The West Lake

Tour Commentary- The West Lake

Ladies and gentlemen:

Before you visit Hangzhou, you might have heard of the saying“Above is heaven, and below are Suzhou and Hangzhou”. It means

Suzhou and Hangzhou are as beautiful as Heaven. Why is Hangzhou

compared with the heaven? Mostly because of the beautiful scenery of

the West Lake. Hundreds of years have passed, the West Lake is still as

charming as ever. In ancient time the West Lake was known for its best

ten famous sites. Within 60 square km with the West Lake as the center,

there are more than 40 scenic spots. We’ll visit the West Lake from

Yuemiao Port.

Now, we are moving from west to east. The scene here is called Gu

Hill (Lone Hill). It is connected with the Xiling Bridge in the west and

Bai Embankment in the east. The Gu Hill has been popular since the Tang

and Song dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi took this place

as his interim palace. You may ask that since the Gu Hill is the biggest

isle, why it is called Gul Hill? Well, the emperors of different dynasties

took the place reserved only for them. So it is called Gu Hill or Lone Hill.

The hill is actually a peninsula. The local interesting saying goes like this,

“the Lone Hill is not lonely, the Broken Bridge is not broken and the

Long Bridge is not long. ” Now here is the Bai Embankment. On both sides of the dike and

lined with different trees. Especially in spring, it is green and red

everywhere. You may feel as if you were traveling in a fairyland. At west

of the Bai Embankment, there is a bridge called Jindai Bridge. At the east

end of the Bai Embankment is the famous Duanqiao Bridge or Broken

Bridge. In fact, it was an old stone arch bridge covered with bryophyte.

Judging from its appearance, it it a common stone arch bridge . However,

it is regarded as the most famous bridge on the West Lake. Why？Because it is connected with the Tale of White Snake.

Well, you may ask me a question. Why is it called Broken Bridge

since it is not broken? Let me explain it to you. The bridge is facing the

mountain and against the city. It is in the joint point between the North Li

Lake and the Outer Lake. It is the best place to enjoy snow in winter.

When the sun comes out after snowing the snow on the south side will

melt while the other side is still covered with the snow. Looking from afar,

the bridge is like a broken bridge. Besides, the bridge is the end of the Bai

Embankment. In Chinese “duan” also means “ending”. Got it?

After we visit the three isles-Santanyingyue Island, we are

heading for the Su Embankment. There are 6 stone arch bridges in the

embankment. The Su Embankment always reminds us of Sudongpo, a

very well known poet and scholar was the governor of Hangzhou. He

used to write a poet to describe the beauty of the West Lake. In his poem, he compared the West Lake with XiShi, one of the four most famous

ancient beauties in Chinese culture. So the West Lake has another name

Xizi Lake. In order to commemorate him, the embankment was called Su

Embankment. In the south of the embankment, the Memorial Museum of

Sudongpo was built.

Ladies and Gentlemen! The West Lake is the pearl of Hangzhou,

the pearl of the East and the pearl of the world. I hope the lake has left

you a wonderful impression. So much for our cruise on the West Lake!

See you again.

Additional Notes： Ten Points of Interest of West Lake: 西湖十景

Melting Snow on the Broken Bridge --- 断桥残雪

Three Pools Mirroring the Moon --- 三潭映月

Twin Peaks Piercing to the Clouds --- 双峰插云

Lotus in the Breeze at the crooked Courtyard --- 曲院风荷

Sudi Causeway in Spring Dawn --- 苏堤春晓

Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor --- 花港观鱼

Morning Bell of the Southern Screen --- 南屏晚钟

Afternoon View of Leifeng Tower --- 雷峰夕照

Listening to Orioles in the Willows --- 柳浪闻莺

Autumn Moon and Calm Lake Pavilion --- 平湖秋月