port, Longhong Stream and Changqiao Stream. The West Lake water diversion project drills into the ground and passes through the mountains, attracting the clear flow of the Qiantang River. The main outlets for regulating the water level of the West Lake are: Shengtang Sluice, which flows into the canal through the Shengtang River; and Yongjin Sluice, which flows through the Huansha River underground pipeline into the Cheng River outside Wulin Gate. In ancient times, West Lake was a shallow bay connected to the Qiantang River. Later, due to siltation, the sea was cut off, and the sea water inside the sand spit became a lagoon. Therefore, the folk proverb says: The pearl of the West Lake falls from the sky, and the dragons and phoenixes dance to Qiantang. West Lake is washed by running water from mountain springs and has undergone generations of artificial dredging. When the poets Bai Juyi (772-846) and Su Dongpo (1037-1101) were governors of Hangzhou, they carefully managed the West Lake, dredged the lake mud, built water conservancy projects, irrigated farmland, and formed three islands in the lake and two Baisu embankments. , the beautiful scenery of the tower shadow on the lake. The mountains surrounding the lake are verdant, with luxuriant flowers and trees. The peaks, rocks, caves, and ravines are interspersed with springs, pools, streams, and ravines. The green green bushes are dotted with pavilions, pavilions, pagodas, and grottoes. The lakes and mountains are picturesque. Between the clear blue waves and green clouds and green valleys, there are countless beautiful natural landscapes and dazzling historical monuments. Chinese folklore says: There are thirty-six West Lakes in the world, and Hangzhou is the best among them. He also said that the beauty of the West Lake is difficult to paint and write poems in ancient and modern times. During the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, a Japanese envoy visited the West Lake and wrote a poem: I saw a picture of this lake in the past, but I did not believe that this lake existed in the world. We crossed the lake today and the painter still needs some time. The title of the Ten Scenes of the West Lake originated from the four-character sentence inscribed by the Northern Song Dynasty landscape painter Song Di. He used Pingsha Luoyan, Shanshi Qinglan, Yuanpu Guifan, etc. to mark the content of his paintings. Later landscape painters followed suit. In the 13th century AD, painters Ma Yuan and Chen Qingbo of the Southern Song Dynasty captured the essence of the West Lake scenery in their paintings. They also marked the pictures of Orioles in the Willow Waves, Clouds on Two Peaks, Autumn Moon on Flat Lake, Remaining Snow on Broken Bridge, Moon Reflected on Three Pools, Sunset on Leifeng Peak, Spring Dawn on Su Di and Nan Screening the Evening Bell, and later painted two paintings of Fish Viewing in Huagang and Lotus Breeze in Quyuan, thus the term "Ten Scenes of West Lake" came into being. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty toured the West Lake south, inscribed names and erected steles for the ten scenic spots, and changed the two peaks to cross the clouds to the double peaks to cross the clouds, and the Quyuan Hefeng to Quyuan Fenghe. The ten scenic spots of West Lake were thus determined. In 1985, Hangzhou Daily, Hangzhou Garden and Cultural Relics Administration and other units launched an activity to collect new scenic spots and names. 50,000 people participated, which lasted for 8 months.
As a result, ten scenic spots were selected, including Yunqi Bamboo Trail, Manlong Osmanthus Rain, Hupao Mengquan, Longjing Wencha, Jiuxi Smoke Tree, Wushan Tianfeng, Ruandun Huanbi, Huanglong Tucui, Jade Emperor Flying Clouds and Gemstone Liuxia. , people call it the Ten Scenes of the New West Lake. Ten famous figures including Chen Yun, Liu Haisu and Zhao Puchu inscribed their names and erected monuments for it. In the West Lake Scenic Area, in addition to the Ten Scenic Spots and the New Ten Scenic Spots, famous scenic spots include Tianzhu, Wuyun Mountain, Phoenix Mountain, Yushan, Beifeng, Huxinting, Baidi, Gushan, Fanghe Pavilion, Liuzhuang, Hangzhou Flower garden, botanical garden, Nanfeng Peak, Shuile Cave, Shifeng, Geling, Ziyun Cave, Xixi, Lingfeng Plum Blossom, etc.