[Photo/IC]

4 The West Lake Landscape

Located west of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, the West Lake, also known as Qiantanghu Lake in ancient times and as “Xizi Lake” and “Wulin water” currently, covers an area of 6.39 square kilometers with a width of 2.8 kilometers and length of 3.2 kilometers. It is characterized with the layout of one mountain, two pagodas, three islands and five lakes. The real attraction of West Lake, however, lies not on the surface, but in its abundant wealth of legends, myths, and enigma accumulated over various dynasties.