The West Lake, located in the west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is the first batch of national key scenic spots in Chinese mainland and one of the top ten scenic spots in China. It is one of the main ornamental freshwater lakes in Chinese mainland, and one of the few lakes in the World Heritage List and the only lake cultural heritage in China.
the west lake is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with an area of about 6.39 square kilometers, a width of about 2.8 kilometers from east to west, a length of about 3.2 kilometers from north to south, and a circumference of nearly 15 kilometers. The lake is separated by Gushan, Bai Causeway, Su Causeway and Yang Gongdi. According to the size of the area, it is divided into five water surfaces: Waixi Lake, Xili Lake, Beili Lake, Xiaonan Lake and Yuehu Lake, and Su Causeway and Bai Causeway cross the lake.
Xiaoying Island, Huxin Pavilion and Ruan Gongdun stand in the center of the outer West Lake, and Leifeng Pagoda of Xizhao Mountain and Baoyu Pagoda of Baoshi Mountain are separated by the lake, thus forming the basic pattern of "one mountain, two pagodas, three islands, three dikes and five lakes".
Extended information
On June 24th, 211, at the 35th World Heritage Conference held in Paris, France, "Hangzhou West Lake Cultural Landscape" was officially listed in the World Cultural Heritage List.
in p>1979, after analyzing the microfossils of the rock samples taken from the boreholes at the lakeside, geologists thought that according to the combination of different fossils, the formation process of the West Lake could be divided into three stages: early lagoon, middle lagoon and late lagoon. With the development of sandbanks in Qiantang River, the West Lake was finally completely closed, and the water gradually faded, forming a modern West Lake.
The mountains around the West Lake belong to the remaining veins of Tianmu Mountain. According to the difference of lithology and the height of mountain, it can be divided into two circles: inner circle and outer circle.
north peak, tianmashan, Tianzhu Mountain, Wuyunshan Mountain, etc. are in the outer circle, which belongs to high hilly terrain. The mountain is mainly composed of Silurian, Devonian lithic sandstone and Shi Ying sandstone, with hard lithology and not easy to be weathered and eroded. With beautiful peaks, vertical and horizontal streams and clear flowing water, it is the area with the most springs in the West Lake.
There are Feilai Peak, Nanfeng Peak, Yuhuang Mountain, Fenghuang Mountain, Wu Shan and so on in the inner circle. The mountain is low and belongs to low hilly terrain. The mountains are all syncline mountains, mainly composed of Carboniferous and Permian limestone, which are easily eroded by water flow, forming karst caves such as Yanxia, Shuile, Shiwu, Zilai and Ziyun.
The mountains in the inner circle, besides the karst hills, also include Geling and Baoshi Mountain, which span the northern edge of the West Lake and are composed of pyroclastic rocks, with an altitude of about 1 meters.
The West Lake, with its beautiful lakes and mountains and profound cultural heritage, has attracted the attention of literati in past dynasties, so it has also left many famous articles and classics in literature. Stories of Wulin, Dream of West Lake, Collection of West Lake, records of the west lake, Hushan Notes, etc. record a large number of historical sites and stories about West Lake and ancient Hangzhou.
In addition, many writers in modern times also became attached to the West Lake. In terms of poetry, Bai Juyi, Su Shi, Liu Yong, Yang Wanli, Lin Bu, Xu Zhimo, Hu Shi and other poets left countless beautiful sentences; In prose, Zhang Dai, Lu Xun, Yu Pingbo, Yu Dafu, Zong Pu and other famous writers wrote many famous articles.
Many folk tales and fairy tales have been circulated in the West Lake since ancient times. The most famous ones are The Legend of the White Snake, butterfly lovers and Su Xiaoxiao. The plots such as "Meeting at the Broken Bridge" and "The White Snake is crushed by the Leifeng Tower" in the legend of the White Snake are closely related to the ten scenic spots of the West Lake. The legendary love story of Liang Zhu took place in Wansong Academy near the West Lake.
In addition, there are many folk stories such as Yue Fei, Jigong, Ganlong Xiajiangnan, Yang Naiwu and Chinese Cabbage, and legends such as Early Balcony, Shuangtou Bridge, Dongpo Meat, Juniper Onion and Eighteen Imperial Tea.
Reference: West Lake-Baidu Encyclopedia