Lying in Hangzhou City of Zhejiang Province, the West Lake is a world famous tourist spot. Embraced by green hills on three sides, the lake covers an area of 5.6 square kilometers and has a perimeter of 15 kilometers.   

The whole lake is divided into 5 sections, namely the Outer Lake, North Inner Lake, Yue Lake and Little South Lake, by Gu Hill, Sudi Causeway, Baiti Causeway and Ruangong Mound.

The name of West Lake was fixed as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Before the Tang Dynasty, the lake had various names such as Wulin Water, Mingsheng Lake, Jinzhong Lake, Longchuan, Qianyuan, Qiantang Lake, and Shang Lake, etc. In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Chinese renowned poet Su Dongpo wrote a poem to praise the West Lake and compared it to Xizi, a Chinese legendary beauty. Since then, the West Lake has another elegant name Xizi Lake.

The beauty of the West Lake lies in its lingering charm that survives the change of seasons in a year and of hours in a day. Among its beautiful sights, the most famous sites are the Ten Sights in West Lake and the Ten New Sights in West Lake, which are known as the Double-Ten Sights in West Lake. The Ten Sights in West Lake are Melting Snow at Broken Bridge, Spring Dawn at Sudi Causeway, Sunset Glow over Leifeng Hill, Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard, Autumn Moon on Calm Lake, Listening to Orioles Singing in the Willows, Viewing Fish at Flowers Harbor, Evening Bell at Nanping Hill, Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, and Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds. The Ten New Sights in West Lake are Dream Spring of Hupao, Tea-tasting at Dragon Well, Gem Bathed in Flowing Rosy Clouds, Heaven Wind over Wushan Mountain, Scud over Yuhuang, Yellow Dragon Spitting Greenness, Rains of Sweet-scented Osmanthus Over Hills, Trees in Mist by the Nine Rivulets, Ruan Mound in Green, Cloud Dwelling and Bamboo Path.       

The West Lake is also famous for its historical flavor with numerous celebrities. National heroes Yue Fei, Yu Qian, Zhang Ruoshui and Qiu Jin were all buried along the West Lake, leaving their illustrious names and noble spirits in the green hills and blue waters. Moreover, many ancient poets and artists, such as Bai Juyi, Su Dongpo, Liu Yong and Pan Tianshou, had also left countless famous writings.