The West Lake is a poem, a natural picture and a beautiful and touching story. Either people living here for years or travellers passing this place hurriedly will be touched by the unparalleled beautiful scenery here. During spring in March, orioles fly and grass grows. The Su Causeway and Bai Causeway are surrounded by willows and peaches. At both sides, water ripples and pleasure boats are everywhere. The hazy view of mountains can be observed in the distance, dotted with green trees. Walking on the causeway, you will marvel at the scenery and even be enchanted with it, as if you entered a fairyland beyond the noisy world.

　　Famous for beautiful landscapes all the time, Hangzhou is honored as “heaven on earth”. It was once praised as “the most splendid heavenly city in the world” by the famous Italian traveller Marco Polo.

　　The West Lake is also surrounded by many famous grotto statuaries, inscriptions and historic buildings, so it is a precious art treasure in China.

　　“There is Paradise above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below.” Hangzhou becomes world-renowned owing to the beautiful West Lake.

　　Cold Lu Miscellaneous Knowledge of the Qing Dynasty says, “There are 36 west lakes around the world, but the West Lake in Hangzhou is the most outstanding.”

　　The ci poet Liu Yong of the Northern Song Dynasty wrote in Wang Haichao, “With an important geographical location and beautiful scenery, Hangzhou is the metropolis of Wuxing, Wujun and Kuaiji. It has always been a prosperous place. It has misty willows, painted bridges, curtains keeping out the wind, emerald green tabernacles, and well-proportioned pavilions. About 100 thousand families live here. The cloud-kissing trees encircle the sand barrier of Qiantang River, the surging tide water rolls up waves as white as snow, and the extensive river surface stretches to the horizon. Beautiful pearls and jades are listed on the market, and silks and brocades are piled in every family. They just try to be luxury. Inner Lake and Outer Lake, together with multiple layers of mountain ridges, are delicate and pretty. Osmanthus fragrans will send out fragrance in autumn, and miles of lotus can be seen in summer. People can play the Qiangdi brightly during sunny days, and go boating, pick water chestnut and sing at night. Old men are fishing and girls are picking lotus. All of them are laughing and playing. Thousands of cavalries cluster round their officer who is returning from inspection. I am listening to the music, writing poetry, and appreciating the beautiful landscape of lakes and mountains tipsily. I will depict the nice scenery later and show this to officers in the capital after I am promoted.”

　　For thousands of years, many Chinese and foreign people are enchanted with the beautiful and comfortable landscape of lakes and mountains in the West Lake. They have generated infinite feelings of romantic attachment.

　　The West Lake is a national scenic area that combines beautiful and elegant landscape of lakes and mountains as well as bright and profound cultural relics with culture and art. By centering on the beautiful West Lake, it is surrounded by clouds and mountains in three sides, and contains blue water in the middle. Its area is 60 square kilometers, and the lake surface area is 5.68 square kilometers. The land beside the lake is surrounded by green trees. The view of mountains is luxuriantly green, the painted bridge is accompanied by willows, and the trees reach to the sky. In the rugged mountains, forests and spring water are elegant, and the mountain stream is deep and serene. In more than 90 characteristic parks and scenic spots, it has Sanqiu Guizi, Liuqiao Yanliu, Jiuli Yunsong and Shili Hehua. Moreover, it is also provided with “Top Ten Views of the West Lake” and over ten characteristic scenic spots completed in succession. In this way, the West Lake becomes a bright-colored garland. It will show different sceneries in different seasons, and present different feelings in different weathers.

　　Top ten views of the West Lake were formed in the Southern Song Dynasty, and they are mainly distributed by centering on the West Lake. Some of them situates above the lake. The ten views include Dawn on the Su Causeway in Spring, Winery Yard and Lotus Pool, Autumn Moon on Calm Lake, Melting Snow at Broken Bridge, Orioles Singing in the Willows, Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond, Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow, Two Peaks Piercing the Clouds, Evening Bell at Nanping Hill, and Three Pools Mirroring the Moon. The top ten views of the West Lake have different characteristics. Together, they can represent quintessence of the West Lake. Therefore, either people living in Hangzhou or visitors from other regions take delight in talking about them. They often visit these views eagerly.

　　The West Lake not only has beautiful landscapes and serene forests, but also possesses abundant cultural relics and touching myths. It has skillfully integrated nature, humanity, history and art. Cultural relics are everywhere in the West Lake. With 5 key cultural relics sites under the state protection, 35 provincial cultural relics protection units, 25 city protected historic sites, 39 cultural relics protection points, and various topic museums, it is a famous historical and cultural tourist attraction in China.

　　During spring in March, orioles fly and grass grows. The Su Causeway and Bai Causeway are surrounded by willows and peaches. At both sides, water ripples and pleasure boats are everywhere. The hazy view of mountains can be observed in the distance, and they are dotted with green trees. Walking on the causeway, you will marvel at and be enchanted with the scenery. The beautiful scenery of the West Lake is not exclusive to spring. There is boundless lotus in summer; three pools immersed in moon light can be seen in autumn; red plum will bloom after the snow in winter. Moreover, orioles sing in the willows and towers stand in the drizzle. You can appreciate very unusual scenes whenever you come to the West Lake.