West Lake  is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and artificial islands within the lake.

 

Leifeng Pagoda

West Lake has influenced poets and painters throughout Chinese history for its natural beauty and historic relics, and it has also been among the most important sources of inspiration for Chinese garden designers. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, described as having "influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries" and reflecting "an idealized fusion between humans and nature".
 

West Lake is said to be the incarnation of Xi Shi, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Since ancient times, West Lake was associated with a large number of romantic poets, profound philosophers, national heroes and heroines. West Lake was also the retreat for many Chinese writers of the past. The Northern Song Dynasty poet Lin Bu, shunning the life of being an official, lived in seclusion by West Lake for twenty years, and dedicated himself to the cultivation of peach and plum blossoms. The great Ming dynasty essayist Zhang Dai, wrote a number of essays about West Lake in Reminiscence and Dream of Tao'an (陶庵夢憶), and a whole book: Search for West Lake in Dreams (西湖夢尋). West Lake has had a profound impact on Far Eastern landscape designs,^[2] and its features have often been imitated by other palaces and gardens, such as Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace in Beijing, the central ponds of the Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden and Koishikawa Kōrakuen Garden in Tokyo, Japan, among others.

Due to its prominent historical and cultural status, West Lake was selected as a National Key Scenic Resort in 1982, one of Ten Scenic Resorts in 1985 and a national 5A tourist resort in 2006.

Along with its cultural importance, West Lake historically was also of value for local commercial fishermen. According to statistics from 1977, the lake had an annual fish yield of 1300 kg/hectare, quite a bit more than for some larger lakes (that is, East Lake of Wuhan had a yield of only 450 kg/ha).

Attractions

 

Yue Fei Memorial Hall

Other attractions include:

• Yue Fei Temple (岳王庙), the tomb and memorial hall to Yue Fei(岳飞).
• Lingyin Temple (灵隐寺), a Buddhist monastery and surrounding hills.
• Long Jing tea farms (龙井茶园), an area renowned for the quality of Tea.
• Jingci Temple （净慈寺）
• Galloping Tiger Spring (虎跑梦泉), a spring famous for its mineral water
• Tomb of Su Xiao Xiao (苏小小墓)
• The West Lake Museum (located on the lake shore) is dedicated to the cultural heritage of the West Lake.